I thought you might like to read a NY Times article regarding the tree-sitters trying to protect some Oak trees in Berkeley. I have been twice myself to this grove to observe the tree-sitters in action, and can attest that they have been perched up there since before Christmas through some unusually cool temperatures here in northern California (high 30s and low 40s at night in some cases). They are getting "ground support" (like food and water, plus exchange of buckets) and once in a while are relieved by other activists who go up in the tree to replace them. UPDATE: The Sierra Club, which I am part of, does not have a position on this particular grove of trees. I need to make that clear, as there have been attacks made against me in connection with my role in the local Sierra Club group. However, the Club DOES oppose the University's overall expansion plan, the "Southeast Campus Integrated Projects" - which includes the removal of these Oaks.
I just wanted to blog this item, since it's a typically Berkeley story, and it's going to get very interesting in the next days and weeks as the University finally decides what to do. My suspicion is that enough noise has been made and local celebrities have spoken out, that the University will back off its plans to take down the trees. But the UC is large and Berkeley is only one campus ... so I could be wrong.
p.s. the grove itself is not very large, just a bunch of scraggly looking oak trees (not the large oaks that grow in other U.S. locations like in the midwest), plus one healthy redwood tree (which towers above the oaks). But it's the principle of tearing down these trees to build a football facility that has so many folks riled.
