As part of its campaign to keep shale gas deposits in the ground, campaign group Reclaim the Power will be kicking off a two-week campaign with local groups across Britain, aiming to bring together information on the industry’s latest plans and operations.

The tour, which will visit campaigns in the areas around York, Retford, Darlington, Wigan, Lytham St Annes and Northwich before finishing in the Next to Nowhere building in Liverpool, comes after Scotland opened a major public consultation into fracking north of the border. Holyrood imposed a temporary moratorium on fracking in 2015.

Ahead of the tour, campaigners in Nottingham will be mobilising to protect one of the newer sites to have been put under threat — Sherwood Forest. The iconic ancient woodlands are one of several sites being targeted by multinational Ineos, which has quietly been negotiating with the Forestry Commission since August. The protest, organised by Frack Free Nottinghamshire and Frack Free Sherwood Forest and Edwinstowe, is happening on February 18th between 12pm and 2pm around Major Oak, famous in folklore as the tree Robin Hood and his Merry Men slept under.

In a statement, Reclaim the Power said:

After years of being pushed back by community efforts to oppose fracking, the extreme energy industry is still pressing ahead with plans to extract shale gas and other unconventional fossil fuels across the UK. Meanwhile, other fossil fuel extraction sites are still receiving planning permission despite government pledges to phase out fossil fuels in the Paris Agreement made in December 2015.

With commercial-scale fracking sites such as Preston New Road in Lancashire having recently become operational, Reclaim the Power is teaming up with local campaigners to discuss what strategies and tactics could be most effective to oppose these destructive industries. We will discuss:

The latest plans from the fracking and coal industries to extract fossil fuels in the UK

What is direct action, and how can it be a powerful tactic to help communities achieve change

What we can learn from previous direct action campaigns against environmentally destructive projects such as the Franklin River Dam campaign, and Bentley Blockade against fracking in Australia

What might direct action against the fossil fuel industry look like here in the UK

How we can coordinate our actions to stop these dirty industries in their tracks

Plans you can join in to take down the fracking industry in 2017

Keeping It In the Ground – Mobilisation Tour

Monday 20 February: York, 7pm start

Address: Room D/L/002, Derwent College, University of York Labour Club, University Road, York, YO10 5DD

York Facebook Event. Download York flyer



Thursday 23 February: Retford, 6pm start (6pm for food beforehand, 7pm for event)

Address: Labour Hall, Retford, DN22 6EG

Retford Facebook event. Download Retford flyer



Monday 27 February: Darlington, 7pm start

Address: The Forum Music Centre, Borough Road, Darlington DL1 1SG

Darlington facebook event. Download Darlington flyer



Tuesday 28 February: Wigan, 7pm start

Address: Sunshine House Community Centre, Wellington St, Wigan WN1 3SA

Wigan Facebook Event. Download Wigan flyer



Wednesday 1 March: Lytham St Annes, 7pm start

Address: The Pavilion Cafe, Ashton Gardens, St Georges Road, Lytham St Annes, FY8 2AE

Lytham St Annes Facebook event. Download Lytham St Annes flyer



Thursday 2 March: Northwich, 7pm start

Address: The Venue, Gadbrook Road, Rudheath, Northwich, CW9 7JL

Northwich Facebook event. Download Northwich flyer



Friday 3 March: Liverpool, 6.30pm start (6.30pm for food beforehand, 7.30pm for event)

Address: Next To Nowhere Social Centre, Basement, 96 Bold Street, Liverpool L1 4HY

Liverpool facebook event. Download Liverpool flyer

If you would like to co-organise a similar event in your area please contact info [@] reclaimthepower.org.uk