Four prefects (Katrina Chan, Mia Gilchrist, Danica Loulie-Wijtenburg and David Patlong) along with members of staff, organised a climate change information session to be held during period three for those that couldn’t attend the Auckland climate movement in Aotea Square. These prefects invited students to come to the auditorium where they could be a part of the solution to climate change. This event saw students stand up to make our country’s politicians aware of and highlight the key issues surrounding climate change.
On Friday, March 15, thousands of students all around the world attended the ‘Youth Strike 4 Climate Movement’ to bring this topic to the attention to those in power and demand that they listen to us.
These issues in our world were not created by us, but the future is in our hands and so we have the power to do something to solve them. We have the power to make a difference, to voice our opinions and be heard.
Our generation stands to lose the most from the effects of climate change, yet we are the ones who are being excluded from the conversations surrounding what happens to us. Radical change needs to occur immediately so that the politicians realise that united and urgent action needs to take place.
Greta Thunberg, a sixteen-year-old Swedish political activist, is working towards reversing climate change and global warming. She is a prominent figure due to starting the first school strike for climate change last August. She stood outside the Swedish parliament building with a hand-painted banner, and now Greta is recognised as a model of determination and inspiration for positive action. The initiative that the four prefects organised was part of the movement that demands action from our leaders. We have the right to live on a healthy planet and have a future to look forward to.
The session began with an introduction, speaking of what and why the students were asked to be there. Speeches were given about how climate change affects New Zealand and the action people can take to do something about what is happening in our world. Within the speeches, there was a quiz, where the winner was awarded a pizza lunch.
One of the junior children described the event, “The quiz was great fun! It was enjoyable and made us think about the questions and what is happening to us in our world in terms of climate change.”
There were a few technical difficulties; however, the prefects did an excellent job with continuing to advocate Greta’s message. They all think that this experience was a good learning opportunity and look forward to planning their next event.
Mia Gilchrist
