On Thursday morning, climate change protests took place at secondary schools in Chorlton as part of Clean Air Day.
Year 7 and 8 students of Chorlton High School walked out onto the street at 8am with banners and signs fighting against climate change and cheering for those who cycled or walked through the school gates.
The protest attracted a crowd on the opposite pavement, and included chants, choreographed dance and chalk messages on the pavement.
The students were all very knowledgeable about the importance of protesting climate change and what they could do to help. Aniyah, year 7, explained why the protest was needed, she said:
“I felt like I was contributing to something massive, we will make a change.”
Luke, year 7, agreed and believes that protesting will make people take an interest:
“Doing this is helping other people understand, older adults have done this to us, so we have to help and do it ourselves.”
Katharina, year 8, nodded and added:
“We can’t just pass on the problem.”
The students wanted the public to hear them and to help them create change. Aniyah believes that waiting to fix climate change could have devastating effects on the environment, but that the planet can still be helped.
“We will be able to stop climate change.”
Adding: “If you can’t contribute to change, what can you do?”
Aniyah thinks there is power in protest and was inspired to join the climate protests after following the Black Lives Matter protests in America last year.
She said: “If you look at the Black Lives Matter protests, thousands came together. Climate change could be the same.
“We took that protest from another country. It will make change.”
Change, she believes, that could happen in Chorlton:
“Chorlton can do a lot. There are a lot of people. That will make a difference.”
Luke agrees
“We just need to work as a community, people on bikes: it helps.”
This event, and all other events happening at schools in Chorlton this week were coordinated by local parents and teachers alongside Our Streets Chorlton, a community engagement project that aims to support the development of a safer, greener and healthier Chorlton.
Pauline Johnston, a project coordinator for Our Streets Chorlton, who was present at the protests said:
“It’s all about the little change that will build up to a different society.”
“It will be them who change it, we’re here to support it.”
This week has seen a variety of events take place all over Chorlton. From school streets, where roads outside a school are closed to through traffic during school pick up and drop off; to a push for more environmentally friendly modes of transportation to be used including a walking bus.
The response to the project has been very positive and Pauline hopes that the response will bring real change to the community. She said:
“Change always starts at the school gates.”
“The school street week, it’s the focus on the future.”
