Wake Up The Earth - Kick-off rally

Last Sunday, May 22nd, there was a "Wake Up The Earth" rally at Collins Cove. The event was based on the Wake Up The Earth festival in Boston, but was considerably smaller. Protesters concerned with overbuilding and wetlands conservation held signs and gathered signatures for a petition to be delivered to the Salem City Council. Stacia Kraft (https://www.staciakraft.com), local activist and former city council candidate, created the event which featured a band, The Party Band from Lowell (https://www.partybandlowell.com), and puppets from the Boston Puppet Library. The music, signs and masks helped give the event a festive feeling as volunteers gathered signatures for the petition.

Development on and around wetlands and other undeveloped nature areas around Salem have long been a contention between city government, builders, and citizens. Many feel that the addition of more buildings on natural lands, including wetlands, encroaches on the open space available to residents and local wildlife. Event attendees also pointed out that building on wetlands can be a recipe for disaster from the standpoint of building safety and structural integrity. The petition is to be delivered to the Salem City Council, where it is hoped to add voices to the discussions about development in Salem and hopefully sway a council member or two.

This is just one of several such protests over the years, and there are likely to be more in the future as the struggle between developers and citizen conservators of open and wetland areas continues.