Photo credit: Toronto Today
A group of environmentalists, artists, musicians and elders will be carrying a giant globe as they walk 25 kilometres across the city – from Scarborough to Etobicoke – in honour of Earth Day this weekend.
Toronto Today reports that Toronto’s Earth Day Walk will take place on Saturday, and organizers are calling for the provincial government to “triple its renewable energy output, phase out fossil fuel gas and respect Indigenous land rights.”
The walk will start at Bluffer Park Beach in the east end at 6 am with a surprise celebration led by Indigenous elders. The group of walkers will then journey westward across the city to the campfire sculpture at Humber Bay Shore.
As in previous years, walkers will be carrying a four-foot tall Earth globe, designed by artist Nic Blais.
“This has been a terrible, no good, awful year for climate action,” said Liisa Repo-Martell, a founding member of Artists for Real Climate Action, one of the organizers of the walk. “We just felt the kind of drive and need to get back to the streets and bring some theatricality and joy.”
The walk is being organized by 14 local groups, which also include Seniors For Climate Action Now, Toronto East Residents for Renewal Energy and The Red Rebels Toronto.
The group will visit several “re-charging” stations situated along the route, each offering a different activity or event for the public to join.
At Withrow Park between 10:30 am and noon, there will be zine and kite building, and at High Park between 4:45 and 5:45 pm, there will be live music and the chance to hang climate wishes on a ribbon tree.
Repo-Martell said those wanting to join the Earth Day Globe Walk do not have to commit to doing the full 25-kilometre trek- anyone can join for short or long stretches, or can attend activities at a re-charging station.
The organizeers are also aiming to get signatures for a petition calling for the development of a new climate plan for Ontario. They allege the Ford government’s current climate plan “is resulting in rising electricity rates, massive public health harms, and more waste and pollution.
The petition urges the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to create a plan that would focus on renewable energy, phase out reliance on fossil fuels, and uphold free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous people over projects happening on their land.
The Earth Day Globe Walk organizers plan to submit the petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on Earth Day, April 22.
