Two Butler County residents embarked on a 100-mile walk Friday to heighten awareness of the potential environmental dangers of hydraulic fracturing.

Michael Bagdes-Canning of Cherry Valley and Ping Pirrung of Middlesex Township are participating in the Walk for Our Grandchildren for eight days with 20 others from Camp David, Md., to Washington, D.C.

Eighty others will join the walk at Harpers Ferry, W.Va., 60 miles outside of the capitol.

The walking grandparents, who are from all over the country, are seeking to raise awareness of many fossil fuel extraction techniques and their long-term consequences, including the Keystone XL pipeline and mountaintop mining.

The two county residents are focusing on fracking issues.

“We’ll not only be educating people along the way, but educating people walking with us,” Bagdes-Canning said.

He wants to learn more about issues people are concerned about in other parts of the country.

Environmental groups argue fracking could taint drinking water and cause earthquakes. The walkers are advocating for renewable energy, like solar and wind power.

Pirrung’s 2-year-old grandson, Cedar, who was born three months premature, likely will face breathing sensitivities during his life. He is healthy toddler, she said, and she wants him to stay that way.

“I need to fight for the quality of his life,” Pirrung said. “My main purpose (for walking) is for my grandson.”

Bagdes-Canning has two grandchildren, 1-year-old Lochlin and 2-year-old Dougie.

“I don’t know if I’ll live to see the ravages of climate change, but I know my grandchildren will,” he said.

The group will host rallies en route and in Washington, D.C. The event wraps up July 27 with a rally at the capitol.