Class is in session on Friday but hundreds of North Shore students won’t be there.
Young people from around the Lower Mainland are pledging to converge at Vancouver city hall Friday for the Global Climate Strike inspired by activist Greta Thunberg.
Among them will be 12-year-old Mulgrave School student Grace Wootten.
“Honestly, I think I really need to do this. I guess, my whole life I’m going to be worried about this,” she said. “I really shouldn’t have to worry about climate change while I should be focusing on my education.”
The movement calls for all countries to transition “fairly and swiftly away from fossil fuels” in the hope of preserving a habitable climate, but some countries have farther to go than others, Wootten added.
“I want the U.S. to really step in, along with China and same with Canada. Honestly, I know we produce a lot of oil and it’s really hard for our economy, but I think we need to suck it up and just deal with it because this is a big problem,” Wooten said.
The existential dread Wootten feels is palpable when she forecasts a worst case scenario. “I imagine tonnes of people squished into one continent and millions starving because obviously food won’t be able to grow. Imagine if Indonesia lost their staple food, rice. All of that country would starve. Most animals on the planet will probably go extinct,” she said.
Dozens of Argyle Secondary students are planning to walk out of class and bus to the protest, which organizers are hoping will draw upwards of 10,000 people.
“They’re all working towards this one goal and that will grab a lot of attention from people who are going about their daily lives in Vancouver and also maybe people in higher positions and government,” said Adreanna Cundiff, co-founder of the school’s Environment Club. “If we don’t make change now, we’re facing a really bleak future.”
While the prospects may seem dire, club member Amelia Burggraf said she feels the older generations are starting to get the message that young people are already so attuned to, despite climate action not being part of the school curriculum.
“A really important part of climate action is system change,” she said. “A lot of older people have developed bad habits in sustainability just because that’s what they grew up with. That’s what they live with. … But if we educate kids now all over every high school, they’re not going to develop those bad habits. Then it’s just going to become normal.”
Neither of the North Shore’s school districts has sanctioned students striking but parents may sign their kids out for the day in advance.
“We’re planning to run a regular school day but certainly appreciate that there will be some families and some students who are going to choose to participate in a protest, and that’s completely fine. We’re just asking that they would follow normal procedures,” said Sean Nosek, West Vancouver Schools associate superintendent. “We obviously recognize, for many of us, young people included, the environment, the impact of climate change is a huge concern and what’s more, the desire to take action is laudable.”
The Capilano Students’ Union will be leading its members to the protest, although the school is also not cancelling classes.
“We strike because we are in the midst of a crisis — one that threatens to destroy our collective future,” an open letter from the CSU read. “Our leaders have failed to recognize climate change as the emergency it is and we no longer accept their promises of incremental change.”
