Report from Dunnellon ‘Water is Life’ House
Pete Ackerman, Palm Beach MM, is one of the activists living at the Water Is Life House in Dunnellon, Florida. The ‘Dunnellon House’ is a regional organizing center for the Water Is Life movement in Florida, which works to stop the Sabal Trail Pipeline and advocate for water protection and conservation in Florida.
Here is Pete’s report to the June SEYM Executive Committee Meeting:
Intro:
It is due to the commitment and support from Gainesville Monthly Meeting that I requested to speak to you today. Thank you for having me.
First a quick statement:
We thank Gainesville Monthly Meeting for their emotional, spiritual and financial support.
We describe ourselves and the movement we are part of as “Protectors,” not “Protestors.” Our tasks and strategies are multi-faceted and include many actions only some of which are “protests.”
Water Is Life Camp, Santa Fe River
Where advocacy encourages incremental change, the urgency of “the Call” demands a segment of the population work on toppling government and social structures which threaten the Planet and are impediments to reforming the indigenous relationships between humans and Nature. It is this work we have been doing since November 2016 in the Florida action camps and continue to do from our strategy House in Dunnellon.
The following is a report of what we have done since SEYM and our workshop on Hierarchy – The Upside Down Pyramid.
April:
- Vigil: Dunnellon Compression Station construction site – SR 200 Dunnellon.
- Painting Class- Crystal River, a class with Highwayman Curtis Arnett
- Divestment Action Bank of America Dunnellon
- Climate March Gainesville
Kaithleen speaking to the Crystal River City Council, urging them to show up in Brooksville to-morrow to speak against the SWFWMD plan to draw down Crystal River and advocating for
strict rules on fertilizer use on land bordering Crystal River.
May:
- Protest – Duke Energy Nuclear Plant and LNG construction, Crystal River
- Court – Solidarity with arrestees, Live Oak
- Advocacy- Stop ROGG Naples Florida Town Hall
- Lecture on Bartram Trial in Gainesville (correspondence Re: William’s Quakerism)
- March – Against Monsanto, Orlando
- Advocacy – SWFWMD Crystal River planned drawdown
- Host – Naples Family during Memorial weekend ( swim in Springs, campfire, memorial service)
- Memorial – James Marker @ SR 200 site Dunnellon
- Report – Gainesville Meeting Peace and Social Justice Committee
- Action – Reunion, Duke Energy Compression Station and Central Hub False arrest of Kaithleen, post $2500 bail.
- Advocacy- Santa Fe River Water Management, Live Oak
- Legal – After months of demands, picked up official files from Florida Highway Patrol, Brooksville RE: the killing of James Marker.
Action on May 20th
Present and Future:
- Continue protection of Springs and Rivers from Government-mandated water drawdowns.
- Continue working with Our Sante Fe River Inc. on fight to stop Phosphate Mine near Branford.
- Continue all actions to end Fossil Fuel Empire in the United States.
- Move forward on larger vision involving community sustainability project – to be discussed.
For Dunnellon House,
Kaithleen Hernandez & Pete Ackerman