The Story Behind the Little Red Toolangi Treehouse
– Odette Shenfield interviews Hannah Patchett
In 2013, Hannah Patchett spent a month in the Little Red Toolangi Treehouse to protest logging in the Toolangi State Forest. During her time there, she garnered widespread support and national media coverage – the red treehouse became an icon.
Hannah and I went to Primary School together, and hadn’t seen each other since we were twelve. There was a lot to catch up on, but mostly I was dying to find out the story behind the Little Red Toolangi Treehouse.
We met at a café in Northcote, Melbourne. Over tea and orange juice, she told me about life in the Treehouse and her experience with environmental activism. She is an unassuming activist – striking in her humility.
O: Can you tell me about the Little Red Toolangi Treehouse? What motivated you to live alone in a 30 metre high treehouse in them middle of the forest?
H: At the end of September 2013 I received a message from a friend that read, “I want to build a treetop shack in Toolangi and get you to sit in it indefinitely. Interested?”
That’s how it started, it wasn’t really my idea, I was just the person who they thought of. I’m not allowed to say who the friend was, because when they took it down, they were looking to charge someone for the ownership of it, and they never found out.
O: What did you think when you received the message?
H: At first I was scared, because I had no idea what it was going to be like and what challenges I’d be faced with. But it’s one of those things you just can’t say no to.
I got the message around the end of September, and went up on October 23rd.
On October 23rd I stayed my first of what would be 30 nights in what had become The Little Red Toolangi Treehouse. I had spent the past year tree climbing in the hope that an opportunity like this would come up. As well as tree climbing I became immersed in the campaign to save the forests of Toolangi from clearfell logging. For those who don’t know, Toolangi is a state forest located approximately 60 kilometres northeast of Melbourne’s CBD. It’s some of the last remaining habitat of the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum, and home to Mountain Ash the second tallest tree species in the world. They used to be the tallest before they were logged.
I wanted to bring attention to the scientific research of Professor David Lindenmayer, who has researched clear fell logging in the Toolangi area. He has found that extensive logging can increase the severity of bushfires in mountain ash forests and contributes to the rapid extinction of our wildlife specifically the Leadbeater’s Possum. Toolangi is very close to where the 2009 bushfires happened. Lindenmayer’s research has indicated that logging contributed to those fires. As a young person concerned about climate change, it also seemed crazy to cut down these forests that store huge amounts of carbon.
I couldn’t say no to this opportunity because I understand the value of our environment. I must admit I also loved the idea of living in a tree house.
O: Can you tell me a bit about what it was like living there? How long were you there for?
H: I lived there for one month. Living in the treehouse was similar to camping, with a few extra hurdles. I wore a harness the whole time – sleeping, everything – and cooked on a little camp stove. I would get food deliveries from friendly locals occasionally, which I would pull up on a rope. On the opposite side of the trunk to the treehouse, there was a platform, and that was where I showered. That was pretty amazing, showering up there in the forest 30 metres up, with nobody else around.
O: What was it like being alone for such a long time?
H: I knew the isolation was coming, but I couldn’t prepare for it. I remember the first night I spent on my own. I was suddenly confronted with the fact that I was totally responsible for myself. Nobody could help me if something went wrong. If a branch dropped on the house or something caught alight, it was all up to me.
My isolation was a bit different to other situations, because I had a lot of online support, and I knew people were thinking of me up there. That definitely takes away some of it. I was up there two weeks before the media launch, so for the first two weeks, I had more of a sense of isolation.
O: Did you have Internet access up there?
H: Yeah, I did everything on my phone. I had a solar panel and a battery to charge it. Because there was so little sun, it took all day to charge it. That’s how I did interviews. I got reception on and off. I did this interview on RN at 3 in the morning, just before I went on they were like, ‘I don’t think this is going to work, reception keeps cutting out,’ but luckily it did, luckily it came through.
O: How much of your time was spent on your own?
H: On the weekends, people would come visit me, coming to the base of the tree. During the week, I was pretty much on my own. I’d have people coming to check on me from the ground then we’d just talk through a walkie-talkie. I had a couple of people come up to the treehouse on the weekends.
O: It was brave of you to spend so much time alone.
H: Over time, I just grew to love the time on my own. The forest was so busy with animals, sounds and smells. When I first got there, I realised it’s just me and the forest and I felt quite alone. But there’s so much going on. I spent so much time watching everything. The changes happen so slowly.
