53 miles to Ithaca

I remember my first day on the Climate March like it was yesterday. I was dropped off at the Taos visitor's center where I was to meet up with the Marchers, who were arriving into the city from their day's walk. Hail was falling from an angry grey sky and the cold wind bit right through my clothes. I went inside the visitor center to take shelter while I waited.

Faces and Stories

In Fort Garland, Colorado, we had a stay day and camped for two nights across the street from the old fort, which is now a museum. On the second day locals came to visit us at the museum, and we spoke to each other and watched a documentary together.

That day I gave a speech (which you can view here), and afterward many people approached me individually and told me how much I had inspired them and how much my words had resonated with their own lives. I was deeply touched, and all I could say in response was how they were the inspiring ones, not me.

Fort Garland was my first one-on-one interaction with locals along the route since starting my journey in Taos, NM. In my speech, which was unplanned, I told them about what was happening at my own home with the threat of dangerous gas storage looming over my lake. After telling my story, I made a promise I had not expected to make — I told the people of Fort Garland that just as I had given them my story, I would take their stories and carry them with me as I walked. Their stories have renewed my passion, and I want to share some of them here.

Pushing it to the Limits

On the walk, we have a few personal vehicles, which are used as “sag wagons” or “blister buses.” They provide support for the marchers throughout the day of walking, either by giving them water or gear. If someone can’t go any further, they get in one of the sag wagons, and if the vehicle fills up the carful of people are driven to camp to be dropped off.

There are some people on the march who are called spirit walkers. This means they walk every single step of the march that they signed up for. Got blisters? Doesn’t matter, walk on them. Break a toe? Well, here’s a pair of crutches. Keep going. 

Mack, a spirit walker, broke his toe a while back, but that doesn't stop him.

While I wasn’t necessarily sure if “spirit walking” was what I wanted to call it, I had ambitions to walk every step of my path, from Taos to D.C., as well. I have quickly discovered that this is easier said than done, and I have a long way to go in developing both my physical and mental strength.

Two Practice Walks

As I walk across the country in the Great March for Climate Action I will be blogging about my adventures here on Viridorari and also for my school's newspaper (http://theithacan.org/blog/one-step-at-a-time/). Also, follow me on Twitter and Instagram for smaller updates and pictures! My Twitter handle is @viridorari and my Instagram username is bluegirl3666

If this is the first time you've heard of the Climate March, please check out www.climatemarch.org for lots of useful information. The Climate March is a cross country march from California to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness about change. It began on March 1st in Wilmington, CA and will conclude on November 1st in our nation's capital. After finishing my spring semester of college, I am joining the Climate March in Taos, New Mexico and walking the remaining 2,000 miles to Washington, D.C. The approximately 300 people who have signed up to participate, either for the whole thing or for sections, will walk at a pace of about 15 miles each day.

While I did some small hikes at State Parks during the spring semester, I only managed to get two full practice walks in before leaving, each 15 miles. It was a LOT harder than I expected it to be. By the end of each walk my feet were on fire and everything from my hips down were horribly sore. I should have gotten more practice walks in before leaving, but I had only about a week and half between coming home from college and my plane to New Mexico, and that's not a lot of time to tie all your loose ends down for six months!

For my practice walks, I used the Erie Canal Trail and walked from Macedon to Fairport and back. For my first walk, my boyfriend, Bruno, joined me.

Climate March Update #2

Hello readers! I have another fundraising update for you.

I have received my first gold and silver sponsorships! Ron and RoseMarie, who participated in the Keystone XL sit-in with me over the summer, are my first silver sponsors. My grandmother, Cindy, is my first gold sponsor. Thank you so much for your generous contributions to my cause!

A silver sponsor donates 50 cents for each day I march, or $81, and a gold sponsor donates $1 for each day I march, or $162. If you're interested in becoming a sponsor, email me at viridorari@yahoo.com. You can donate to my cause directly any time at http://www.crowdrise.com/FaithMeckleyTaosNM-DC

Thank you to friends and family who donated to my cause instead of getting me a physical present this Christmas! My dad is donating by taking me out to buy equipment I will need for my march. Thanks, Dad!

So far, I have sold 22 bracelets! Help me get rid of the other 178. They cost $2. If you're interested in buying one, or you know a business that might be willing to sell them at their check-out counters, email me and let me know!

My dad wearing his Climate March bracelet

Picture courtesy of: Me

I have received a couple of orders for items out of the Nature's Vision fundraising catalog. Give the catalog a looksie here and email me if you'd like to order anything.

I am currently working on writing out sponsorship request letters to companies. I hope to send them out within the next week! If you know a company or own a company that might be interested in sponsoring me, email me and let me know. 

Remember, if you want to receive postcards as I walk across the country, email me and let me know. There is a suggested $15 donation to cover the costs of your cards and postage. Please keep this donation separate from any other donations you make, and DO NOT donate your postcard money onto my Crowdrise site.

Thank you everyone who has supported me and who will support me! Have a very happy New Year! If you're looking for ways to be greener in the New Year, check out this post.

I am walking 2,000 miles for the planet

I have some very exciting news. While at the Powershift conference in Pittsburgh, PA this past October, I signed up to march a section of the Great March for Climate Action, or the Climate March. The march begins in California in March of 2014, and plans to arrive in Washington D.C. in the following November.

Originally, I planned to only walk from Pittsburgh, PA to D.C. Since I signed up, plans have changed. Now, I am starting in Taos, New Mexico immediately following the end of my spring semester of college. That means I will be walking about 2,000 miles over the course of six months across the country to raise awareness for the global climate crisis and the urgent need for action.

I can’t tell you how excited I am. I will be following in the footsteps of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., women’s rights activists, and nuclear disarmament activists. Yet, my fellow marchers and I will be carving out a path very separate from them. We are fighting a different fight from what our predecessors did, and our work to save the planet might prove to be the most important movement in all of history. We only have one Earth; we can’t afford to ruin it.

I am thrilled to be walking with so many inspiring and amazing people, with ages ranging from 6 to 82 and origins from all over America, as well as El Salvador, Canada, Belize, and Ecuador.

 

Picture courtesy of: http://yellowmaps.com/map/united-states-printable-map-468.htm 

Fundraising

However, I can’t simply join this cause for free. Each marcher is expected to cover his or her own expenses through fundraising, which equates to about $20 for each day we march. I have to raise about $3,800 for my section of the march, as well as the cost for my one-way plane ticket to New Mexico, and a little bit of extra to have on hand for spending/emergencies. Overall, my goal is to raise $4,500.

I need your help to make my dream to stand up for the world we love to come true. I would be eternally grateful if you could contribute to my fundraising in some way, no matter how big or small.