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Responding to a call to action by Stop the Pave and numerous endorsing organizations, well over a hundred people of all ages from around the lower mainland rallied in Delta on Friday and set up an ongoing camp in the middle of a South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) worksite.

"As a mom, I think it's important to say that we're taking this history and teaching it to our kids, to take that forward," explained Surrey resident, mother, and organizer PJ Lilley, speaking of a return to grassroots 'Mother Earth Day' action.

Those present from surrounding neighbourhoods and Nations highlighted numerous issues and impacts related to the proposed freeway, including ecological destruction, the effects of increased emissions on children's health and the climate, forced expropriations of homes, and the threat of further desecration to sacred areas protecting thousands of years of local Indigenous history.

"We cannot make mistakes today that will so damage Mother Earth tomorrow," Bertha Williams, a grandmother and longtime grassroots Tsawwassen Nation activist, stated emphatically before the rally marched down River Road to set up. "The devastation will be irreparable and irreplaceable."

A few hundred metres in either direction of the colourful barricades, the immediate impacts of the preliminary preparatory work for the SFPR are visible. Clearcutting is encroaching on areas down below where streams flow into the Fraser river, as well as on childrens' playgrounds in neighbourhood yards up above. Stacks of logged trees dot sections of the planned roadway.

"We're saddened by the losses we've already sustained," Lilley explained to the gathering in Delta. "We're here to say enough!"

VMC coverage:

Day 1: Putting the Barricades Back in Earth Day, by Dawn Paley & photos by Murray Bush.

Day 2: Camp on the Fraser Continues, Supporters Welcome, by the Vancouver Media Co-op.

The entrance to the camp is located between 10749 and 10739 River Road, Delta.