Children began ringing the alarm bells at 11 a.m. in Gibsons on Friday. They kept it up for 11 minutes.
“It has been a traditional role of the church that in times of danger and attack that we do alert the people around us and in our communities by ringing the bells,” said Heather Jeal, people’s warden at St. Bartholemew’s Anglican Church in Gibsons.
Since the ongoing climate strikes have been youth-driven, she said children were given the opportunity to perform the “symbolic” act of ringing St. Bart’s bells.
Jeal was among hundreds on the Sunshine Coast who raised the alarm about the changing climate on Sept. 27, the bulk of them descending on the stretch of Sunshine Coast Highway fronting Persephone Brewing Company in the afternoon to catch the attention of drivers heading to and from the Langdale Terminal.
More than 100,000 people protested in Vancouver and Victoria, while 500,000 are reported to have hit the streets of Montreal, led by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
While last Friday’s smaller rallies at the Langdale bypass and Davis Bay Pier were organized to coincide with the United Nations Climate Action Summit, the Sept. 27 worldwide demonstration was billed as a “general strike,” with businesses encouraged to shut their doors.
A handful of businesses on the Sunshine Coast did just that, including Persephone, which had announced it would be closing from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., inviting the public to participate, and paying staff who picketed outside the beer farm.
“We did some research and couldn’t find too much going on besides what the students were doing here on the Sunshine Coast, so we thought we’d take the lead and try to organize,” said CEO Jenn Vervier. “This was the young people, the students saying, OK adults, you need to get off your duff and do something with us.”
Vervier acknowledged shutting down for a few hours was a “symbolic gesture,” and that it brings exposure to the business, but told Coast Reporter, “We’re doing this because it’s what we believe in.”
Local government also participated to varying degrees. The Town of Gibsons took two hours for “a climate act-in,” that saw staff and politicians “engage in reviewing our actions and policies to further curb our contribution to global climate change.”
Staff at the District of Sechelt were permitted to take an hour to participate, with approval from their supervisors. Some local politicians, who were in Vancouver for the Union of BC Municipalities convention, attended the strikes at Vancouver City Hall, including Elphinstone director Donna McMahon and Andreas Tize, director for Roberts Creek.
Meanwhile at the Persephone protest, families, students and seniors alike flanked both sides of the busy stretch, waving signs and banners at ferry traffic. Most drivers honked in support, a few detractors heckled out their windows.
Signs urged people to vote, called for immediate action and carried messages of hope, such as, “It’s never too late.”
Environmentalist George Smith called it a “watershed moment,” since local organizers were joined by newcomers.
That included Rose Shaw, 86, who said she attended last week’s protests, but before that, hadn’t joined a rally since the 1970s. “At the beginning we didn’t realize the damage we were doing, and once we did realize ... it seems it got completely out of hand,” said Shaw, adding: “The atmosphere doesn’t stop at borders.”
Many youth were also in attendance.
“It’s overwhelming, but I find it’s good that so many people care about the environment,” said a 12-year-old Roberts Creek Elementary School student.
Sixteen-year-old student Sam Fink-Jensen has been involved in the movement both provincially and nationally using messaging apps, and helping review press releases and media packages. “A lot of people are finally ready to hear about it. My generation is old enough now that they’re starting to get it,” said Fink-Jensen. “People are being forced to pay attention to what’s going on and they’re going out there and realizing maybe they can make a difference.”
By mid-afternoon the crowds had grown large enough that two RCMP vehicles appeared on scene to clear people from the centreline, but soon after, a brief rainstorm ushered many people back to their cars for shelter.
