Youth climate strikers return to Bristol’s streets

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, hundreds of youth climate strikers took to Bristol’s streets.

The last protest of its kind was in February 2020, when Greta Thunberg’s appearance attracted thousands of people.

The strike was much smaller on Friday, with around 200 people attending.

Lily Fitzgibbon, one of the founders of Bristol Youth Strike for Climate (BYS4C) and now a Green Party councillor, said that she is “so excited that everyone is back today”.

She told Bristol24/7: “We’re moving towards normality again, or a sense of it at least, and I think we need to make sure that we don’t go back to the systems that we used to live by that caused the situation that we are in.

“I’m here to keep that message going and, in particular, I want to keep calling for a Green New Deal which is one of the key demands that youth strikers have been working on for years now.”

Lily Fitzgibbon, one of the original founders of Bristol Youth Strike for Climate, is now a Green Party councillor for Bishopston & Ashley Down – photo: Billy Stockwell.

One of Friday’s key messages that BYS4C wants to highlight is how they claim that nothing has changed since the last strike in terms of climate action.

Esther Akatwijuka, 17, a member of BYS4C and Extinction Rebellion Youth, said that she is “disappointed” at the lack of change since Greta came to Bristol last year.

“The Clean Air Zone has been postponed, so Bristolians are still breathing dirty air, and we also have Bristol airport expansion which is being appealed right now.

“We need the council and the government to take climate change like the emergency that it is”.

Starting on College Green at around 11.30am, speeches were made about the escalating climate emergency.

Speakers included Lia-Anjali Lazarus, a member of the Youth Parliament representing Bristol, and Pippa Allenby from Parents for Future.

Pippa Allenby gave a speech on College Green about the group Parents for Future – photo: Billy Stockwell

Chloé Naldrett, a representative from the campaign Our Air Our City was up first, giving an emotional speech to the crowd that set the tone for the day’s event.

“You should be going to the cinema with your mates, you should be watching TV, reading books and watching cat videos on YouTube.

“Instead of blocking roads, and protesting about airport expansion, you should be falling in love.”

Mya-Rose Craig, 19, who was given an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol last year, also addressed the crowd, saying that four years ago “the whole conversation about climate change was completely different”.

“It wasn’t mainstream. They (the government) didn’t think anybody cared about it, so they weren’t taking action.”

“Three year ago, Youth Strike for Climate burst onto the scene and it showed them very clearly, very explicitly, that young people care about climate change.

“They care enough to be skiving off school and possibly getting into trouble.”

Mya Rose-Craig, aka Bird Girl, was one of the speakers on College Green – photo: Billy Stockwell

Youth strikers followed their usual route around the city centre, walking from College Green towards Broadmead, and then up past Castle Park, with a combination of samba band drumming and chanting filling the air.

A group of around a dozen young people led the march on Friday, holding a banner reading ‘Skolstrejk för klimatet’, the phrase coined by Greta Thunberg during her first ever school strike in 2013.

There was a reasonably small police presence at Friday’s youth strike – photo: Billy Stockwell

Protesters gathered on College Green from 11am – photo: Billy Stockwell

“I want my child to have the same future that I could have the opportunity to have,” one protester said – photo: Billy Stockwell

After speeches, protesters marched from College Green over to Broadmead – photo: Billy Stockwell

A samba band led the protest around the city – photo: Billy Stockwell

‘There is no planet B’ – photo: Billy Stockwell

Onlookers sip on a coffee whilst protesters march through Broadmead – photo: Billy Stockwell

Friday’s turnout was much smaller than Greta’s strike in the city last year – photo: Billy Stockwell

Main photo: Billy Stockwell

Read more: ‘Climate strikes are back because we have so much left to fight for’

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