12:00a.m. 27th August 2008

| By Bill Hoffman

Greens senate leader Bob Brown, independent member for Nicklin Peter Wellington and LNP sustainability and climate change shadow minister David Gibson will each run a leg of a relay along the Mary River on September 6 to highlight opposition to the Traveston Crossing dam.

Jerry Colby-Williams of the ABC’s Gardening Australia will also run a leg of the relay. The relay will bring the force of 280,000 subscriber-strong, internet-driven activist group Get Up! will be brought to bear on the federal government and Environment Minister Peter Garrett’s impending decision to either support or reject the proposal to flood valuable Mary Valley farmland to supply water to south east Queensland’s rampart growth.

Save the Mary campaigner Anne Stephens said Get Up!’s climate change torch would be carried in a relay from Crystal Waters to the proposed dam wall at Traveston before going on to Hervey Bay, linking a series of events to highlight the devastation the dam plan would have on communities and the environment.

Ms Stephens said it was hoped to attract 1000 people to Traveston Crossing on September 6 to form a human chain that would pass the solar and wind-powered torch down river on its journey to Hervey Bay.

The torch would be greeted at Crystal Waters on September 5 at festival from 5.30pm featuring speakers, musicians and food before being carried down through Conondale, on to Kenilworth where Independent Nicklin MP Peter Wellington would run on to Traveston.

The torch would be met at 11am by Senator Brown who will pass it on to canoeist and environmental activist Steve Posselt who recently completed a circumnavigation of south east Queensland, via its river systems including the Mary and along the coast.

Ms Stephens said it was important the community used the day to express its anger at plans to dam the valley.

She said community activism would be again on display at Hervey Bay on September 7 where a Father’s Day celebration would again ram home the No Dam message.

Go to www.savethemaryriver.com for event details and how to register to take part in the torch relay.

> Government to plant native timber on Traveston dam banks