[Diggers350] Nr LEEDS: Stop Burning Trees, Reclaim the Power Camp 8-13 Aug 2024

Tue Aug 6 01:46:27 BST 2024

Reclaim the Power Camp 2024 Info Pack

https://twitter.com/reclaimthepower/status/1819642069377221110

Reclaim the Power is back with a protest camp for 
Climate Justice from 8-13th August. Were a 
decade old direct action network that works in 
solidarity with front-line communities to make 
interventions for a fairer world. (We helped sort 
out Fracking and ran Europes first climate & migrant justice camp).

https://reclaimthepower.org.uk/drax-climate-camp/

Join us for 5 days of workshops, communal living 
and organising for a day of action. There will be 
a kids space, wheelchair adaptions and attendance is by pay as you feel.
<https://reclaimthepower.org.uk/drax-climate-camp/#join>Join 
the camp <https://reclaimthepower.org.uk/drax-climate-camp/#support>Support

Join the camp

Lift sharing to camp
I would like a lift from my town
I can offer a lift from my town

Date: 8-13th August

The camp will start from the morning of Thursday 
8th August to Tuesday 13th August.
The first and last day will be reserved for 
setting up camp and taking it down. From the 9th 
to 12th August there will be the programmed activities.

Emacs!

Cost

We are asking for voluntary donations from campers to cover food costs.
This year weve been able to cover all our other 
costs through grants and a crowdfunder, but our 
kitchen crews still need your support. Our recommended donation amounts are:
Solidarity  £40
Standard  £25
Low-income/unwaged  £15
If you are able to comfortably do so, please 
consider donating the solidarity amount to help 
make up for all those who cant cover their full 
cost. If you cannot afford to donate £15, thats 
okay  we have a no-one turned away for lack of 
funds policy. These numbers are based on staying 
for the whole camp, so feel free to adjust as you like.

Location: travel to leeds

The camp will be located in Yorkshire, with the 
nearest station for national travellers being 
Leeds. The camp should be around an hour further travelling away.
An exact pin of where the camp is will be 
announced publicly and to everyone who has signed 
up to the camp, on our social media, in any 
internal group chats and to our wider email list.
The site will be a squatted site, likely with 
grass, so we cannot announce the location until 
it has been occupied. There will be a full legal 
guide about what risk is involved in this.
<https://reclaimthepower.org.uk/coaches>Book Coaches From Leeds to Site

ACCESSIBILITY

Read all the access information on 
<https://reclaimthepower.org.uk/drax-climate-camp/access>this 
access and food page, and contact us on 
<mailto:info at reclaimthepower.org.uk>info at reclaimthepower.org.uk 
if you have any more questions.

UNDER-16s POLICY

Anyone under 16 should have an accompanying 
adult. This person does not need to be a 
parent/carer, just an older person you know who 
can watch out for you. 16 and 17 year olds are welcome to come alone.
If anyone under 18 would like support on camp at 
any time from a DBS checked adult, find us in the 
kids space. If you have any questions in the 
lead-up to camp, please email us at 
<mailto:info at reclaimthepower.org.uk>info at reclaimthepower.org.uk.

Dogs

Assistance dogs welcome are welcome on the site. 
Other dogs are discouraged for potential 
livestock and broader participant access reasons. 
Well-behaved dogs on a lead can attend if needed.

Legal Risk

We will have a full legal briefing before the 
camp. Watch this space (and sign up for updates).
For now, make sure you attend any 
<https://greenandblackcross.org/events/>upcoming 
Know your Rights trainings with Green and Black Cross.

Why Target Drax?

Drax is a wood biomass power station located near 
Selby, in Yorkshire. It is a former coal-power 
station that converted to biomass, and now 
<https://www.drax.com/press_release/drax-ends-half-a-century-of-coal-fired-power-generation/#:~:text=25%20April%202023-,Drax%20has%20announced%20that%20almost%2050%20years%20of%20power%20generation,largest%20generator%20of%20renewable%20electricity.>entirely 
burns wood biomass. Drax is the 
<https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/drax-co2-emissions-biomass/>UKs 
single largest carbon emitter and 
<https://www.aquaswitch.co.uk/blog/drax-biomass-power-station/#:~:text=Drax%20Power%20Station%20is%20the,forestry%20industry%20of%20the%20US.>worlds 
biggest tree burner. Their actions have been 
repeatedly linked to 
<https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2022/09/26/drax-accused-environmental-racism-further-pollution-claims-against-wood-pellet-mills-us/>fueling 
environmental racism and causing huge amounts of 
harm to 
<https://novaramedia.com/2023/05/10/the-biggest-renewable-power-plant-in-the-uk-burns-wood-processed-in-poor-black-communities-in-the-us/>communities, 
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63089348>forests 
and 
<https://www.nrdc.org/bio/elly-pepper/bbc-reveals-drax-logging-old-growth-forests-biomass>biodiversity.

This is a very expensive project, and we are 
paying for it. Our bills subsidise Drax by nearly 
£2 million a day, while they made over £1 billion 
in profits in 2023. Drax admits they rely on 
subsidies to survive, and is currently trying to 
get them renewed, so this is a crucial time act.

Drax is neither sustainable or renewable. It 
burns more trees than any other power station in 
the world, and is the UKs largest single source 
of carbon emissions. Drax and the government 
claim that these emissions dont count because 
the trees are grown in other countries, and 
because one day far in the future another tree 
will store that carbon. But its common sense 
that they do count, right here and right now  
they are contributing to catastrophic climate 
breakdown today. We need a real plan for reducing 
emissions, not a fantasy based on false accounting.

On top of that, Drax is toxic and dangerous. Drax 
power station is one of the highest emitters of 
particulate pollution in Europe, which causes 
lung disease and other respiratory problems, and 
it has been accused of endangering the health of 
their workers. The production of wood pellets in 
North America creates dangerous dust and 
pollution, which is destroying the health of 
people in marginalised communities and is a devastating injustice.

Whats on?
We have a packed program of workshops, 
entertainment, games, a kids space, and hopefully 
lots of actions! The full program will be 
released 3 weeks before the camp, and a few 
announcements will be made before then. Make sure 
you are signed up for updates to stay in the loop!
Reclaim the Power is a do-it-yourself space, 
which means everyone who turns up is expected to 
pitch in (according to their ability). Every 
morning there will be a meeting where anyone can 
pick up key work to keep the camp running.

Travel

Cars and vans

The exact location of the camp will be annouced 
on the morning, and the expected region is Yorkshire.
You will not be able to park on site, so please 
expect to have to carry your stuff in bags from 
outside the site. When we have more information 
this page will be updated, but for now we dont 
know how long that walk will be.

Public transport

Ideally, people should arrive to camp via public transport.
The nearest train station to book your tickets to 
will be annouced weeks before the leadup to the camp.

Coaches

If there is enough intersted we can organise 
coaches from cities across the UK. Please fill in this form.

Kids Space

There will be a dedicated kids space open between 
9:00 and 5:30 every day of the camp (excluding 
setup and packdown), where children can be left 
while parents attend the programme etc. This will 
have a programme of kids activities (most likely 
two per day, one aimed at older kids and one 
aimed at younger kids) as well as having some 
toys, games, art materials, etc that are available all the time.

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