*April 19 Updates:
~Mosquito Fleet will be joining the final leg of the march! Still a call out for more Kayaktivists...see details below:
~Received cool banners in the mail today from 350! They need painted with all the other cool banners and parachutes. Come to the Art Build Thursday 4/20, 6-10 pm. at 2205 Lincoln St.
*April 10 updates:
~Call from the national march: All participants WEAR RED!
~Call for all Tribal canoes to participate in the final leg of the march! (see below for more info.)
~Call for kayaktivists to participate in final leg of the march!
~Table set up at 10:00 at Maritime Heritage (bring own tables).
~Updated speaker list.
**************************
On April 29th, a coalition of organizations will be converging on Washington, DC for the Peoples Climate March!
Community2Community, Bellingham NoDAPL Coalition, Bellingham Racial Justice Coalition and 350Bellingham are co-hosting a sister March starting at Maritime Park to Boulevard Park in Bellingham on April 29th!
The Peoples Climate March will highlight the many local struggles and efforts that are currently on their way. We know that there needs to be a holistic approach to climate justice, an approach where the most impacted communities are represented and whose voices and faces are Front and Centered. We want a system change, not climate change. We want community based solutions that are good for our workers and our environment.
It is also important that together we envision the world we want to live in. A just transition is needed. We know we can't get there without a dialogue and collective action.
What does a 'just transition' mean? Just transition is “a framework that has been developed by the trade union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers’ jobs and livelihoods when economies are shifting to sustainable production, including avoiding climate change, protecting biodiversity, among other challenges.” - Wikipedia
As we witnessed in Standing Rock, Now in a time when the protectors of Mother Earth are under attack, we need to resist against bad corporations and policies that infringe on Treaties and sovereignty of tribes.
With climate change we know that will cause mass migration. While many immigrants and refugees flee their homelands to seek safety here, instead they are exploited and criminalized.
At 11am, we will gather at Maritime Heritage Park for tabling and a rally at Noon. Then we will follow the local Bellingham #NODAPL Coalition and other local Indigenous leaders, including farm workers and march to Boulevard Park while reflecting on protecting the Salish Sea and the future we can create together. Pack a blanket and picnic for a Boulevard Park gathering where we will have a canoe landing protocol and speakers will talk about next steps for our community where everyone can work in unity towards climate justice.
*Invitation to canoe families and kayakivists!
We are inviting all canoes and kayaktivists to join in the final leg of the march. The closest boat launch is the Fairhaven Boat Launch ($3.00) in Fairhaven near the Alaska Ferry Terminal. Canoes and kayaks should paddle to the Taylor dock and wait for the march to arrive (approximately 1:30pm). We will then travel together to the north end of the park in solidarity! A Tribal canoe protocol will welcome the canoes ashore for presentations and speakers.
We will march for our families. We will march for clean air and clean water. We will march for climate justice, a just transition to clean energy, food sovereignty, tribal rights and workers’ rights. We will march for our communities and the people we love.
In 2014, 350.org said that it takes everyone to change everything. Now, with everything at stake, everyone has a part to play. It is important that we send a strong message that climate chaos is very real, and is important to all of us.
Thank you for joining us as we build a stronger community around climate justice, together!
Community2Community, Bellingham NoDAPL Coalition, Bellingham Racial Justice Coalition, and 350 Bellingham
Detailed Agenda
Community Partners Tabling at Maritime - 11am-12pm
Volunteer Table Check in at 11am.
Speakers - 12-12:30pm
March - 12:30pm
Canoe Landing Protocol and Gathering at Boulevard Park - 2pm
Speakers Confirmed:
Opening (Maritime Heritage Park):
Lummi Welcome
Juanita Jefferson (Lummi Elder)
Blackhawk Singers (Lummi)
Rally (Boulevard Park)
Lummi Youth Canoe Family
Michelle Janine Vendiola (Walker River Paiute), Bellingham #NoDAPL Coalition
Matt Remle (Hunkpapa Lakota)
Paul Cheoketen Wagner (Saanich First Nations)
Victoria, WWU Blue Group
Eddy Ury, ReSources
Blanche Bybee, 350 Bellingham
Route and Accessibility info:
The march will follow a 3.2 mile route from Maritime Heritage Park to Boulevard Park by way of Taylor Dock. The exact route can be viewed here (https://drive.google.com/
Exit Maritime down Central St.
Left on West Chestnut
Right on Railroad
Left on East Maple
Right on North State
Take Boulevard Rd. at the roundabout which will become State St. and eventually 10th St.
Take Taylor dock to Boulevard Park
There are no stairs on the route. There will be vehicles following the march for anyone who wants to participate without marching. If at any point during the march a participant does not want to continue marching, peacekeepers will facilitate getting them to one of these vehicles. The route has been planned to avoid steep slopes as much as possible, however the tail end of the march where State St. meets 10th is more hilly. The first part of Taylor dock is a 10* slope for approximately 50 yards. There are flat rest areas about every 10 yards and the march will wait for anyone who needs to stop on their way down. If participants want to avoid this part of the route, the march vehicles will have a planned stop at the Bayview Dr. entrance to Boulevard where they can pick up participants and re-meet the march at the final destination point in the park.
After the program at Boulevard completes, these vehicles will be available to shuttle marchers back to their cars at the Maritime starting point. They will be prioritizing elders, people with disabilities, and people for whom public transport or carpooling is not a safe option. If public transport, walking, or carpooling are safe and accessible for you, we encourage participants to organize their own way back. A WTA bus stop is located at the top of the hill just outside of the park, and it runs approximately every 30 mins.
Check this space for Community Partners as they get added:
Sierra Club
Occupy Bellingham
STAND
Community Food Coop
Grassroots Action Whatcom County
ReSources for Sustainable Communities
Veterans for Peace Chapter 111