International Solidarity with the Anvil Hill Action Camp

LONDON RISING TIDE

Hi,

This is a message of support and solidarity from your friends at London Rising Tide, who recognise the amazing work you're doing over there to make a world a saner, more sustainable and more coalless place.

Good luck from everyone at LRT!

www.londonrisingtide.org.uk



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ART NOT OIL - LONDON

Dear Anvil Hill Actioners and Rising Tiders,

Art Not Oil folk in London, England wish you all the best for your get-together and your very necessary campaign. Keep it creative, and keep us posted!

Art Not Oil, London
www.artnotoil.org.uk




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WEST VIRGINA

hello~

saw your email about the coal situation you face in newcastle~ i'm working with folks in southwestern virginia, but we're just getting started up & don't have many photos yet, unfortunately! but i'm glad this has opened up lines of communication between our regions~ i've heard a little bit about what's happening in australia but definitely need more education. likewise, i'd like to tell you more about what's happening in virginia; unfortunately i'm on a public computer & my time is limited right now!

well, hope to write more soon! take care,

in lak'ech
(i am another you)
-colleen

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KATUAH EARTH FIRST (USA)

To the Anvil Hill campaign & Newcastle Rising Tide

Greetings from Katuah (the Cherokee Indian name for the southern Appalachian Bio-Region of the southeastern united police states of ameriKKKa). Here, we too are fighting King Coal-to stop him from carrying out further devastation in the form of mountain top removal. The bastards clearcut the trees off the mountains, blow the tops off them, shovel the debris into the valleys & streams-all to get at thin seams of coal. Check out:

katuahearthfirst.org



Also, we do support work for the Traditional Dine' (aka "Navajo") Indians in northeastern Arizona-where King Coal (Peabody Coal, in this case) wants to expand his strip mine-the largest in North America (possibly the entire world)-and is colluding w/ the u.s. govt to forcibly relocate Traditional Dine' families from their ancestral homelands on Black Mesa (can U say "cultural genocide?"). Check out:

blackmesais.org



We stand in solidarity with U!

King Coal-OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!

For the Earth, Life, & Eco-Revolution;
A. Storm Warning

--
Storm Waters
Katuah Earth First!
Rising Tide North America
www.risingtidenorthamerica.org


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SAVE HAPPY VALLEY, AOTEAROA (NEW ZEALAND)

Kia ora koutou
Good on you for all for standing up against ever increasing coal extraction. We also work to stop a proposed coal mine, in the nationally significant ecosystem of Happy Valley on the West Coast of the South Island, Aotearoa / NZ.

By stopping these proposed mines, we will all be ensuring world leading steps away from our dependence on fossil fuels. Our campaigns have shown that it'll be the wider public and grassroots action that will be the reason for a shift towards a more just future, not the politicos in Parliament who serve the dollar.

We support and admire the stance that your communities are taking against corporate destruction of the environment in the name of profit. If there is any NZ support you need, let us know. The companies display a rampant disregard for anybody and anything except money – but our groups are unified in our resistance. Stand strong!

www.savehappyvalley.org.nz




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NORFOLK AND NORWICH CAMPAGIN AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

I wish you every success with your action against the further expansion of the Australian coal industry.  We all know what a dirty polluting fuel coal is and the dangers of its increased exploitation as the world runs out of oil cannot be overstated.  Only by direct action are we going to bring issues like this to the attention of the general public and get more widespread support for measures to prevent catastrophic climate change.
 
Here in Norfolk we have a group affiliated to the Campaign against Climate Change.  Air travel is a particular issue here as the increase in cheap flights around Europe is leading to a dramatic increase in emissions from this industry.  I have enclosed a couple of photos from a demo we had in May in the centre of Nowrich when we sought to highlight the damage flying does (the pile of coal outside the Norwich airport shop represents the emissions from one persons flight to Europe) and the risks rising sea levels would have for much of the low lying land in our county.
 
Best of luck
 
Mark Crutchley
Norfolk and Norwich Campaign against Climate Change




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ROSSPORT SOLIDARITY CAMP, MAYO IRELAND

Hope all is going well for you at the moment. Good luck with your action camp, sounds great!
All the best - Rossport Solidarity Camp

Action camp huge success

The Anvil Hill Action camp was a huge success with around 40- 60 people each day - doing a wide range of workshops ranging from campaign strategy and media through to direct action, climbing and blockading techniques.

Five days of training and skill-sharing for people taking action against climate change - 4-8 October 2006

Wednesday 4th – Friday 6th:Three days direct action workshops, skill shares, practical sessions & action!
Saturday 7th – Sunday 8th: Tour of Anvil Hill, workshops, discussions about the campaign, media & strategy training – and a good old BBQ & bushwalk.

Download the draft programme
For last minute transport arrangements: call Rob on 0428 541 056

Where?
In the Hunter Valley near Anvil Hill and the town of Denman.

