To know the tree as tree and take delight in it. It seems to be a good starting point.
If one asks why this is, then one gets to the heart of the matter, for knowing is a prerequisite to loving.
And with a little bit of help from Revelation, one can know more, and love more. He Who Is, Who made all, in Whose Image we are made.
From June 2008...
"At least one tree sitter on Tuesday began throwing bags of human waste on the approaching arborists."
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/news/print.asp?id=25637
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BERKELEY, Calif. (KCBS) -- One woman was arrested Tuesday as authorities removed some of the structures that have housed tree sitting protesters in an oak grove UC Berkeley wants to cut down to make way for a $125 million athletic facility.
The protester was taken into custody after she reportedly bit one of the workers removing her supplies, according to police. Officers cordoned off part of Piedmont Avenue near Memorial Grove and brought in arborists to remove the platforms and gear the tree sitters have used to maintain their perches since December 2006. A university official had earlier said the tree sitters themselves would not be removed yet.
“One of the things we’re most concerned about is safety and security, of our police officers and the people in the trees. That’s the reason we’re not forcibly removing people from the trees today,” said Dan Mogulof, a spokesman for UC Berkeley.
Tuesday was not the first time the university has removed scaffolding built by the protesters, but removing the people has proven more difficult. One witness told KCBS reporter Tim Ryan at the scene that some of the tree sitters threw urine they had collected in buckets at the police and arborists to discourage them from climbing.
http://www.kcbs.com/In-Berkeley--Down-from-the-Trees/2427277