Partway through the fifth Maine Peace Walk, nearly 30 activists stopped in Bath on Thursday to protest at Bath Iron Works.

“We come together out of our deep concern about the many different wars being waged on Mother Earth, ranging from over-fishing, deforestation and human-caused extinctions, to climate disruption and endless war,” said Russell Wray of Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats in a press release.

The Maine Peace Walk began on Indian Island on Oct. 11 with a dinner hosted by the Penobscot Nation. On their trip southward to Kittery, their final destination, the activists are stopping to protest and raise awareness at several points, where they are joined by local activists.

So far, the group has protested with Grandmothers Against the East-West Corridor, in front of the Cianbro and Poland Spring headquarters, respectively, and plan to end the walk with a protest in front at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery on Oct. 26.

A group of about 15 are traveling an average of 12 miles a day, and are spending the evenings with host families and at churches. Reaching Bath on Wednesday night, the group was hosted by the Unitarian Church in Brunswick. One organizer, Bruce Gagnon, estimated that the group had walked somewhere around 75 miles so far.

Combining their environmental concerns with their opposition to war, the activists called on BIW to convert from shipbuilding for the Navy to the construction of alternative energy materials.

“Studies at the UMass Amherst Economics Department on this whole subject of transition or conversion of military production indicate that if you built rail at a place like this you’d double the jobs,” said Gagnon. “(That’s) because military spending is capital intensive and creates less jobs per billion dollars than if you put the money into any other kind of projection.

“Those kind of transitions can happen very quickly when there is the political impetus to do so, so we’re all about trying to help create the political impetus in this state and beyond,” continued Gagnon.

The walk and protests are being lead by Buddhist monks and nuns of the Nipponzan Myohoji order, who were beating Japanese prayer drums constantly throughout the BIW protest.

“Nuclear weapons have been far more destructive than any weapon in the past century. Now you can destroy this planet,” said one Buddhist nun, Jun Yasuda. “So we pray for peace.”

Outlining their mission, co-organizer Connie Jenkins of Orono explained in a press release:

“Close to home, we support the Penobscot Nation’s struggle for Justice for the River, opposition to the East/West Corridor, and conversion of war production to alternative energy at Maine shipyards. We know from past experience of walking through rural and urban Maine that many people will be reached with our messages. We hope this spiritual act of walking and sharing conversation and food will help people in our state feel less isolated and despairing about the future.”

Today, the activists are continuing southward to Freeport.

nstrout@timesrecord.com

Head south

• The Maine Peace Walk began on Indian Island on Oct. 11 with a dinner hosted by the Penobscot Nation. On their trip southward to Kittery, their final destination, the activists are stopping to protest and raise awareness at several points.