Durban pupils join global planet action
PUPILS from Durban Girls’ College and Maris Stella joined forces for a peaceful demonstration in Stephen Dlamini Road in Berea, yesterday, to raise awareness about planet conservation.
Arya Mehta, a Grade 12 pupil and head of the environmental committee at Durban Girls’ College, said this demonstration formed part of the “Fridays for Future” campaign, held around the world yesterday.
“We are trying to raise awareness and empower the youth to realise that they can make a change in the society and at school,” she said. “The time to act is now and as students, we have an obligation to save our planet, before it is too late.”
Arya said the collaboration with Maris Stella was great because they were across the street, and other schools from Gauteng and Cape Town would participate, too.
“Today was about getting the girls together and showing people that we care about the planet,” said Maris Stella head girl Nyiko Mathe.
“Both Maris Stella School and DGC girls are very proud of the successful peaceful protest today.
“The cars driving past and hooting at us was exciting and it was a real buzz.”
She said the average person could play a role in saving the planet and that it was actually simple.
“Saving the planet is as easy as recycling or picking up plastics from the floor and disposing of them in the correct bin,” she said.
Arya said "girl.talk@dgc“was an event held once a year at Durban Girls’ College where discussions about planet conservation were the focus.
Selected delegates from girls’ schools from around Kwazulu-Natal get together to spend time with one another while addressing current issues or topics.
“Last year's (2022) girl.talk@dgc theme was #OurEnvironmentMatters and the girls were very privileged to be addressed by incredible speakers and activists who taught them so much about climate change as well as investigating sustainable water safety solutions in South Africa,” she said.
She also said this was an idea inspired by the delegates at girl.talk@ dgc that sparked an awareness campaign for climate change with schools across South Africa.
“We invited pupils to stand outside their schools while holding placards to show the public, the government and industries that the youth care about the environment and our futures,” she said.