Moruya school kids give leaders a lesson on climate action

“Stop climate change, stop climate change”, yelled a child protesting on his dad’s shoulders as part of the national Climate Change Strike in Moruya.

Students marched from Moruya High School to the Eurobodalla Shire Council chambers and were met with a round of applause by adults in the community.

Council General Manager, Catherine Dale briefly addressed the protesters acknowledging their efforts.

Jade Padman,12, of Mogo had no hesitation in skipping two classes to unite in force with her peers.

“This is something that means a lot to me, my family and it should mean a lot to everyone else, the council and to you, because it’s our environment and we need to preserve it,” said Jade.

Charlie Brinckley, 12, of Tuross fears climate change will make the planet unliveable.

“We’re destroying our ozone layer, we need to pollute less to fix it,” said Charlie.

As the convoy of kids and their adult supporters protested through the main street of Moruya they were greeted with toots of support by passing traffic. The strikers were pumped and proud to be heard.

Mallee Smith,17, of Moruya is part of a group of concerned community members who see the Climate Change Strike as an opportunity to speak out and be heard.

‘It’s the future of our children and our grandchildren at stake here and we haven’t had our voices heard about it up until now”

“We’ve just had a big fish kill down in Meringo Lake and that’s due to the pollution and the heating that’s just messing with the whole ecosystem. People don’t see the mess until something like this happens,” said Mallee.

She commended her peers for attending the strike saying it’s one of the most important things they can do to help.

School Strike 4 Climate reports 150,000 students walked out of school yesterday demanding politicians take them seriously.

Fourteen-year-olds Milou Albrecht and Harriet O’Shea Carre who kicked off the school strike movement in Australia with fellow students in Central Victoria, said, “A Federal Election is around the corner but our politicians are not listening to the Australian people. Extreme weather is all around us and we need our politicians to be climate leaders.”

“We may still be in school but we know the mining and burning of coal, oil, and gas is driving dangerous climate impacts, including droughts, bushfires, and heatwaves. We only have a decade to prevent the worst impacts of climate change yet our politicians are wasting time and putting our future in danger,” Albrecht said.

Words and photos by Elise Searson.