Next national climate camp organsing gathering Feb 17/18 in Leeds

Climate Camp 2007 will take place fromAugust 14th to 21st. Planning is already well under way and we need everyone to get involved and make it happen.
The next national organsing gathering will be in Leeds on Sat and Sun Feb 17th/18th. It will be at The Common Place in Leeds city centre and vegan food, accommodationand creche will be provided (please contact us with accommodation, creche or any other needs though so we can plan ahead).

Climate campers are at it again! More than seventy people from around the
UK met in Leeds in January and decided to organise another Camp for
Climate Action this summer from 14th to 21st August. As many of you know,
for ten days last August hundreds of people gathered in the shadow of Drax
coal-fired power station in Yorkshire to share knowledge and inspiration
to tackle the greatest threat to life on Earth, live an example of more
just and sustainable alternatives, and confront one of the UK's biggest
polluters in a day of mass direct action.

Following on from this success, Camp for Climate Action 2007 will take
place near to a target relating to aviation or the coal or oil industries.
The location will be chosen over the coming months. Organising outreach,
fundraising, site practicalities and workshops is underway. Self managed
camping, eating and living neighbourhoods around themes and geographical
areas are also being planned, contact details are on the website.

There is loads to do, and everyone is invited to get involved - no
experience necessary! The next national planning meetings will be held in
Leeds at the Common Place, on the 17th and 18th February, and then in
Bristol on the 17th and 18th March.

See www.climatecamp.org.uk for more info. There areb lots of ways to get involved without coming to national gatherings, but coming to them is a great way of really feeling part of teh whole process, we work with consensus decision making and collective responsibility, everyone gets their say in how the whole thing goes.

For a 20min film of last years camp get
V For Video Activist - SchMOVIES DVD Collection 2006 OUT January 2007
- £6 (including P&P). Contact the SchNEWS Office 01273 685913 or

schnews@brighton.co.uk

Climate camper
e-mail: leeds@climatecamp.org.uk
Homepage: http://www.climatecamp.org.uk

Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

"Following on from this success..."

06.02.2007 15:59

Is that the "success" of not shutting down Drax; of loads of people (notably NOT the CC leaders) getting nicked; of everyone who went being searched, photographed, and profiled by the cops; or the "success" of a year's activity working on a single (and unsuccesful) "action"?

Or is it the "success" of a few ageing liberals getting to play 'Cock of the Walk' for a fortnight, get off their heads in a field, shag some naive young girls, and ultimately sacrifice others in a tokenistic lemming-like "action" in which they didn't participate themselves for fear of arrest?

Why is this silliness not only being repeated, but being presented as some form of blueprint for future actions?

Bored with the "Barrio"

Grow Up, Bored

06.02.2007 18:01

Oh dear, with national media coverage, inspired activists and a totally self-policed and controlled safe space - I think that indicates a success in my book.

And as for the so called 'leaders', these prominent "old liberals" were some of the ones getting arrested along with the rest of us.

So stop trolling and get out on the streets - or better still: get your shit together and actually GO to a CC planning meeting.

Happy Camper

"Direct-action" or Sad Farce

06.02.2007 18:22

"self-policed and controlled" So there weren't 5000 cops on duty? And they didn't come onto the site? And they didn't photograph and search everyone? "Self-policed"? You handed the cops the intelligence-gathering opportunity of a lifetime for a few of last year's chip wrappers.

"And as for the so called 'leaders', these prominent "old liberals" were some of the ones getting arrested along with the rest of us."

That is a complete lie. The CC leadership considered themselves too important to risk arrest and didn't even go on the "action".

"So stop trolling and get out on the streets - or better still: get your shit together and actually GO to a CC planning meeting."

Why does questioning this bullshit make me a troll? I'm already "on the streets" - not sitting in a field surrounded by cops (who were effectively invited.) Why on earth would I want to waste a year, neglecting other political action, and raising funds, which could be much better used, to pay for another farce, being presented as "direct action" to the gullible?

Bored of the bullshit

Agree With the Bored

07.02.2007 10:52

A third page spread in the Gruaniad because someones Daddy has connections is hardly worth the effort. At any rate why does mainstream media coverage validate your actions, the mainstream media tell lies, that's why we have an indepenent newswire, n'est pas?

If you want to shut down Drax, I suggest half a dozen of you, a set of bolt croppers, and a good plan is probably all you need.

Rudeboyo

the programme

07.02.2007 11:45

I think a lot of people just "went along with the programme" when it came to the C.C. - either through inexperience or because it seemed to take on a life of its own, with "security" often being used as a cover for cliquiness and hidden leadership (well, it wasn't THAT hidden.) I know some new people found the workshops interesting and enjoyed meeting everyone, but they could have gone to the Earth First gathering for that, something the C.C. undermined, and they probably wouldn't have got such a heavy time from the cops.

Charlie Farley

we'll see

07.02.2007 13:51

well, people will judge for themselves, I guess. If CC was really such a disaster as you say then noone will come back this summer. If it has inspired some, if through the coverage in the corporate media or not, then there should be more this time. We'll see.

xxx

Like watching a car crash

07.02.2007 21:03

Great logic xxx. more people watch 'Big Brother' every time it's on - That just makes them really fucking dum.

Sceptic

blimey...

09.02.2007 11:54

There weren't any leaders, a load of people worked their backsides off and made it happen, some worked more than others and some had more experience than others and yes there does need to be - and already is - lots and lots of work done to be done on the whole cliquiness/security thing (I found it really really hard too), but it was the first time, there is work to be done....please please help by coming to a meeting or the camp or e-mailing your ideas via the website.

No, Drax wasn't shut down but a lot of people had a damn good go and a lot more people were inspired to take a lot more direct action - things aren't so black and white, to me an action isn't just about fucking something up it's about communicating and inspiring as well.

Oh, and the Guardian contacted us.

If we're not in the mainstream media how do people know what we're doing and why? Should we just stay in some tiny activist/indymedia ghetto where all half the readers ever do is post narky comments? My mum will never look at indymedia but she thinks what we did is amazing and it's changed her politics and habits - the world needs my mum on side, it needs everyone on side.

climate camper

Doh!

11.02.2007 11:03

"No, Drax wasn't shut down but a lot of people had a damn good go..."

So what can we learn from that? Maybe not do our actions on the day we're surounded by 5000 cops? Oh, but then they were invited there weren't they?! Doesn't seem very bright. Is it going to be learned from? I doubt it.

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