I'm not old enough to vote, but I'm marching against climate change

Ada Dechene is a Grade 7 student at cole Connaught Community School in Regina. On Friday she is taking part in the Strike 4 Climate, a student-led protest at the provincial legislature building.

Climate change is important to kids because we will live with the effects the longest. Even though I can't vote or run for office yet, I still want people to notice that children care about climate change.

I am really scared about what the future could be. I am worried that there will be more tornadoes, droughts, floods and extreme weather events. I don't want people to die because of a thing that could have been stopped if people had taken it more seriously.

My interest in the Strike 4 Climate started when my mom showed me a video of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who has become a well-known activist against climate change. I find Greta inspiring and brave.

When I found out that there was something going on in Regina, I got more interested. The more interested I got, the more I wanted to participate. This is my first time doing something like this.

We are marching at the legislature because we want the provincial government to take climate change seriously, and not keep fighting the carbon tax. I also want Canada to adopt the recommendations of the Paris Agreement of 2015.

I think it is exciting to be part of a global movement. It is exciting to think that people all over the world will be marching. It is exciting to realize that there are a large number of kids who also want to see progress, and that we could potentially (finally!) have some real action against climate change.

The movement can't just be one day, it has to be every day.- Ada Dechene

I want to protest because climate change is a really important issue. I think it is something we might be able to fix, but we would have to work really hard in the next few years.

People could drive less, fly less, eat less meat, use less disposable stuff and use renewable energy more, and then we could burn less fossil fuel and reduce our carbon emissions. If we don't start doing these things we will see significant changes in our planet and in animals and plants.

Making the changes to reduce your carbon footprint can be hard but it's not impossible. For example, my family doesn't have a car. We walk more and bike everywhere. And we joined Regina's Car Co-op for when we really need a vehicle. We have to leave earlier for things sometimes but it's really not that difficult. By doing this my family has lowered our carbon emissions a lot.

Sometimes it can seem inconvenient but when you look at the bigger picture it's better for the planet.

Climate change is not a new thing. The denial of climate change is not new either. Because of denial and not acting, we have to work much harder now so that a climate crisis will be averted.

Adults should listen to us because we are saying something that they have probably known about for a long time. I would also appreciate it if climate deniers would quit denying the serious and damaging impact climate change will have on our planet if it is not stopped.

Adults need to know that we care about what is happening to our planet and want change. They need to know this so that they will actually do things. Adults have the authority to change more things, like laws and carbon emissions, than kids can.

I'm joining the Strike 4 Climate because it's a way for my voice and the voices of other kids to be heard. We hope it will start a larger movement here in Saskatchewan, in Canada and the world. The movement can't just be one day, it has to be every day. We hope you'll join us.

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