Striking students receive climate promise
Timaru’s mayor has promised striking students that he will bring the Local Government Leaders’ Climate Change Declaration back to the next council meeting in April to ‘‘reconsider signing it’’.
‘‘We [Odey and councillor Sally Parker] will recommend to our council that they support us signing it,’’ Odey said.
A 100-strong crowd of secondary school and tertiary students, plus some adults and primary school pupils, chanted outside the Timaru District Council for about 45 minutes yesterday afternoon.
One of 28 such events in New Zealand, the Timaru School Strike 4 Climate NZ was part of a global movement where schoolaged students protest outside their local government office on preventing or stopping climate change.
‘‘Climate change is happening. We want to do something about it,’’ said Craighead Diocesan School student Olivia Coleman, 17.
Coleman and fellow global citizens committee members started the event, including sending a letter to all other South Canterbury schools asking if they would join in. ‘‘It’s a bigger group than expected,’’ she said.
Timaru Girls’ High School, Roncalli College, Mountainview High School, Geraldine High School, Ara Institute of Canterbury Timaru campus outdoor education students, adults, and a couple of children from Geraldine Primary School were also present.
Waving signs with statements such as ‘‘Toot for change’’ and ‘‘How many humans does it take to fix the globe?’’, the group chanted their views, including to Odey when he arrived.
‘‘Keep up your passion and commitment, because you’re right – we have no planet B,’’ Odey said.
Parker said she felt the same, saying: ‘‘I think we all have a part to play, and it’s great to see our youth demonstrating they’re committed to change.’’ South Canterbury remains measles free but health care providers are still being inundated with inquiries from concerned members of the public. With outbreaks of measles at their doorstep, in north and central Canterbury and in Otago, people in the region are growing restless over the virus. South Canterbury District Health Board chief medical officer of primary care Bruce Small said Timaru Hospital is also experiencing an influx of inquiries with regards to the virus. Meanwhile, many midwives, midwifery students and Plunket nurses, aged 29-50 years of age, were given MMR immunisations in Christchurch yesterday. ‘‘This is a ‘belt and braces’ approach from those working alongside pregnant women and newborns," Violet Clapham, chair of the NZ College of Midwives Canterbury/ West Coast region said.