Last Friday, I took part in the youth climate strike with hundreds of other Victoria youth.

At 11am we gathered outside City Hall, holding signs painted with frustration, and began our march to the B.C legislature building.

We walked down Government street expressing our anger in different chants. Adults watched us make our way across downtown, taking a stand.

Once we arrived at the legislature building, we gathered in a circle on the front lawn. Three fifteen year old girls (the organizers of the strike), began the event. For two more hours we listened to passionate speakers demanding a need for change.

Most of which, happened to be youth.

We may only be kids, but it seems as though we have a better understanding of the power climate change possesses. We understand the potential damage to humanity. 

We understand that climate change will severely impact our future.

We strike because we fear climate change. But also because we have hope that it will be avoided.

If everyone in Victoria did ‘Meatless-Monday’ for a whole year, fossil fuel emissions would go down by 70,000 tons.

How easy is it to avoid meat for one day a week? It’s a very small sacrifice for a very important cause.

To meet its Paris Agreement commitments, Canada must cut carbon emissions to 70 per cent of their 2005 levels by 2030. However, the latest national inventory report on emissions reported that Canada had actually increased its carbon emissions by eight million tonnes between 2016 and 2017.

The more we neglect this issue and pretend it doesn’t exist, the more my future and the future of my kids will be negatively impacted.

You may not think you can have a huge impact, but even if it’s just packing a no-waste lunch, you are making a difference.

Open your eyes to our future, and decide how you want it to look.