High school students all over the country are calling on fellow students, teachers and the community to join them in a march to raise awareness of climate change on Friday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The students will be walking out of classrooms to join the School Strike 4 Climate movement, and send a message to both state and federal government's that "more needs to be done."
Locally Tamworth students will be gathering at the Marius Street train station at 1.30pm, while in Gunnedah the young activists are meeting at the corner of Abbott Street and the Kamilaroi Highway at midday.
Gunnedah teenager Hugh Hunter is leading the charge, and said students are demanding no more coal or gas, no Adani coal mine, and 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
Read more:
"I’m hoping to get across that Gunnedah is not just a sleepy regional town," he said.
"There might be a stereotype around regional towns being a bit blasé, and I want to let the community know there are people here that care, and it’s not a full-on mining community."
Hugh lives near Baan Baa and said through drought, climate change was making itself known.
"It’s our future so we’ll be dealing with the impact of this," he said.
"The people who don’t think it’s real, don’t get out of their office enough."
Hugh attends St Mary's College and told the school of his plans to strike.
ACM contacted the Catholic Schools Office in Armidale but it declined to comment.
A Department of Education spokesperson said students who did not attend classes would be marked absent and "may be subject to school’s disciplinary codes."