Pupils at forefront of climate action
DECADES from now, images of today’s school pupils marching down busy urban streets to encourage the Government to address climate change, could well be seen as a defining moment in world history.
And given that Logan Park High School pupils Zak Rudin, Linea Simons, Abe Baillie and Finn McKinlay are passionate and organised in their coordination of Strike 4 Climate marches in Dunedin, they are highly likely to succeed.
They are among thousands across New Zealand organising similar events, and Abe said the single thing that brought them all together was ‘‘the evergrowing concern about the climate and ecological crisis, and the Government’s consistent inaction’’.
Zak said it was a ‘‘massive holistic issue’’ that could not be ignored.
‘‘It affects all of us, no matter what walks of life we are from.’’
Finn said although they all had a common interest in climate issues, they also had diverse backgrounds and skills which added to their ability to organise the Strike 4 Climate marches.
He and Abe are members of a rock band and have experience at organising largescale public events.
Sound systems, crowd control, security and safety were some of the skills they had learnt in recent years from organising concerts, Abe said. Zak’s skill set was around politics. He is an Amnesty International youth advocate, he has worked with politicians and MPs, and he has attended many political conferences.
Linea’s skills lie in communication and networking.
She has done a lot of work, spreading the word to school pupils, community organisations and businesses, and making the event as accessible to as many people as possible.
She said there was also a large support network of pupils across the city who provided the ‘‘man power’’ needed to organise the marches.
People continued to email, offering a hand for jobs ranging from printing and putting up posters, to providing spaces to hold event meetings.
As a result of their combined work, the Dunedin network continues to grow and the number attending the rallies also continues to grow.
One day, the world may look back on today and see Strike 4 Climate marches in the same light as the protests for civil rights, women’s suffrage, and antidiscrimination based on sexual identity.