Luna is the American name given to a coast redwood tree in October 1997. This tree has also been referred to as the 'Stafford Giant.' The tree is between 600 and 1000 years old and lives in an old growth forest--Headwaters Forest, in Humboldt County, California near the small community of Stafford, California.
The tree was named by a group of Earth First! members, who built a small platform from salvaged wood to serve as a tree-sit platform. They chose the Latin word for "moon" to commemorate the event.[1] Although many refer to the tree as "she," giant redwoods produce both male and female cones.[1] The sex of giant redwoods such as Luna is technically neither male nor female, but monoecious.
The tree was where Julia Butterfly Hill lived in the tree for 738 days. Hill lived on a platform, 180 feet above the forest floor (approximately equivalent to a building 18 stories high). She descended from the tree on December 18, 1999.
Hill occupied the tree, "Luna", in order to save the grove from being clear-cut by the Pacific Lumber Company (owned by Maxxam Inc and Charles Hurwitz).
In November of 2000, an unknown vandal used a chainsaw to cut halfway through the tree. Civil engineer Steve Salzman designed a system to help the tree withstand the extreme windstorms which frequent the Northern California hillside, at speeds which peak between 60 and 100 miles per hour.
"Tree climbers (led by redwood canopy biologist Dr. Stephen C. Sillett and South American canopy expert Paul Donahue) installed a steel cable "collar" around Luna's main trunk 100 feet above the ground. Four cables radiate from this collar and are attached with turnbuckles to four remote anchor points 100-150 feet away. With this cable assembly in place, Luna should be able to withstand the fiercest of storms."
Julia Butterfly Hill wrote a book: The Legacy of Luna: The story of a Tree, a Woman and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods. about her experiences in the giant redwood.
Luna is under the stewardship of Sanctuary Forest, a Nonprofit Organization.