MESSAGE FROM EVERGLADES EARTH FIRST!
Hey!
Thanks for getting in touch regarding the 2009 Everglades Uprising...Please read the information below for details about the camp and please fill out the questionnaire.
The organizing collective of the 2009 Everglades Uprising look forward to helping facilitate workshops, outings, actions, coalition building, and an empowered camping space in which to further grassroots struggle against Empire in Florida and beyond. It is important that we carry our values with us into camp and that they manifest in very concrete ways. Mutual Aid, Participation, Opposition to All Forms of Oppression, and heaping doses of Respect and Love underlie our goals towards effective resistance. First the dishes then the revolution!
You will need to bring your own camping gear, be prepared for cold fronts that do slip through this far south on occasion. The first three days will include some basic facilities, such as running water, toilets and indoor kitchen space. The following two weeks, which we are calling 'base camp', will be primitive tent camping, requiring a more intense level of involvement from all participants. You are welcome to participate in some or all activities, but please note that this is a building process; the later you arrive the less time you will have for your input to be incorporated into the overall direction and strategy of camp.
If you would prefer to pay for indoor lodging, please consider the Seminole Inn in Indiantown: www.SeminoleInn.com
Upon receipt of the questionnaire below, we will be sending out location directions, tentative workshop schedule, kitchen menu and other updates. The event is free and open to all, but will be held on private land. We are requesting responses to the below questions so that we will have an idea about the numbers and experience-levels of expected participants.
Kids are most welcome and childcare assistance will be available. Pets are also welcome, but their human-friends must assume complete responsibility at all times. There will be swimming and wading opportunities onsite, but please be aware that we will be co-habitating with some gators.
QUESTIONS
How did you hear about the gathering?
How long will you be staying? (Please specify dates)
What are you intending to contribute to the gathering? (Please be specific: talents, resources, etc.)
What are you hoping to learn or gain from the gathering? (Again, please be specific)
Are you willing to participate in camp chores? (Such as: cooking, cleaning, and gathering supplies)
Will you be bringing transportation? (Car, bus, truck, bike, etc)
Do you have any particular needs that we can assist with?
KITCHEN
Food donations towards community kitchen are appreciated, especially staple items. We will be reliant on this food for the duration of the base camp. Let us know if you have serious food allergies.
EVERGLADES UPRISING ASSAULT POLICY
* No abuse or assault will be tolerated. If you or someone you know has a history of violence or violation, or a current conflict that puts the gathering's safety at risk please bring it to the mediation team ASAP.
Furthermore, in an effort to have an event Free of Assault*, the organizing collective support the following policy:
1. We will have a mediation group at the event to address issues that arise at camp including concerns around assault.
2. At the opening circle we will encourage individuals with a history of assault to voluntarily come forward and share with the camp what they are doing to be accountable for their actions. This is not a time to "out" people for their behaviors; it is a space for perpetrators of assault to be actively transparent and accountable.
3. Anyone who feels unsafe at the event due to a past experience with another attendee is encouraged to talk with the mediation team and determine if the perpetrator should be requested to leave the event.
4. We have ZERO tolerance for assault at the Everglades Uprising Camp. If you are identified as having assaulted someone at camp you will be immediately told to leave the gathering. We will not spend time debating the degree or intention of the assault. Our first concern is for the welfare and health of survivors of assault.
* Definition of assault: a violent physical (including sexual) or verbal attack: a threat or attempt to inflict offensive physical or bodily harm or unwanted sexual contact on a person that puts the person in immediate danger of or in apprehension of such harm or contact
See you in the swamps,
Everglades Earth First! Collective
send responses to: EvergladesEarthFirst@gmail.com
Please look at our website: http://evergladesearthfirst.org