Please register by 23rd September.
Download the registration & information form as a pdf file or as a word file (Note: if you can't open the document, try right clicking and choose the download option)

For more information, please email: anvilhillaction@riseup.net

Anvil Hill Action Camp 2006

4-8 October, 2006

The port of Newcastle is already the world's largest coal exporter. The proposed new coal mine at Anvil Hill will add another 9 million tonnes of coal each year - driving the world ever closer to catastrophic climate change. It is time to draw a line in the sand. This camp is being organised for and by people who care deeply about our future, and who want to take effective action to prevent dangerous climate change.

WHAT?
Five days of training and skill-sharing for people taking action against climate change!

Wednesday 4th – Friday 6th:Three days direct action workshops, skill shares, practical sessions & action!

Saturday 7th – Sunday 8th:Tour of Anvil Hill, workshops, discussions about the campaign, media & strategy training – and a good old BBQ & bushwalk.

Come for the whole 5 days or just for the weekend.

WHERE?
In the Hunter Valley near Anvil Hill and the town of Denman (3 hours drive north of Sydney, 2 hours west of Newcastle). Directions will be sent out when you register
 
WHY?
Because climate change is the biggest threat to our future…because coal fuels climate change …because Newcastle is the largest coal exporter in the world…because the proposed new coal mine at Anvil Hill will produce 9 million tonnes of coal each year and will drive the expansion of Newcastle's coal export infrastructure …because the mine will have massive local environmental and social impacts… because we need to act urgently to prevent dangerous climate change…because it is time to draw a line in the sand and say NO to the mine at Anvil Hill.

The proposed mine is rapidly becoming the focus of a campaign by a broad coalition of groups concerned about it’s impact on the local environment and the global climate. Anvil Hill is the largest intact stand of remnant vegetation on the Central Hunter Valley floor, and, at a time when global greenhouse pollution needs to be cut swiftly and radically, consumption of fossil fuels like coal needs to be phased out as fast as possible.

Throughout history, non-violent civil disobedience has been used again and again to triumph over injustice. From the anti-slavery movement, through the women’s and civil rights movements, non-violent direct action has been a potent tool – and it is a tool that we need more than ever in the fight against climate change.

This camp is about sharing skills and stories. It’s a camp for people of all ages and from all walks of life. It’s about creating a strong, diverse community of people who are confident and inspired to take power into their own hands, in their own communities to take effective action to stop climate change and the proposed Anvil Hill coal mine.

 

PROVISIONAL WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

• Wednesday: 10am-5pm: Overview of the global movement to prevent climate change, theories of social change, non-violent direct action workshops;
  
• Thursday: 9am-5pm: Planning effective actions, blockading techniques, legal issues for activists, climate change, coal & clean energy alternatives;
  
• Friday: 9am-5pm: Political strategy & lobbying, overview of hunter coal chain, campaign strategy, planning effective actions, blockading skills;
  
• Saturday:10am-5pm:Traditional owners welcome to country at Anvil Hill, overview of Anvil Hill campaign, bushwalk near proposed mine sitel, BBQ and social gathering;
  
• Sunday: 9am:5pm: Workshops – using the media for effective campaigning + campaign strategy, civil disobedience as a tool for social change, where to from here for the Anvil Hill campaign.

Note:     There will be open space sessions every day with lots of opportunity for skillsharing and spontaneous discussions & workshops. If you have workshops you’d like to offer, please e-mail us at: anvilhillaction@riseup.net

COST
Costs include all meals, tea and coffee etc.
Waged:    $15 per day
Unwaged:    $10 per day

Note: If you can’t manage this cost, please contact us to see if we can sort out some kind of exchange so that no-one is excluded from participating.

FOOD,  ACCOMMODATION & OTHER CAMP INFO
• Accommodation will be camping. So you will need to bring your own tent and sleeping gear;
• In order to keep costs low, a communal kitchen will be set up, with rosters for cooking and washing up etc. We’ll be sourcing food from organic and local farms where possible;
• Children are welcome to attend but will need to be supervised;
• Sorry but you can not bring dogs;
• Transport will be available from Muswellbrook & Newcastle stations and minibuses from Sydney & Melbourne. Please see details on the website closer to the event.
• Please note: the camp will be a drug and alcohol free event.
•
GET INVOLVED
The camp cooking, housekeeping and decisions will have input form all the participants. Have a workshop or skill to share? Want to help get the camp together? Want to help with the Kids area? or facilitation?  Want to come early and help set up & get to know the amazing bush surrounding the proposed mine site? Please email the organising collective. anvilhillaction{at}riseup.net

Please register by Friday 23rd of September so we can plan food & transport.

Come for the 5 days... or just for the  weekend. Families are welcome.  Look forward to seeing you there!