Climate not forgotten amid restrictions
SCHOOL pupils are asking people to reserve some attention for a climate crisis amid the pandemic.
While a march for School Strike 4 Climate New Zealand (SS4C NZ) could not go ahead due to Level 2 restrictions, six Dunedin pupils made sure their message was heard yesterday morning.
The Octagon was covered with their recycled climate strike signs and chalk drawings on the pavement showed their visions for a green climate.
One sign read ‘‘why learn for a future that is not there’’.
SS4C Dunedin coordinator and Kavanagh College pupil Hailey Xavier (16) said although the world was facing a pandemic, there was no change in the need for climate action.
‘‘We are at the edge of a cliff and we want to make people see the rope.’’
She said Generation Z had a lot of ‘‘activism angst’’ and as they could not pass Bills themselves, striking had been a way to ensure their voices were not ignored.
‘‘If we do not have an Earth we will not have an economy,’’ Logan Park pupil Marcus Davidson (16) said, in light of the focus on rebuilding the economy, following the impacts of Covid19.
The group said it had been ‘‘alarming’’ for young people to see the impacts of climate change in their short lifetime.
Dunedin City Council chief executive Sue Bidrose, who had passed the group’s climate strike, ‘‘praised’’ one of the pupils for her drawing on the footpath, saying it was “beautiful”.
Dr Bidrose asked that, if possible, the council could be advised in advance of the next School Strike 4 Climate march so that councillors could have the opportunity to voice their support.
A police spokeswoman said they had spoken to the group, who were from the same bubble, and advised them on maintaining physical distancing.
School Strike 4 Climate New Zealand (SS4C NZ), moved online across the country, encouraging people to draw their green climate visions and put them in their windows.