By Mikayla van Loon
Climate change is an undeniable problem for the students who took part in the national climate strike on Friday 15 October, including a group from the Dandenong Ranges.
The newly created Belgrave arm of School Strike 4 Climate hosted an online event to continue conversations around the impact of fossil fuels and the funding of a future rather than gas.
Belgrave organiser Mandela Russell said the Naarm or city online event was mainly about connecting with others who are passionate about saving their futures, talking about the upcoming elections and to follow on from discussions held at the 21 May strike.
“It’s following our mission for School Strike to get rid of any unsustainable energy exports and creations by 2030 and to create a just job transition for all people in the coal industries and the fossil fuel industries and their communities, as well as reduce Australia’s carbon footprint,” she said.
The Dandenong Ranges group only formed in September but were still able to gather a dozen people online, while the Naarm event had 400 people RSVP.
“I think it’s a lot harder to get people to online events with Covid and just the interest around it because I think some of the buzz is lost when it becomes an online event instead of an in person march but we’re just really grateful to have people coming and to meet some new people I guess in the community and young people.”
Mandela said because the Naarm events throughout the day placed a large focus on activism in the political space like voting and reaching out to MPs, she wanted the local event to be a social space for people.
“We created a Kahoot about the local environment and our mission as a group and what we want to do and some of the Indigenous history of the area, as well as some discussion rooms about the political landscape today and the different solutions we see for issues in our community,” she said.
Mandela and her team in the Dandenong Ranges have big plans to spread their message when Covid-19 restrictions end.
“We want to work with local businesses, first of all, in signing a pledge for School Strike but we want to work with local businesses and also work with local schools, in creating educational talks and educational groups,” she said.
Other items on the to-do list include moving into the creative realm to host market stalls, live music events and potentially events with guest speakers like Jane Goodall, to raise money and awareness.
Mandela said many of the young people in the Hills have similar concerns for their futures and were already a part of other climate action groups but nothing was exclusively available for students and young people.
“I think because of everything that’s happened with the storms and seeing everything that’s happened with bushfires, I think we know firsthand what it can be like and what climate change can do for our futures, as students and as the next generation.
“And I just think we have big plans and this is definitely not the last people have heard of us.”
