Roughly 120 high school students walked out of school on Friday at noon to demand climate action from the City of Guelph.
The protest saw students holding climate action awareness signs at city hall, engaging in speeches to show support and marching in Downtown Guelph chanting 'hey hey, ho ho, climate change has got to go.'
The Youth Climate Strike said it’s important to create change on a local level in order to generate global change.
Their demands are to show transparency in waste management, offer energy rebates to Guelph residents, changes in urban planning to include more public amenities, install more bike lanes and bike lane highways for high traffic areas, limit water for large corporations and eliminate single-use products.
“Our councillors and mayors know that a true declaration of emergency means acting, but instead of acting, they acknowledge a climate change. This refusal to act is a personal betrayal to youth. It is a direct disregard for our humanity and our health,” said Saffron Binber.
“They know that these demands for better waste management, clean energy rebates, public amenities, bike lanes, water conservation and eliminating single-use plastic will help mitigate climate change.”
Several members of the community joined the protest in support of the cause. City councillor and musician James Gordon performed a song dedicated to the environment and stated that it was his generation that is responsible for much of the climate crisis the world finds itself in today.
Abigail Mason, a Grade 12 student said she organized the youth-focused event called the Youth Climate Strike after she noticed that there was a decrease in the younger generation participating in the Friday for Future events in the city.
“I really believe it is our future, so we need to take control of it and that’s kind of our slogan ‘let’s take control of this generation’ because in the past I felt being talked down upon on by people that are older,” said Mason.
“The problem we’re in is because of the older generation,” said Mason adding that she doesn’t want the older generation making decisions that will affect her future generations.
“I don’t want my earth to be destroyed because of actions I didn’t take,” said Mason.
