Great March for Climate Action reaches Iowa City

IOWA CITY - Hazel Zimmerman, 83, spent this week walking across Iowa, and she hopes to walk much farther - all the way to Washington.

Zimmerman, who lives south of Norwalk, near Des Moines, was the oldest person walking Wednesday with the Great March for Climate Action. Marchers stopped in Iowa City on a cross-country trek from Los Angeles to Washington.

'I'm doing this for great-grandchildren who haven't been born yet, whom I may never see” she said. 'The songbirds that were familiar to me, I rarely see now. I've very passionate about what's happening to the planet.”

She and other marchers sought to raise awareness about climate change and to incite people to take action. The marchers, who crossed into Iowa from Nebraska on July 30, walked into Iowa City for a rally which drew about 100 people to the Pedestrian Mall.

Former Iowa state representative Ed Fallon founded the march, which includes people from across the country. He said he wants climate change efforts to reach across the political aisle, saying along the march's route he's talked with Democrats and Republicans alike who are concerned about the impacts of climate change.

'Reach out to people who may not be with you entirely on political issues,” he encouraged rally participants. 'We must form political coalitions.”

The group will march out of town this morning, leaving from College Green Park in Iowa City for West Branch. From there, marchers will head toward Davenport, with plans to exit the state Aug. 26.

The marchers hope to reach Washington on Nov. 5. They're always looking for more people to join the march, Fallon said, whether for a day, a week or the entire rest of the journey. Along the way people have joined and left as the march passes through their towns, with about 35 core group members.

For Zimmerman, who joined the march before it reached Des Moines, this was a test run. It went well, she said, so after a short trip home she hopes to take a bus to Chicago to rejoin the marchers as they walk to the East Coast.

'It's not a piece of cake, but I can do this,” she said. 'My mantra is, I ain't dead and I ain't dying, so I'll keep on going.”