Students demand love for the environment

By Cormac Flanagan

STUDENTS from across Omagh expressed their love for the environment on Valentine’s Day with the common message of ‘system change not climate change.’

Despite half-term break and the looming Storm Dennis, dozens of young people attended the Earth Strike rally outside the Courthouse.

Inspired by Greta Thunberg’s Youth 4 Climate movement, the local students and millions of others from across the globe left their classrooms on Friday to demand political action on the climate crisis.

This was the latest Omagh Earth Strike involving young people following a number of similar protests at the Courthouse towards the latter part of last year

Using a microphone donated by Unison, the event organiser Ailis Keys addressed the crowd and said, “The government needs to commit to ensuring Northern Ireland is at least carbon-zero if not carbon-negative by 2050

“We believe that Edwin Poots needs to realise that we are running out of time to save our planet and it is his role as Agriculture Minister to administer action against climate change immediately.”

Also speaking, Sean Devine from Omagh CBS said, “The united front of the young and old alike is the key to winning this fight. When we come together we begin to make an impact on our communities. The Omagh strike is just one of many occurring and together we can all make an impact at a local, national or even global level.”

The strike received a positive response from the public with many people stopping to listen to what was being said by the young people.

There will be another Global strike on April 3, marking the 50th anniversary of the world’s first ever climate strike back in 1970.