In one of the branches on the tree, there were ants inside. I learnt to read the weather from them. When they would disappear, I knew that rain was coming. Then when they came out, I knew it was going to be quite a sunny day.
O: Did you come to see the human world differently through living in nature?
H: I got a strong sense of how constructed the human world is. For a time I was free from almost any human influence, like advertising. I was up there observing the foundations of life without any of that to influence me. The way people walk around in the city seemed strange when I came down from the treehouse. We all follow straight lines because of the way our cities are designed. The forest doesn’t have that structure. It was quite freeing being away from that; something I recommend that everyone experiences at least once in their lives.
O: Do you remember your reaction to the first ad you saw when you got back?
H: When I came back it kind of felt like time travelling. I had come out of forest, which is sort of like the foundation of life and then I went through little country towns and then slowly, slowly it became city. It was quite overwhelming.
A lot of people asked me: “do you find it really noisy, really loud?” But it was the opposite because the forest is just full of sounds . I was next to a river, so I could hear that constantly. I had a plastic roof, so when it was windy and it rained it was incredibly loud. Where I lived in the city it was actually quite quiet, other than occasional cars.
O: Has it been challenging to go from a place that was so free back to a place with so many social pressures? Has it made you more aware of them?
H: There are so many social pressures that you become aware of. I was always quite confused that people put so much effort into the way they look or the way they present their lives. I never knew if it was something they just liked to do, or whether they felt pressured to do it. And I think for me, it made me aware of when I do feel the pressure or when it’s something I do want to do. I hadn’t looked at myself for a month.
It was such a freeing experience being away from the city for that long, I was able to focus on what mattered in my life, without all those distractions.
O: What was your favourite part about living in the Treehouse? Were there any unexpected benefits?
H: It brought out so much generosity and kindness in people. I received kind words of support from all over the world. People brought me food and gifts. It made me realise how much love people have for the environment.
There was a local chef who works at a café. A few times a week he’d bring back leftovers and I looked forward to that so much because the food was amazing.
O: What did your family think about you living up there? Were they supportive?
H: My parents were very supportive. I was lucky to have been exposed to the natural world as a child. I think a lot of people learn the value of nature as kids.
My grandparents were supportive too. I didn’t expect them to but they came to visit me while I was there. I think people get pretty taken away by the stereotypes of it all and they might have been a bit scared of that.
O: Did you receive any unexpected criticism?
Not from anyone I knew, but loggers would post online about cutting the tree down. A lot of the critics were from Tasmania because there’s a bigger rivalry there. We had a couple plant a stink bomb in this box and someone was on the ground at the time and they kicked it and it went off. They thought it was a little explosive so they called the police. It turned out it was just a stink bomb. I had no idea that was happening.
O: How is the campaign going now?
The campaign is going pretty amazing at the moment because a lot of groups have come about. One is the Knitting Nannas of Toolangi. They’ve been a really consistent and strong force. They’re a group of nannas who set up and start knitting on the side of the road where logging trucks go by. They’re a presence. They’re able to watch what’s happening and catch things out, such as when people log trees that are illegal to log.
O: It sounds like you’ve encountered stereotypes about activists, and the nannas are going against this?
Yeah, that’s what I love about them! When I was up there, I tried to project an image of someone who wasn’t the stereotype. It’s unfortunate that there is so much focus on how we look as opposed to the scientific research we’re trying to highlight.
O: Did you see the recent government brochure about ‘extremism’ with Karen the environmental extremist? What was your reaction when you saw it?
H: It’s hilarious that the government hooks onto that stereotype as well, so much so that they use it as an example to look out for, it’s just funny. “Steer clear of alternative music!”
O: Environmentalists have rightly been taking the Karen caricature as a joke, but do you think activists need to do more to combat this stereotype?
H: I’ve thought about this. Personally, I try to steer clear of the stereotype, but people can do what they want. My view though is that we should be countering the stereotype, we should try to appeal to the greater masses, so they can feel like they understand where we’re coming from, as opposed to boxing people up.
O: Did you start tree climbing to do direct action?
I started in an environmental group and tree climbing was mentioned as training, not a part of that group, my ears pricked up because the idea of tree climbing appealed to me and so did direct action. It’s one of those things that’s easy to romanticise, like going back to your childhood. But it’s just fun, you get a different perspective, it’s also the physical challenge. I had one person training me, we would train a couple of times a week. I did a tree sit before the treehouse, and a few other actions.
