Celebration Square Climate Strike!

I had the pleasure to help coordinate the PEYA Networks participation at the climate strike this past Friday at the Celebration Square in Downtown Mississauga. As a student exec at PEYA, the Peel Environmental Youth Alliance, my priority is letting youth have their voice heard. I created an online poster and asked peers to share the poster to get as much participation as possible for the event. 

The young leaders Martin, Una, and Alexis from Woodlands SS. worked with Mississauga Climate action to bring the strike to Mississauga Celebration Square. During the strike, I got to speak with them and really felt inspired and grateful for the power, boldness, and their positive attitude. They get things done, and I believe that youth across the country have the power to do the same. 

It was a great opportunity to meet and hear from a variety of different people, as well as to gauge a better understanding of how we can get people engaged in constructive dialogue about how to improve climate activism and civic engagement in matters that will be affecting our future for years to come. 

The people that attended the event came from different backgrounds and truly inspired me to reach out to strangers with the sheer amount of kindness and strength I felt as a collective. 

It's not just about meeting others but about the action after that. These meeting areas are opportunities to learn about what other projects are happening in your community and potentially being a pet of it. 

It's about using this even to learn and implement something from what you learned. 

As we walked along the sidewalk, we were able to chant and really build a sense of community. I absolutely loved reading all the posters and interacting with youth who I could see came from different schools across there region. I met students from Woodlands, Cawthra, T.L. Kennedy, Clarkson, University of Toronto Mississauga, a few other Universities, and more. It was amazing how much community and how easy it was to spark new conversations and dialogues about why and how we started in the climate movement, and why it is important to spread awareness about issues surrounding climate change and the need for climate action. 

This was also the first day that I wrote and posted an Instagram post because I truly felt something from that day that resonated with me that I wanted to keep. From the new people to the sense of control and empowerment, I think that when we use our platforms (whether it be physically or socially) we should always consider the value and the impact that it will make. I believe that the causes that we stand for should always be integrated into our daily actions, and having such events ensures that we stay grounded in our pursuit of supporting the causes we stand by. 

Advocacy takes numerous forms, and regardless of what it is, it's important to be cognizant of the power of the collective, the importance of uniting with people who share similar causes, and the importance of making it be known that these causes are of priority to our politicians. 

We are the change-makers of the future and future voters. We need to ensure that the causes we stand for are also prioritized by the MPs, ward councilors, and everything and everyone who has a stake in our society's foundation, policies, and organization. 

So strike meaningful and powerful? Absolutely. 

Through this event, I was able to learn about the city's 2020 Climate Action Plan and hear from the people who are also interested in taking action.