The term "fracking" is short for hydraulic fracturing and is used in the extraction of Shale gas, which is methane, trapped in tiny pockets in the shale rock formations. In order to extract the gas, engineers drill shafts down into the shale. This extraction uses many poisonous and cancerous chemicals that can potentially cause damage to nature and to human life.
Since the introduction and plans to frack in the United Kingdom, there have been many prostests to stop fracking in almost all of the areas proposed due to the potential health risks and environmental damage that can occur.
Last week there were tensions and protests over possible fracking activity being aloud in Lancashire. I photographed the end of day celebrations at the rejection of the Cuadrilla company to drill and frack four wells at Preston New Road near the village of Little Plumpton in the Fylde. It was a lot calmer than earlier in the day and everyone was happy content with the rejected proposal.
If you want to see more information on this even please visit http://frackfreelancashire.org.uk
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North West Life is a range of images from the north west of England. It shows a range documentary, photojournalism and street style photography to show the events that go on in the North West of England that I have come across. This will be an ever growing page, so please feel free to keep coming back and checking out the events that I see happening around the North West.
Fracking In Lancashire
WNBR - Naked Bike Ride Manchester
© Andrea Carroll
The Ark is an emergency homeless shelter built by the homeless under a bypass close to Manchester University. It is situated on unused land that homeless people have been occupying in small numbers for years as it offers shelter from the weather. This land is owned by the university and they felt that students could be in danger from these people and decided to go to the courts and get them evicted from the land.
There were 10 or so tents in this little community where they had a kitchen, a TV room and even port-a-loos. The floor was spotless like it had just been brushed and there were bins for recycling. It was clean, tidy and well looked after.
On the 18th of September 2015, two days after my first encounter with The Ark, the bailiffs came and took down the camp. Some of the homeless were offered housing, which four of them accepted, whilst others refused help. Some were arrested and others were physically removed from the shelter so that the order to remove the encampment could go ahead.
I returned on the 21st of September where the members of the Ark were holding a meditation day, whilst not a protest as such, it was allowing people to know what had happened on the site a few days earlier. I crossed the road to another group of homeless people and where the belongings of The Ark were being stored in a corner. Upon speaking to a few of the people there, and to one of the builders erecting the fence at the Ark site, I then became unbiased to any of the actions of any party involved where I had once fully supported The Ark. There was a lot more to what you first see on the exterior of this story. Since the second eviction the Ark homeless shelter, the residents there had dissipated to other areas of Manchester.
Anti-Fracking Rally Preston
© Andrea Carroll
The Ark - Manchester
Ark Homeless Camp Manchester
© Andrea Carroll
wnbr, WNBR, WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE, MANCHESTER BIKE RIDE, NUDIST BIKE RIDE, A CARROLL PHOTOGRAPHY, ANDREA CARROLL PHOTOGRAPHY,