The term "tree-hugger" probably originated in the USA when residents, mostly women, that lived around Central Park managed to stop Robert Moses from bulldozing old trees to build a parking lot behind the Tavern on the Green restaurant in 1956. They physically stood in front of the earth movers to stop them. Of course these were rich people living in luxurious apartment towers who wanted a shady place for their children and nannies to frolic in, but the idea is the same. It got a lot of press coverage at the time, and was the first time that someone besides working class people who had their homes demolished for freeways took on the Master Builder of New York.