350Vermont is creating a five-day, 53-mile sacred walk for climate justice, called Next Steps. Together we will celebrate solutions to the climate crisis already underway, while also grieving the pipeline, ecosystem destruction, and the ever-growing, multi-faceted injustices of the “Industrial Growth Society.” We invite you to take this journey with us to deepen our connections with each other and the land.
Our plan is to walk from Middlebury to Montpelier, April 5 to 9, 2019. Along the way, we’ll witness the pipeline’s impact on land and lives and witness the creative solutions and changes being implemented — from homesteads to solar panels, from mass transit to mass compost. When we land at the State House in Montpelier, we will escalate our call for a ban on fossil fuel infrastructure. Each day will offer unique opportunities for activism, reflection, and community-building; each day will have a focus connected to place and to healing our world and ourselves.
Why now? we’re walking because we’re in an emergency — a climate emergency, a justice emergency. We’re walking to focus this emergency both for ourselves and the broader community. At this moment, the communities along the Addison County pipeline are at risk because of safety violations by VT Gas. At this moment, legislators are not acting swiftly to pass a ban on fossil fuel infrastructure or other policies commensurate with the crisis at hand. And, also, at this moment, youth are striking across Europe, the Green New Deal is shining brightly, and people across Vermont are seeking fair and equitable alternatives.
Why this walk? especially when the crisis is so urgent? Because creating strong ties between us, the changemakers, are essential in this movement. Because we need to practice working collaboratively in challenging situations. Because we know that our collective power is stronger than our individualist pursuits. Together, we will co-create an interdependent community dedicated to collective liberation, personal transformation, and realizing and reclaiming our power. We’ll share our stories; we’ll listen to each other; we’ll engage in real dialogue and consensus process. We’ll join together in ceremony and shared meals, in silence and in song, with laughter, tears, deep friendship, and blisters.
Curious about joining? We are committed to inclusivity, and all people are welcome in building this beloved Next Steps community. You are welcome to join for one day, five days, or for as many days as you are able. If you are unable to join the walk in body, we invite you to join in spirit – in prayer, in sponsorship, in silent vigil, or in some meaningful act of solidarity. We will also have opportunities for the public to join at our Middlebury send-off, at an outdoor worship ceremony at Geprags Park, and in Montpelier for the final day of action.
Next Steps walking route:
Day 1: Middlebury to Bristol
Reunion: building community and our relationships with each other
Day 2: Bristol to Hinesburg
Resistance: bearing witness to the pipeline
Day 3: Hinesburg to Richmond
Reimagine: shifting consciousness
Day 4: Richmond to Middlesex (Through Waterbury — Monday, April 8)
Recreate: seeking solutions, alternatives, transitions
Day 5: Middlesex to Montpelier
Reform: speaking truth to power