Together we will share primitive camping skills, learn more about some of the threats posed to the mountains by the mining and ski industries, and run strategy workshops about how to organize and defend the mountains against those threats.
One particularly huge threat is the prospect of natural gas drilling in what's known as the Marcellus Shale:
"The Marcellus Shale is an enormous, subterranean layer of rock that runs from the Lower Adirondacks down through the Catskills and to western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Geologists believe there are colossal amounts of clean-burning natural gas trapped there... [W]hen the infrastructure for pumping natural gas out of the Catskills has finally been put in place, there will be no mistaking its impact — no missing the gaping holes in the forest canopy, the artificial ponds full of “fracking” fluid, the industrial damage done."
--from a NYTimes editorial, July 27, 2009. Full editorial here.
This gathering is for people who straight up do not want to see that happen. How are we going to stop it? That will be the main question of the weekend.
In addition to that sobering question, we'll be engaging in plenty of informative and rejuvenating activities; we'll be personally connecting with the land we want to defend. Look forward to fire building, wild foraging, hiking and orienteering, and an introduction to permaculture.
Our campsite is in Preston Hollow, NY. It's about 3 hours North of NYC, driving. Right near Albany.
This will not be a huge event. We are looking to cap the number of participants at 20, so sign up soon if you want to go! We're aiming for everyone to arrive by Friday afternoon, and leave by Sunday afternoon. I'll send you more information about the logistics when you sign up.
To sign up, send an email to mountaindefenders@yahoo.com explaining:
- your location (if it's NYC, we can provide a carpool option, if it's outside NYC, we maybe can)
- your experience camping/hiking/backpacking
- your interest in environmental activism
- any wilderness survival skills or knowledge about local environmental issues you may have
- a list of supplies that you can bring (You should be able to provide your own tent, sleeping bag, tarps, rain gear and warm clothing. Some food would also be good to bring. We'll have communal food for the group, but your own individual food is always a good thing to have.)
We are going to keep the costs low. $15-$30 sliding scale. All we need to buy is the food, some very basic workshop supplies, and a little money also goes to the Preston Hollow Land Project, which is hosting us. That will all come to about $15, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Any extra money will go strictly towards the execution of the next event like this.
We are going to keep the costs low. $15-$30 sliding scale. All we need to buy is the food, some very basic workshop supplies, and a little money also goes to the Preston Hollow Land Project, which is hosting us. That will all come to about $15, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Any extra money will go strictly towards the execution of the next event like this.
We'd like to make this event accessible to everyone, regardless of age, disability or any other conceivable factor. Please send an email to mountaindefenders@yahoo.com explaining your unique needs, if you have any (i.e. disability, or if you have small children coming with you), and we will make plans to accomodate.
In order to make our event a safer space, absolutely no racism, sexism, ablism, queerphobia, or any other -ism will be tolerated. People engaging in oppressive or disrespectful behavior may be asked to leave. In order to make the space safer for survivors, people who have been called out for sexual assault may be asked not to attend.
Direct any questions to mountaindefenders@yahoo.com
