Protesters in central Germany, hoping to block the creation of a new highway, have created a village of treehouses in threatened woodland. 

The group has set up home in the Dannenroeder forest north of Frankfurt – a section of which has been earmarked for felling to accomodate a new 3 kilometer section of the A49 autobahn – camping out in the branches of the same 250-year-old oak trees they hope to save. 

"This is the second floor. Four to five people live here ... and we share everything," explained Joschick, one of the group's members, speaking from the side of a small bed deck in one treehouse. "I've started to wonder if we could hang up some extra blankets in the bottom room so it's warmer and a bit more sheltered, but we are here to fight for something. We are not here to live comfortably."

The group has also created a complex network of ropes and pulleys that allow them to ascend to their new homes from the ground and hop between trees to visit each other. Treehouses have been positioned up to 10 meters from the forest floor, to prevent raids by police seeking to evict them. 

"You can hear the hammering and building in the background, so the occupation is clearly expanding," said Carola Rackete, a group member, referring to the forestry workers clearing woodland nearby.   

Activists argue the extension to the A49 flouts Germany's commitment to the 2015 Paris Accord climate goals. Developers say "only" 3 percent of the total mass of the Dannenroeder forest will be lost under the proposals. "This occupation is also about the future of transport as a whole, about the fact that we cannot continue to expand highways in times of climate crisis," Rackete said. 

Meanwhile, a stand-off with security forces is looming, as activists refuse to move from their new homes among the branches.