Fighting for forests

It's a 38-kilometer drive from Cologne to the Hambacher Forst, an ancient forest in Germany that's is facing the chop. German power company RWE wants to expand the country's largest brown coal mine. But between 20 and 30 activists have decided to show resistance and to keep the diggers away.

The young activists gave up mainstream life and moved into the forest in order to protect it. So they built wooden treehouses to sleep in as a means of insuring that the trees won't suddenly be cut down. "We built the treehouse as high as we could so it would be difficult for the police to get up there," 25-year-old activist Mori says.

19-year-old activist Mila (pictured here dangling from a rope) has been living in the forest since May, and says her most beautiful moments are waking up in this treehouse as the sun makes its way through the branches, birds chirping cheerily. "I couldn’t image living anywhere else right now," she says.

And Mori (pictured) agrees."When you live on top of a tree, you notice that a tree is a living being and you see how the changing seasons affect this tree." Mori, Mila and the other activists want to raise awareness. "Whether we'll be able to change something here in the long run or not, it's important to encourage people to raise their voices when something unjust is happening," Mila says.