Amalia Lerner, 7, is asking questions about climate change and wants to know what everyone is doing about it.
Photo/ Stuart Munro
Amalia Lerner, 7, is asking questions about climate change and wants to know what everyone is doing about it.
Photo/ Stuart Munro
What do you do to help our planet earth?
Asking the question is Amalia Lerner, a 7-year-old pupil at St Johns Hill School in Whanganui.
Too young to join high school climate change protesters at Virginia Lake on Friday, Amalia and all her friends at school had been spending the week studying the effects of climate change and what can be done about it.
St Johns Hill is an enviroschool and the staff and Board of Trustees have a mandate "to foster a generation of people who instinctively think and act sustainably".
"In room 9, we do things to help the earth by having a 'Womble' lunch box with reusable plastic, we plant trees and help grow them and we re-use scrap paper and turn cans into pencil holders," said Amalia.
Amalia's sister Evelyn 10, and her friend Jack Heerdegen, also 10, have written a letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
"We are a green gold school and we care about this earth. We are doing a lot to try to change and save our planet. We would like you to make a change to stop global warming with us. Please!"
St Johns Hill principal Michael Fitzgerald said all the children at the school from year 1 to year 6 have been working on letters, poems and artwork all week and they had plenty to say on the topic of climate change.
St Johns Hills School School principal Michael Fitzgerald with a group of young eco-warriors making their own special protest.
Photo/Stuart Munro
"Climate change is a huge problem and companies should stop making things that produce toxic fumes," said Galen Mayo, 8.
Elizabeth Adrole, 10, said we can minimise climate change by installing more solar panels and using biodegradable or reusable wrapping.
"The world is getting hotter and we need to plant more trees to produce oxygen," said Phoebe Tripe, 10.
Carter Watkins, 9, said we should all use our cars less and cycle more.
Sam Ellingham, 6, thinks we should use solar-powered cars when we need to travel further.
Alex Beitchef, 8, said he thinks electric car charging stations could be solar-powered and expressed concern about unsustainable methods of power generation.
"We should have more wind turbines," said Jack Reid, 8.
"I'm worried about the coral reefs dying too."
James MacPherson, 6, said the sun is melting the ice caps and polar bears are becoming confused about the seasons.
St Johns Hill school pupils have spent the week studying the effects of climate change and they have some ideas about what we can all do about it.
"I would like to see a lot more people doing good things to save the planet and spreading the word to everyone," said Alma Erstad, 9.
Saransh Kumar, 10, said electric cars should be cheaper so everyone can afford them.
"People should use more paper straws, paper bags and reusable bags," said Elle Limpus, 9.
Lucy Reid, 10, said it is very important to think of ourselves as caretakers of our planet and all of us can take some responsibility for saving the earth for future generations.
