ASHFIELD — At least 100 people walked through fog, rain, a bit of hail, and sunshine Thursday during the first leg of what is to be a 46-mile, four-day journey from the site of a proposed Tennessee Gas Pipeline compressor station in Windsor to another compressor station slated for Northfield, should the proposed Northeast Energy Direct gas pipeline become a reality.
Carrying backpacks and “Stop the Pipeline” signs, marchers piled into the Ashfield Congregational Church for a hot meal prepared by the community. After dinner, they headed to Town Hall for a viewing of “How to Let Go of the World and Love all the Things Climate Can’t Change,” followed by a discussion with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Josh Fox.
The group, which marcher Nancy Braus estimated to have been about 120 people over the course of the day, were of all ages and from many different communities.
Dineen O’Rourke, a 20-year-old student from Hampshire College in Amherst , said she planned to walk the full four-day journey. “This walk is a way for us to build power together, so everyone can be motivated, so that, in the future, we can take direct action together.”
When told that many people believe the pipeline is inevitable, O’Rourke said she disagrees. “It’s easy to hear people say this is inevitable, because they’re listening to corporations. Corporate takeover of land protected by the state is not inevitable. We can’t continue to look at all this as inevitable; we have to take action. People are ready to put their bodies on the line.”
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts junior Bridget MacNeill, 16, took the afternoon off from school, with her parents’ permission, to join the march. “I’m hoping I can convince some friends to come later on,” she said.
As the first group of walkers ate casseroles, soup, homemade bread and desserts, a group of five Raging Grannies serenaded them with songs with lyrics tailored to talk about the pipeline.
Raging Granny Jane Johnson of North Amherst rewrote the lyrics of “Amazing Grace” to “Amazing Place,” a song appreciating the Earth.
The march is scheduled to continue Friday from Ashfield, past the cabin built in protest Wednesday on the pipeline route, and on to Shelburne Falls. Marchers will have dinner at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center, hear a concert by Reverend Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir at Cowell Gym, then spend the night at Trinity Church.
The march continues Saturday into Greenfield, where there will be a rally at St. James Episcopal Church, and then on Sunday, a walk from Unity Park in Turners Falls to Northfield.