O: Do you think direct action is an effective form of activism?
H: I think it used to be quite an effective way to communicate and present your ideas about things, but I think things are changing, I think it’s less effective these days. I would encourage it, because it does still get attention and can stop logging. A lot of activism is about media, you have to do something that stands out.
O: Your form of direct action was also quite creative, do you think that helped you stand out?
H: Yeah, someone said it’s like a performance, you’ve got to capture people’s attention. The only reason we got our story in The Age was because it was accompanied by a photo.
O: Is it hard being involved in environmental activism and feeling like you need to perform to get people engaged?
H: Yeah, I was talking to someone who had been criticised for that, “Why do you keep putting things up so high to get people’s attention?” and she’s like, “Well what else are we supposed to do?”
I think we do what we can.
O: Do you know much about the Indigenous history of the area?
H: Toolangi is actually an Aboriginal word meaning ‘tall trees’. The Black Spur (one of the most celebrated areas of Mountain Ash) near Toolangi, was named after the Woi wurrung and the Daung Wurrung people. They used it to travel between their territories and in the early 1860’s used it to find a safe refuge during the European invasion. I don’t know much about the Aboriginal history of that area, but it’s something I want to learn more about. Toolangi and surrounding areas are still important to local Aboriginal people.
O: How did you first get engaged in conservation and environmental activism? Did your upbringing/school influence your interest in this area?
H: As a teenager I was involved in my high schools ‘green team’. We organised events to raise money for solar panels and other things like that. I think growing up in inner city Melbourne influenced my interest. I grew up around people who were concerned about what humans are doing to our environment.
O: How do you feel when you think about your time there now? Did it have much of an impact on who you are today?
H: There are people who are involved in the campaign now, who weren’t before and I think it raised awareness about what’s happening in Toolangi. I’m happy about that. It gave me a better understanding of how important it is to be exposed to our natural environment. You learn to read it and adapt. Our society has trouble giving value to time spent in the bush. You don’t appear to be progressing, but I think it’s just one of those things that can’t be measured.
O: What keeps you motivated? Are you still campaigning?
H: I’ve been working full time since I came down from the tree so I haven’t been majorly involved for a while. It’s definitely something that I’ll do again though, because it’s so important and needs immediate attention. The people who keep coming back to campaigns are the ones who keep me motivated.
Lots of things can bring you down when you’re campaigning. Someone told me, it’s very easy to try and weigh up what’s come out of it. He said you can’t do that, because you’ll inevitably get hurt or disappointed. Benefits of the campaign can come out years after you worked on it.
As for my plans about future campaigning, I don’t think I should give away too much information about that…
O: Outside of environmental activism, what are your interests?
H: My favourite thing to do at the moment is draw. I draw tree bark and leaves, I can’t seem to stay away from trees. Drawing them gives me a reason to study them under a microscope. I think it’s a way of appreciating the complexity in our world.
O: How do you see Toolangi logging fitting into broader environmental problems?
H: The logging of Toolangi has an impact on the quality and yield of Melbourne’s water catchments. It contributes to global warming – we need to think of this forest as carbon storage. They are the most carbon dense forests in the world. Extensive logging can increase the severity of bushfires in mountain ash forests.
O: What do you feel when you think about the planet’s future? Do you have hope for the Toolangi state forest?
H: My biggest hope for saving the forest is the creation of the Great Forest Nation Park. There are people working hard to turn Toolangi and the surrounding areas into a national park. I think this is a great way to create jobs and see an end to clear fell logging in the area.
I think it’s important to keep optimistic. Hope is a great motivator. Nobody knows what is going to happen. The future depends on our actions, we’re all responsible and all have the power to do something. I didn’t do this interview because I thought I was going to change things over night. I did it in the hope that I would influence at least one person to visit Toolangi or get involved in the campaign.
O: If someone asked you how they can help protect the Toolangi Forest, what would you tell them?
H: Join your local environmental group such as the Wilderness Society. If you’re not interested in participating in their campaigns, they will have connections to a whole range of groups. For example there is a group who regularly survey Leadbeater’s Possums in their habitat. There’s something for everyone.
Stop buying Reflex paper. Most of the trees logged in Toolangi goes towards making Reflex paper.
I also tell people to visit Toolangi. It’s crazy how few Melbournians have played in our backyard.
