Trustee calls on Vancouver School Board to support student action in climate strike

A Vancouver School Board (VSB) trustee has formally put forward a motion calling upon the VSB to “take steps to support student involvement in climate-focused activities leading up to and including the September 27 climate strike.”

In announcing his motion, Vision Vancouver trustee Allan Wong said he thinks “it’s imperative that our youth have the opportunity to participate in activities during this week of climate action.”

If passed, Wong’s motion would call on the VSB to fully support participation in the Climate Strike on September 27 and direct staff to encourage Vancouver schools to incorporate the Climate Strike into educational programming, for the week of September 23.

See also:

• Massive crowd gathers for climate strike in downtown Vancouver (PHOTOS)
• Millions hit the streets to join global climate strike (PHOTOS)

The motion will be tabled and debated at tonight’ school board meeting where Wong will ask fellow Trustees to back his calls to support student-led activism.

“Students are leading the way on calling for action to address climate change, which is something that must be supported by educators and the entire education system,” said Wong. “I’m optimistic that this proposal will be supported by my fellow school board trustees.”

The motion comes on the heels of global climate strikes and walkouts this past Friday, in which millions of people of all ages took to the streets to demand governments take action to address the climate crisis and put an end to the age of fossil fuels.

The worldwide walkout, organized by the Fridays for Future campaign, is taking place in more than 150 countries and is scheduled ahead of the opening of the United Nations General Assembly and the Climate Action Summit, scheduled to begin today (September 23.)

And in Vancouver, an estimated few hundred residents, young and old, converged on the plaza at the Vancouver Art Gallery to make their voices heard.