Next Camp for Climate Action NSW meeting: Helensburgh Saturday July 4th

Address: Helensburgh Community Centre, 26 Walker St, Helensburgh.

Directions: The Helensburgh
Community Centre is close to Helensburgh train station on the South
Coast line.  Some people will be catching the 9:40am train from Central
station, arriving at Helensburgh at 10:32am.  Download the timetable here. 
It's about a 2km walk, so enjoy it or bring a bike, or we'll also be
ferrying people to and from the station.  Check out the map here (you can also see the coal mine on the map!)

It would be great to have lots of people along to begin
organising for this important and inspiring gathering and community
action against big polluters!

 

Draft agenda:

1. Acknowledgement of country
2. Introductions (also sharing relevant information about our local coal/transition campaigns)
3. Short briefing about the mine: climate change, coking coal and steel-making, and water impacts.
4. Climate Camp organising so far: a recap for new folks
5. Check in on tasks from last meetings
6. Reportbacks from working groups (such as Communications, Outreach, Action) and meeting in these small groups.
7. Climate Camp collective and local Traditional Owners: working together
8. How can we make camping accessible to a range of people?  What are some of the barriers people may experience?
9. Fundraising, budget, finance!
10. Timeline and tasks.

Feedback or suggestions for other agenda items to holly.creenaune@foe.org.au

 

The Climate Camp NSW 2009 organising group meets for once a month,
on
a Saturday or Sunday (to avoid regular weeknight meetings).  There are
also be working groups that meet face-to-face or on the phone
between monthly meetings you can get involved in. 

If you can RSVP before the meeting, that would be
great.  Also, if you have any questions or know of ways we can support
your participation
(eg. coming to meetings with children) please contact holly.creenaune@foe.org.au / 0417
682 541.

There
are big and small roles in the organising for Climate Camp 2009. 
Please have a think about how you and your group/organisation can
contribute to making Climate Camp a fantastic success!

Cheers,

Holly

Background

At Australia's Climate Action Summit in Canberra
this Summer, people from over 150 community climate change groups
decided to organise three day Climate Direct Action Camps at
polluting infrastructure in each state.   There are currently folks
organising in South and Western Australia, and in Victoria for a range
of community campaigns and civil disobedience at polluting
infrastructure!

Last year, at the Camp for Climate Action, over one thousand people peacefully blockaded the world's largest coal exporting port in Newcastle.  Five
hundred people from coal communities, unions, climate change groups,
faith groups and students participated in five days of sustainable
camping, participatory decision-making, strategy and campaigning
workshops, non-violent direct action skillshares, a huge human sign,
kids' activities, prop making and action planning. 

At the Sunday action, 57 people were arrested; and all coal trains
to Carrington port were
successfully halted the day. The ABC 7.30 Report stated, while showing
footage of Climate Camp, the battle lines in Australia's climate change
debate had been redrawn.  We learnt that we can stop the reckless
expansion of the polluting
coal industry; but we have a lot of work to begin together.

In
2009, the Camp for Climate Action will be three inspiring days of
workshops, sustainable living and grassroots direct action from October
9 -11th; aimed at stopping the expansion of Australia’s oldest coal
mine in Helensburgh, forty minutes south of Sydney. 

The Metropolitan Colliery is Australia’s oldest coal mine.  The
time for dirty coal has passed: join us at the Camp for Climate Action
for clean energy future.