Episode 2: Blockades, Balin’s Occupation & The Camps
In episode 2 we get a glimpse of our heroic activists taking some preemptive action by blockading the security guards, who were due to be taken to the sites where the trees are being felled, in the compound they are staying in. You’ll see the use of a tripod which has continued to be a very effective tool for grassroots activists to cause disruption in various settings.
After successfully delaying work for a few days the money was found by the government to throw everything they had at building the road, which meant the bussing in of substantial reinforcements. All is not lost though as we become introduced to Balin and his now famous tripod occupation which rather unexpectedly lasted three full weeks and was rather gruelling to say the least.
As the episode draws to a close, we see that the activists have set up a visitors camp where new grassroot arrivals could get orientated and work out which camp would best suit them. Unsurprisingly, there are an array to choose from depending upon your personal preference, though the level of “comfort” varied from camp to camp. We finish the episode up a huge Scottish pine tree in a treehouse some 140ft up in the air before being introduced to Sunflower Graham and his incredible camp building skills.