Frequently Asked Questions
What is Defend the Eno?
Defend the Eno is a grassroots movement of many groups and individuals from Durham and beyond, working together and separately to prevent the forest (describe the forest destruction and develpment plan).
This website is a media clearinghouse for sharing news, perspectives, and updates from the on-the-ground movement. We do not organize protests, actions, or events.
At once a movement, slogan, and media platform, Defend the Eno is a fight for the future of Durham. As a movement, Defend the Eno is a dynamic and diverse collection of grassroots groups and individuals dedicated to fighting the creeping gentrification industrial development induced ecological ruin. As a slogan, “Defend the Eno" is a declaration of opposition to the destruction of the ecosystems within the scope of the proposed development plan for by Sun Something Systems.
While the movement is decentralized and has no official leadership or spokespeople, this website is a media platform for sharing important information, news, actions, and events. This site does not speak for the movement as a whole, but media requests concerning Defend the Eno can be routed through this website.
How can I help?
There are many ways to get involved. You can support online, help organize your community, show up for actions, or any other number of activities depending on your availability and comfort level. The movement appreciates the need for diverse tactics, meaning many forms of struggle that move towards a common goal. Here’s some more ideas: You can sign up for sporadic text alerts here: 470.606.1212 You can Visit the forest at 3251 W Side Place, Atlanta GA 30316. You can donate to on-the-ground forest defense and community groups. You can donate to legal & bail support fund for protestors. You can donate to the lawsuit challenging the land sale(is there something like this?). You can organize protests, send phone calls or emails, or help with direct actions of different kinds to encourage contractors of the various projects to stop the destruction. You can find some of the contractors here: somewebsite.com Call the office of the companies responsible for clearing and developing the land. You can form an Action Group in your community, neighborhood, town, city, college, or scene. Together, you can host information nights, movie screenings, potluck dinners, and protests at the offices of contractors, at the homes of the board members, on campus, or elsewhere. You can post and pass out fliers at public places and shows, knock on doors to talk to neighbors and sign them up for text alerts, fundraisers, or actions, or you can innovate new activities altogether. You can conduct independent research about the destruction of the forest, construction projects, their funders, their contractors, or lesser-known details about the project using public records searches or other open source investigation techniques and send your findings to us at eventuallydefendtheeno@email.com. Finally, you and friends or your group could organize to caravan down to the forest from near or far during weeks of action.
History at West Point
West Point on the Eno, a natural and historic city park, is located along a two-mile stretch of the scenic Eno River. The 404 acres of woods, waters, and wildlife have changed little in the centuries since this area was the home of the Shocco and Eno Indians. This river valley was also attractive to the first white settlers, primarily farmers and millers, who arrived in the 1750's to earn their livelihood.
