A teach-in will be held this Saturday to prepare for a mass direct action on the proposed route of the South Fraser Perimeter Road.

The teach-in will run from 1 to 4 p.m. at Ladner United Church and will cover such topics as logistics, legal rights and information, and direct action planning.

"We are looking for input from the community in planning this action," said Cathy Wilander. "We will be doing a direct action Friday, April 22, Mother Earth Day and Good Friday, aimed at disrupting the construction of a climate crime in our community, the South Fraser Perimeter Road."

Actions might continue over multiple days on the long weekend and beyond, said Wilander.

"There is a whole history of people working together to stop freeways," she said, pointing to the Georgia Viaduct in Vancouver. "That's all there is of what was to be a freeway going right through communities there. That freeway was stopped after construction started and we can stop this freeway, it's not too late."

The actual site of the action is not being disclosed at this time "but we do have a meeting place on the 22nd and we are not planning to disrupt people living close to the action," Wilander said.

She admits there might be some legal risk involved but stated, "We will have established green zones for those who cannot take any legal risk but want to participate in the action. People can decide what risk they are willing to take."

The action is being organized by climate justice activists from Lower Mainland chapters of the Council of Canadians, Stopthepave.org (formerly Gatewaysucks.org) and the Critical Criminology Working Group at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

The freeway's proposed route is close to the banks of the Fraser River and runs through critical habitat and needed farmland, Wilander said.

"The days of freeway expansion are over, we need to shift resources to alternatives and protect the health of our community," she said.

The teach-in is the first of a series to be held before the action. Others are in Vancouver on March 26 and in Surrey on April 9.