Climate Justice
Direct Action Camp
August 9th-12th, 2012
Wheelock Mountain Farm
Northeast Kingdom of Vermont
Goals
The Direct Action Camp will bring together radical organizers from northeastern US & Canada to build a Northeast climate justice movement that challenges false solutions to the climate crisis including upcoming regional infrastructure projects like the Trailbreaker Pipeline, the North Plan & the Northern Pass transmission lines. Together, we will develop our understanding of the historical context of direct action in the Northeast and the skills needed to plan & execute non-violent direct action as part of a successful strategic campaign.
Workshops
- Climbing: This workshop will provide participants with a basic knowledge of climbing equipment, knots, safety and uses in direct actions. Plus, some fun climbing practice.
- Banner Making: This workshop will give participants knowledge of the equipment needed for making a banner, techniques and hands-on experience for creating a banner.
- Blockading: This workshop will explore the basics of using blockades in an action. Participants will understand the basic techniques of blockading with equipment and without; and how to most effectively employ the tactic.
- Media/messaging: We will cover how to create strategic and effective messaging for direct actions; how to engage with the media during a direct action; the components of compelling messaging; and how to target an audience.
- Street Medic: Participants will receive a basic training in first aid that may be relevant to direct action scenarios. This will include an overview of police weapons and treatment injuries from common less-lethal weapons like tear gas, pepper spray & tasers.
- Strategy: Participants will explore how to plan direct-action campaigns to be the most effective by considering aspects of location; timing; target; goals; and escalating tactics iveamong other things.
- NVDA: This workshop will be more theory/discussion based. Participants will be able to clearly articulate and explore their ideas regarding nonviolent direct action on a scale of violent to nonviolent and effective to non-effective.
- Legal (Know your rights): Designed to give participants a knowledge of what to expect in various situations involving the police, state officials and/or other law enforcement agencies.
- Security Culture: Creating communities that can guard against state repression, surveillance and infiltration by government agents is key to successful resistance movements. This workshop will focus on the cultural practices and customs needed to minimize the risk of activist arrests and actions being foiled by law enforcement agencies.
- Solidarity/Allyship: Understanding that privilege and oppression can manifest themselves in direct action campaigns, this workshop will explore ways to confront oppression and build accountability, including identifying and working in solidarity with front line communities affected by climate crisis.
- Facilitation: As anyone who has been in a meeting or group decision making process knows, good facilitation is a key skill. This workshop will give us tools to become better facilitators.
To begin building a resistance movement, we are hosting a direct action camp to build skills and relationships necessary for that resistance movement in New England. Below, we have expressed points of unity in coming together for this camp.
1. Oppression Exists - We identify that overlapping oppression exists for humans. In our work, we strive to connect that to the oppression and destruction of the natural world by colonial, industrial capitalism. We are committed to intervening in oppression as it manifests in interpersonal and systemic ways.
2. Accountability - As we live on stolen land in Vermont, we strive to be accountable to our local communities, and globally to the communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. We recognize the various ecological crises are physical, and create action imperatives. Thus, we hold ourselves accountable to the non-human beings with whom we hope to share the future. We hope to continue our work with formal systems of accountability. Right now we are working on building those relationships.
3. Direct Action - We are here to learn the necessary skills for employing direct action effectively in our work. We want to build an alert direct-action network in New England that is committed to anti-oppressive modes of organizing and action. We appreciate honest personal assessments of ability and capacity, and want to create and affirm all levels of participation in action scenarios.
Wheelock Mountain Farm
Camping and indoor sleeping options available. We are prioritizing indoor sleeping request according to need. More information about the farm here.
A note on our facilitators
Workshop facilitators have practical experience in their topic area and all of them have lived and/or organized in the Northeast for years.
Organization
Co-organized by Red Clover Climate Justice, Global Justice Ecology Project, Gears of Change and The Flashbulb Institute
Contact
Email redclovercj@gmail.com or call Sara (802) 338-1613
