The camp for Climate Action took back the city of London in a massive swoop yesterday. Keeping the location for the camp a secret until the last moment, The Climate Camp 2009 revealed Blackheath Common, London as the site. All the Swoopers were communicated the site through mass-texting service and Climate Camp Twitter. The ‘swoop’ is an enigmatic event, which aims to change the way we treat our environment. The Camp gathers climate-friendly people and offers workshops covering things like Tai Chi, student activism, DIY radio, pedal-powered sound systems, singing and dancing.
The Climate Camp’s earlier events
In 2006, at least 600 climate change activists gathered setting up a temporary protest camp outside a Drax coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire. Keeping up to the growing expectation, the leaderless group chose the perimeter fence of Heathrow as the place to pitch their tents in the year 2007. Last year, the Climate campers positioned their weeklong series of workshops, communal festivities and protests at a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth in Kent.
Why London this year?
The Climate Campers have targeted London to set up their camp this year. The primary reason for focusing on London is that they consider it the root cause of climate change. London is the hub of climate business, a representation of the unsuccessful political and economic systems that are causing catastrophe. London’s tall building and flood plains also accounted in making it a site of concern to the Climate Campers.
The Camp is open to all who are concerned about the environment. The weeklong camp will conduct climate and economics educational workshops, sustainable living and direct action discussion and training. The event educating and preventing us from reaching the edge of environmental meltdown will end on September 2.