Students discuss climate change with municipal leaders
Youngsters hear from local experts, present ideas to mitigate possible impacts
Climate change was the focus Tuesday as high school students and mayors from across Windsor-essex gathered at the Essex Civic Centre.
The Ecoteam from Leamington District Secondary School organized the Climate Action Summit.
The summit allowed the municipal leaders and teams of eight to 10 students and a teacher from high schools within the Greater Essex County District School Board to hear from local experts on possible climate change impacts on ecosystems, human health and the economy. It also gave students a chance to present their ideas on mitigating the possible impacts of climate change.
“It truly is going to impact us and it’s going to impact our future far quicker than we ever could have imagined,” Leamington District Secondary School student Ana Vrucina said Tuesday of why young people are so passionate about this topic.
Vrucina, 17, said she hopes the event establishes long-lasting partnerships between student leaders and their municipalities. She’d like to see more wetlands established and see more trees planted to slow down the impact of climate change.
Teacher Lisa Jeffery who helped organize the event said students had been planning the summit since September. Jeffery agreed it’s a topic young people care about.
“I think it’s been developing over time but I have to give credit to Greta Thunberg because the young Swedish climate activist, she inspired the world really to take action and she inspired us as well,” Jeffery said.
Students around the world are angry at government inaction on climate change, she said. The school had a climate strike and invited municipal leaders who joined them.
To take a proactive approach, the students decided to host a climate summit and the event included a chance to talk with mayors about developing climate action plans, Jeffery said.