Heidi Hayward
HEIDI HAYWARD, PRINCIPAL, DUNEDIN NORTH INTERMEDIATE
Personally, I can't think of a more important issue for kids to get active about and I feel that our generation have done them no favours in terms of leaving them a planet worth inheriting, so supporting them while they take the lead is the least we can do!
Social action fits fair and square into the New Zealand curriculum and New Zealand has a proud history of respectful protesting, leadership that resulted in global change.
We are proud to be the people that spoke out, we are proud to be the people that disrupted, proud to be the people that brought about global change around apartheid, Nuclear Free New Zealand and a woman's right to vote. But we didn't bring about that change by disrupting at a "sensible" or "more appropriate" time.
These are the first two points in the vision statement for the New Zealand Curriculum.
Our vision is for young people:
•who will be creative, energetic, and enterprising.
•who will seize the opportunities offered by new knowledge and technologies to secure a sustainable social, cultural, economic, and environmental future for our country.
The kids organising these protests are living breathing examples of students successfully meeting the vision of the curriculum. Obviously, we need our kids to be safe and I am not suggesting that schools don't need some management strategies around the logistics of the day. However, I also believe that we need to trust our kids, be proud of their passion and support them understand how societies work and how people can participate as critical, active, informed, and responsible citizens (NZC).
Mareiki Barton
MAREIKI BARTON, LIBRARIAN, UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO
There's overwhelming scientific consensus that man-made climate change is happening. But even if you try to ignore or deny science, there's no escaping the news of record-breaking heatwaves in Europe, massive fires in the Siberian taiga or unprecedented melting of Greenland's ice sheets.
Closer to home it's evident in yet another warmer-than-average winter, floods, storms and coastal erosion around the country. I'm joining the climate strike because I think climate change mustn't be treated as a "niche problem" and as something that's "too costly to do much about". This is the biggest threat mankind has faced, and urgent action is needed, globally, nationally and locally. Continuing our cozy lives and pretending she'll be right is not an option.
I also join the strike to show it's not "just" students who demand action and that it can't be dismissed as "just school kids who want to skive off school". This is a threat affecting all of us. And it needs all of us, young and old, to demand action and find solutions together.
Alan Dove
ALAN DOVE, PHOTOGRAPHER, DUNEDIN
I documented the second student-led climate change protest march, in May, that ended up in the Octagon, and was impressed with the energy of the Generation Zs. My gut feeling is the world is going to be all right in their hands. Unfortunately, my generation, the baby-boomers haven't made it easy for them.
It is clear the students aren't protesting about climate change itself, how could they, that's like protesting about the weather - fairly pointless. But they are shouting-out to the governments of the world that they're fed-up with the lack of leadership and endless procrastination from political leaders regarding global warming.
They're justified in being pissed-off, most of us haven't really adjusted our consumption or carbon emissions for the betterment of the environment. The stark reality is there's a whole lot of uncomfortable choices we're all going to have to face soon. We need to believe the science, and ultimately look to the scientists for solutions.
Finally, there's a ground swell of pro-environmental activism, and unsurprisingly it's the youngest in our community leading the charge.
Matt Jenks
MATT JENKS, ANAESTHETIST, DUNEDIN HOSPITAL
I will be marching on September 27 in support of my 11-year-old daughter Eleanor, year six at St Clair Primary School and all the students who are concerned for their future, because of our rapidly changing climate.
As a worker in the health sector I am aware that climate change is the greatest threat they face to their future health, through heat waves, storm events, flooding and droughts impacting food and water supply. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for the younger generation to confront a future that is so uncertain. This uncertainty is already having an impact on mental health and wellbeing.
The students are my biggest inspiration to work hard to address climate change as part of my work at Southern District Health Board. We must listen to their clear call for us to provide them with a safe and healthy future. We know what needs to be done. We know that time is against us. We must act now.
Rory Harding
RORY HARDING, GROWER, DUNEDIN
I support the climate strike because a livable climate supports us. For millennia humans have negotiated within the natural world to obtain a harvest. Even with a relatively stable climate it's not always easy. A rapidly changing climate makes it much harder.
Living in temperate Dunedin, it's easy to understand why some may welcome a few degrees' warming. Maybe we'll get to grow avocados for a few years, but at the same time, parts of the world more vulnerable than us to the effects of climate change will fare far worse. We have an obligation to act for their sake, not in the least because many of us in the overdeveloped world have contributed disproportionately to the problem. Many of the more vulnerable parts of the world also happen to grow lots of the food we eat.
As a grower, I expect to spend more time dealing with the effects of flood and drought cycles, extreme heat and events such as hailstorms. I expect to pay more for the food I buy from others, as it becomes more difficult for them also.
I stand with those seeking a change from the political and economic system that has so far proved incapable of meaningful action. I also support and acknowledge those making changes now in their own communities.
Michael Wallace
MICHAEL WALLACE, VICAR, ALL SAINTS' ANGLICAN CHURCH, DUNEDIN
I am going to the climate strike because it is clear to me that we are in the midst of a climate crisis which is a significant threat to our planet. We need to take urgent, real action, because business as usual is not an adequate response to this crisis.
Our Pacific sisters and brothers have told us many times that they are already experiencing rising sea levels, salination of drinking water and increased frequency of extreme weather events. Our Government, regional council, city council and each one of us need to urgently change the way we operate to mitigate this crisis. We need to build on the many good initiatives that are already being implemented to reduce risks and strengthen resilience in our communities. We need to divest from everything destructive and actively invest in sustainability. We need to act in solidarity with those already suffering, in solidarity with those who will come after us and in solidarity with other creatures.
As a person of faith, how can I honour the Creator, if I disrespect the Creation and those in need? Now is the time to act.
THE EVENT
Dunedin's students will join an international effort to focus attention on addressing climate change on Friday, September 27. They are asking the wider community to join them on that day in a march from the Dental School to the Octagon, leaving at midday.
