Callout For Gathering Workshops!!

Callout For Gathering Workshops!!

This year’s EarthFirst! summer gathering will take place between 31st August and 1st September 2022. We are looking forward to getting things rolling again after two years without a gathering, welcoming people back with five days of skill-sharing, networking, planning, and re-grouping at a secret location in the Southwest.

While lots of people and groups are talking about ecological degradation and climate catastrophe at the moment, it’s more important than ever for EF! to provide eco-anarchist perspectives, drawing the connections between social and ecological domination, and the role of the state and capitalism.

We want to see all the old EF faces, the enviromental movement needs a sense of continuity now more than ever. We also want to welcome in new people, there are so many folks out there who’ve gotten involved with ecological defense and direct action over the last few years. We see this gathering as a great opportunity to bring people together and push forwards a radical, anarchist perspective on environmental issues.

EF! is a grassroots space for skill sharing and networking – we want your skills, knowledge and perspectives! In the past we have had workshops on a wide range of stuff, from online security to
mass catering, from nighttime navigation skills to retrospectives on Twyford Down and SHAC.

We are particularly interested this year in workshops looking at abolition and transformative justice.

If you have an idea for a workshop you’d like to give at this years gathering, please email us at earthfirstuk@riseup.net
We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Love&Rage
The Programming Collective

EF! Summer Gathering 2022August 28, 2022
Practical info Overview info Anti-oppression Kids Space Location information: Bridge Farm, next to Old Flaxmill, Flaxdrayton Farm, South Petherton, TA13 5LR https://maps.app.goo.gl/D1k9b24QXwAmKFLb9 The nearest train stations are Yeovil Junction, Crewkerne and Castle Cary. (Check for bus replacement on Sunday if you’re bringing a bike) Public transport info: Train to Yeovil Pen Mill (on Bristol-Weymouth line) or Yeovil Junction (Waterloo-Exeter line) Number 68 bus from both stations to Yeovil bus station (Pen Mill is also easy walking distance from bus station, Junction is 2 miles south of town), this bus is half-hourly except … Continue reading "EF! Summer Gathering 2022"
The 2022 workshop programmeAugust 25, 2022
Get packing – you don’t want to miss this! Here’s the 2022 workshop programme – it will most certainly change, but for now that’s what you can expect, and more!
Rebel, rebel!July 27, 2022
In recent years there has been an explosion of activity in the climate movement in the UK. It’s inspiring to see so many determined to take action on climate change and committing themselves to fiercely defending nature. Extinction Rebellion (XR) in particular has brought in thousands of new people, shifted public opinion, and reignited a movement. There has also been exciting movement within XR, increasingly targeting those in the corporate media and fossil industries causing the problem rather than just creating public disruption. But it seems that some important lessons from the past have been forgotten. We know some of … Continue reading "Rebel, rebel!"
Roll Back The Tracks Bike RideJune 25, 2021
What do you need to bring? – bicycle 🙂 – bicycle panniers – tent, sleeping mat and sleeping bag – headlamp/flashlight – power bank for charging electronics – bottles for carrying drinking water – a sealable tupperware for carrying food and eating out of, mug and cutlery – toiletries and medication – clothes to stay warm and dry – first aid kit – a basic cycle repair kit if you have one – banners and flags to attach to your bike! (no XR banners please) – cash for donations for food. We are looking into continuing the bike ride along … Continue reading "Roll Back The Tracks Bike Ride"
Two Coal Mines In North East England Shutdown By ProtestsAugust 19, 2019
ACTIVISTS UNDER THE BANNER OF EARTH FIRST! TAKE ON COAL MINING IN THE NORTH EAST OF ENGLAND. TWO COAL MINES SHUT DOWN! In the early hours of this morning, activists from the North East,around the UK and abroad entered and occupied machinery in Field House mine and blockaded Schotton mine to stop them from continuing to dig up coal, destroying the surrounding environment and contributing to the climate catastrophe. Opencast coal mining is strongly resisted in the “desolate North”, anarea that has become a sacrifice zone for continued economic growth atthe cost of the global climate, local environment and community … Continue reading "Two Coal Mines In North East England Shutdown By Protests"
Trees Under Threat Across The CountryAugust 3, 2018
This year has seen an huge intensification in the battle to save Sheffield’s trees as the council pushes forward with a plan to fell 17,500 out of 36,000 trees on Sheffield’s streets by 2037. The programme is part of a Private Finance (PFI) contract with private firm Amey PLC. The resulting residents led campaign, which has included a significant amount of direct action, has temporarily halted felling but the council seems hell bent on restarting as soon as they can get away with it. The battle to save Sheffield’s trees appears to be the tip of a very large iceberg. … Continue reading "Trees Under Threat Across The Country"
New Nuclear Threat: Hinkley and Wylfa Just The BeginningAugust 3, 2018
While “nuclear” feels so last century the reality could easily be the other way round, the with the 21st century seeing a whole phase of even more risky nuclear development, if a new wave of nuclear reactors is not stopped. With dwindling fossil fuel reserves and capital’s demand for unending economic growth, it is all hands on deck to plug the growing gap between current energy sources and the exponential energy demands of the industrial system. Fracking, biomass and new nuclear are all being driven by the same underlying dynamic, which could easily see a proliferation of new reactors if … Continue reading "New Nuclear Threat: Hinkley and Wylfa Just The Beginning"
Extreme Mining: Small Deposit And Seabed Mining Threats GrowingAugust 3, 2018
While anyone who is aware of the destructive nature of some of the worlds largest mines may think that mining is pretty extreme already, it seems that as with many other components of industrial civilisation, the only way is down. Fracking and other unconventional energy extraction methods are being driven by a process, extreme energy, which is far from unique. Industrial civilisation has preferentially targeted the easiest to extract energy resources first, but as those have been successively exhausted the system has blindly moved on to target increasingly more difficult to extract resources. A similar process has been playing out … Continue reading "Extreme Mining: Small Deposit And Seabed Mining Threats Growing"
Fracking Update: A New Phase Of The Struggle BeginningAugust 3, 2018
As the fracking industry marshals its forces for intensified assault on communities across the British Isles, here is a look at the current state of the threat across the country and what the industry is planning in the coming months. How we got here The last decade has seen an explosion in oil and gas drilling as conventional, easy to extract, hydrocarbons have become harder to find and the system has been forced to resort to new more aggressive extraction techniques. While oil prices are currently well below their 2008 peak, and new drilling has been stalled in many places, … Continue reading "Fracking Update: A New Phase Of The Struggle Beginning"
New Roads Threat: The “Expressway” To HellAugust 3, 2018
Plans for the largest road-building programme in a generation, since the 1990s road protests killed off the last one, are quietly gathering steam and widespread resistance is sorely needed to stem this tide. To the extent that this new attack on our countryside differs from previous incarnations, it is mostly in being more specifically linked to other forms of destructive development along the targeted routes. As such these new road pose an even greater threat per mile than the usual carving up more countryside, increased traffic and air pollution etc. Hundreds of miles of new roads, costing billions of pounds, … Continue reading "New Roads Threat: The “Expressway” To Hell"