Stratford students are showing that in the fight for climate change, youth are leading the charge.
Students from Stratford District Secondary School (SDSS) recently marched on city hall holding signs that read ‘Don’t be Fossil Food,’ and ‘There is no Planet B', amongst others.
The rally was organized by the Eco Club of SDSS and led by Sammie Orr and Thomas Sheldon, both in senior year. The purpose was to show that climate change is a local issue, too.
“This is our future that we’re fighting for,” Orr said at the rally. “We feel that it’s important that we’re involved in holding government accountable and helping make the decisions of how we’re going to deal with this and how we shape our society.”
Once at city hall, Orr took to the steps and addressed the crowd with a megaphone. She encouraged everyone attending to not think of climate change as a far away problem. People of all ages should contact every level of government to make sure that sustainability is incorporated into every decision, she said.
The crowd marched around city hall while chanting, as cars drove by and honked their horns.
Although led and attended by students, many adults were also in the crowd to show support for the initiative.
Another rally was held in the city recently at the office of MPP Matthew Rae regarding Bill 23, the newly passed bill that will open up the protected Greenbelt for development.
Although not planned in conjunction with each other, Orr called it a happy coincidence that both were on the same day. The student rally was in the works for quite a while, Orr and Sheldon explained. Although Bill 23 is concerning, they had a broader scope in mind.
The rally drew the attention of the new city council. Newly elected Mayor Martin Ritsma made an appearance and participated in a chant led by the students. Additionally, Coun. Jo-Dee Burbach was in attendance. She described the students' actions as "amazing".
“I'm really glad they're here to remind us what we need to be doing as far as climate action.”
Orr and Sheldon are planning on attending post-secondary school. Orr has her sights on studying ecology while Sheldon is hoping to branch into political science and economics.
In the meantime, the two plan on holding more rallies with the Eco Club – hopefully before the snow falls.
“We’re hopefully continuing to build on that turnout,” Sheldon said. “(To) keep on working on ways to engage students and try to get as many people involved as possible.”
