It’s been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For my fellow kayakers and me, our journey of 900 kilometres will begin with a single paddle stroke.

Starting September 1 in Kitimat, my friends and fellow Ecomarine kayak instructors Ryan Vandecasteyen and Curtis White, and videographer Brian Dixon—collectively the Pipedreams Project—will begin a two-month kayak trip along the coast to Vancouver. Why are we embarking on this epic journey? I’m glad you asked.

The Pipedreams Project has a few goals: to participate in building momentum against the pipeline that would connect the Alberta tar sands to the B.C. coast and make B.C. vulnerable to tankers and oil spills; to physically connect to the coast itself; to learn more about this beautiful, precious ecosystem and about how others are—and how we may—further engage and support efforts to stop the pipeline.

We’re embarking on this journey filled with many questions. It is undoubtedly our passion that drives us, and our concern about the state of the world and the responsibility we have in preserving it. But somewhere behind that passion lies a sea of questions.

I was born and raised in this big coastal city that puffs its chest so large to be considered cosmopolitan on the world map that it cannot see the land and water it is part of. I grew up in this country where murmurs of political decisions are barely audible behind so many thick, sound-proofed doors. And somewhere in this climate a few questions silently took hold of me. But I have yet to find any meaningful answers, and have yet to satisfy what I feel is my duty to get involved, to stand up for injustice, to fight for an ecosystem that can’t fight for itself.

And so, I paddle.

This pipeline that Enbridge is proposing, or the one Kinder-Morgan might—and the process by which these pipelines could be approved—amalgamate significant social, political, environmental, and economic issues in one nice, neat, disastrous package. At the heart of these issues sits the question of how we involve ourselves in these processes, in these decisions, and in the creation of the world we live in.

Far from the North Coast, in cosy Vancouver, Enbridge is a name of the same lineage as the Boogeyman, intangible and out-of-reach. The government with its joint review panels and environmental assessments is barely any better. We feel we must do something, step up, get involved—but the same question jumps up every time: what? What can I, as just one person, do? There is less and less space in which we may become involved, oppose, question, challenge, and create alternatives. So we raise more awareness in the hopes that enough dinner table complaints will sway the outcome.

We hope that through this experience we will come to better understand the realities the coastal peoples are facing so that we may find or create space to act in a way that supports and empowers those most affected by this insanity. What we do know now is this: we refuse to participate in an increase in production of the tar sands; we refuse to allow profit margins and dollar digits to put at risk ways of life, livelihoods, democracy, and beautiful, fragile, complex ecosystems; we refuse to be silenced.

And so, we paddle.

We paddle 900 kilometres to legitimize our voices in this debate. We paddle to search for a clearer picture of the confusing, out-of-reach, beyond-comprehension decision-making process. We paddle to learn from the First Nations and communities and people and how they’re engaged in creating space to participate. We paddle for the future of our coast. We paddle to be involved and be heard. And we hope that in some way, it inspires others to become involved, too.

Faroe Des Roches is a kayak instructor in Vancouver who is participating in the Pipedreams Project. You can track the journey at www.thepipedreamsproject.org.