what is a treehugger...podcast?

I am a restorationist and conservation professional. I am planted in the Puget Sound region of Cascadia and have taken the name for this podcast as treehugger.

The etymology of the term comes from the 1730 Khejarli massacre in India. The confrontation began when Amrita Devi and her three daughters lost their lives to protect Khejri trees that were going to be used to build a new palace. Khejri are sacred to the Bishnois. Many villages sent people to protect the trees; ultimately 363 people were killed by the Maharajah soldiers. Then again in the early 1970s originating in the Himalayan region of India, mostly women began a local spontaneous movement called Chipko, which means to hug, cling or embrace. Villagers relied heavily on the forests for their livelihoods and were denied access by the state while foreign-based companies exploited the ecological resources. Inspired by Ghandian principles of nonviolence, they hugged the trees and encirled them, using themselves as shields as just one tactic to protect trees from being cut down. This movement spread nationwide through decentralized and autonomous actions, eventually encompassing protests against mining operations and large dam construction - the Chipko's slogan was "ecology is permanent economy."

More recently this phrase is used as a slang, sometimes derogatory, term for environmentalists as someone who is regarded as foolish or annoying because of being too concerned about protecting trees, animals, and other parts of the natural world from pollution and other threats. I wish to embrace the term’s history of dissent and co-opt it as a starting point to explore ecological restoration as part interdisciplinary art and hard science that promises a brighter future for human livelihoods and health as well as a just transition in a warming world.