Surrey schools encourage students to join climate strikes, Vancouver schools may follow

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Some Metro Vancouver students are gearing up for another massive climate rally as world leaders gather at the UN to discuss the grim implications of a new report.

On the heels of last week’s global climate strike, another is being planned for this coming Friday.

A number of schools around the world encouraged students to attend — even if that meant skipping classes. As another day of planned rallies approaches, the Surrey School District has already agreed to allow students to miss class for it.

“We live in an era of global climate change,” reads a letter to parents and guardians, penned by Surrey’s superintended of schools. “The signs are all around us. While there are large scale initiatives around the globe, such as a move to electric cars and alternative forms of energy, it is clear that our efforts are insufficient.”

Jordan Tinney says it’s now up to the world’s children to address the issues that come with climate change, and to find solutions to the growing problem.

“Such will and dedication requires a call to action,” he says.

A new report from the World Meteorological Organization reaffirms that the last five years have been the warmest on record, and over that same period, the amount of CO2 being dumped into the atmosphere has risen 20 per cent compared to the previous five years.

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The most worrying impact here is sea level rise, which has also accelerated to five millimeters every year.

The UN’s Secretary-General says the issue of climate change is so serious, that he’s convinced it is “the defining issue of our time.”

It’s also a topic Tinney says is extensively covered in B.C. school curriculum.

“Climate change and environmental issues are deeply embedded in the BC curriculum,” he explains. “The teachers who collaborated in writing the curriculum did so with full awareness of the challenges ahead. Educators care deeply about these issues and it is very common – from student leadership initiatives, science fair presentations, community gardens, the numerous recycling efforts and many other initiatives – to see how schools embrace the issues related to our planet and the environment every day.”

If parents are willing to let their children skip class on Friday to attend the climate rally, Tinney says the school district will simply mark the student down as “excused for the day.”

“We are also asking our schools to ensure that if any students are excused by their parents for that day, they will be provided the opportunity to make up any missed work or tests without penalty. First and foremost, students would want to speak with their teachers about missing school.”

Meantime, the Vancouver School Board is set to meet Monday night to discuss doing the same.

Inspired by Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teenage climate activist who helped spark a youth-driven push for climate change, Global Climate Strike rallies are taking place around the world and are being timed to coincide with the UN’s Climate Action Summit in New York.

-With files from The Associated Press