Stadium Oak Grove Press Conference
Berkeley CA - January 22, 2007
Reporters came to the Stadium Oak Grove at the University of California Berkeley to interview three new tree-sitters: Sylvia McLaughlin of Save the Bay, Berkeley council member, Betty Olds, and the former mayor of Berkeley, Shirley Dean. The three elderly women climbed up an old oak tree at the Berkeley Memorial Stadium site. Their public demonstration was to show their support and respect for both the 1921 Memorial Oak Grove and for the community's ongoing urban tree-sit, then in its 55th day. They called for the preservation of this treasured natural resource in our city. This message was echoed by numerous speakers including Juliet Lamont of the Sierra Club, Gray Brechin, PhD at the university, Redwood Mary and Doug Buckwald, both part of the tree-sit ground support, tree sitter Zachery RunningWolf, and others.
Note: On September 5, 2008 (almost 600 days later), the university began cutting the oaks and extracted the last of the remaining tree-sitters as the community watched from behind a guarded police barrier.
Produced by Berkeley Citizen
copyriht 2007
All labor donated |