Grade 10 student Anika Dies addresses the crowd at the Fridays for Future strike at the Melfort Mall on May 3. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

Fridays for Future

Melfort high school students protest at local MLA office

May 3, 2019 | 5:00 PM

A handful of local high school students took some time out of their lunch hour today to bring some attention to climate change.

The students from Melfort Unit Comprehensive Collegiate (MUCC) marched from the school to the Melfort Mall as part of the Fridays for Future strike where students across Canada take the day off and protest to bring attention to climate change. Anika Dies, a Grade 10 student at MUCC said the idea behind the strike is to raise awareness.

“To show that the youth care and we want our future guaranteed, and we want everyone to take steps to guarantee that,” Dies said. “So this was something that matters a lot to me, and I hope I can make it matter to other kids my age.”

Anika Dies was a main spearhead behind the Melfort protests and she spoke to the crowd at the mall on Friday. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

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Dies said while most students across Canada who participate in the strikes take the whole day off, they are unable to, but they still were able to draw a lot of eyes at the Melfort Mall as the local trade show was taking place.

“By walking through the mall, I wanted to get the attention of everyone who was here,” Dies told northeastNOW. “We came in on a day when thankfully there was lots of people here, lots of bystanders, lots of people to view, and that was really the most important part to us.”

The march ended in front of MLA Todd Goudy’s office at the mall, and while he was not there, the group hopes that they are able to get his attention at some point.

“I am hoping to get his attention,” she said. “To be able to arrange some kind of meeting with him where we can discuss what his plans are, if he has any to help, to save the planet, to guarantee the future for kids like me.”

Dies added the support from the school, and other students was excellent.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6