A few hours after two protesters ascended a tree in the oak grove near Memorial Stadium on Wednesday with food supplies in tow, campus officials and ground supporters of the tree-sitters reached an agreement regarding food and safety issues at the grove.

Under the agreement, one ground supporter will be allowed to send up one bag of food to the sitters each day, after it is inspected by UCPD officers.

It’s been more than a month since the campus sent in arborists to take down the sitters’ supplies.

Since then, the campus has provided the sitters daily with water and energy bars. Ground supporters have attempted to resupply the sitters by a variety of means, oftentimes clashing with UCPD officers.

The agreement, which was reached by unofficial protest leader Ayr, UCPD Police Chief Victoria Harrison and Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya, would help eliminate potentially unsafe conditions at the grove that arise when ground supporters attempt to resupply the sitters, according to Dan Mogulof, UC Berkeley executive director of public affairs.

Campus officials also agreed to give at least 72 hours of prior notice if they plan to end the agreement or remove the tree-sitters from the grove.

The agreement was made on the condition that the tree-sitters send down their human waste on a daily basis, including the waste they have stored, to avoid having it used as ammunition.

Additionally, protesters have agreed to cut down lines that span the grove.

Ruling to remove injunction after declaring UC Berkeley in compliance with safety laws.
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Five ground supporters of the tree-sitters in the oak grove near UC Berkeley’s Memorial Stadium were arrested July 20 after planting a tree in front of Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s residence.

The protesters, part of a larger group of about 30 people, marched from the grove at approximately 3:30 p.m. Sunday to the chancellor’s residence on the northwest side of campus. Six of the protesters dug a hole in the chancellor’s front yard before five of them were arrested by UCPD for vandalizing the yard, said UCPD Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya.

The sixth person involved in the planting has not yet been apprehended by police, Celaya said.

According to unofficial tree-sit protest leader Zachary RunningWolf, the acorn sapling was meant to be an olive branch for the chancellor.

“We went down … and planted a tree on his lawn, basically giving him a gift of kindness and an offering from the grove,” RunningWolf said. “If I was a public servant … I would welcome that, and say thank you for giving us a new life, especially during global warming.”

The five individuals who were arrested were charged with trespassing with attempt to injure, vandalism and conspiracy, Celaya said. One was additionally charged with battery for hitting a UCPD officer in the head with a wooden pole, and another was additionally charged with resisting arrest, he said.