Members of the Dubbo Environmental Group have seized on the opportunity of the relaxed COVID-19 restrictions to show their support for students across the nation striking in support of climate action.
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The group, led by activist Margaret MacDonald, have previously shown their support for the movement in September of last year, but have been hamstrung by enforced quarantine rules in recent months.
"We had the event planned because of the global school strike day, the last time this was held, last year, we had a support action to show our support of the movement and to raise awareness locally," Ms MacDonald said.
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"We had our restrictions eased today, we're allowed to have ten or so in the park over the next two hours."
The group held signs and placards raising awareness of deforestation and other environmental issues that have links to the global climate, receiving supportive cheers and sometimes insults, from passing motorists.
"It's been frustrating not being able to get out and do something about it in recent months, I think to a certain extent the issue has been ignored while everyone's been in lockdown, they've kind of crept under the radar a bit," Ms MacDonald said.
"It's disappointing some of the things we've seen, even after the fires that got into the forests, we've heard of them going in and cutting down parts of those forests."
"I worry about [water scarcity] all the time, I worry about it a great deal, it's one of the reasons that we persist in these actions even when we have people calling out, as some have today, some pretty nasty things about us."
The Australian National University released research in the last year that showed the Parkes electorate, including Dubbo, would be one of the areas hardest hit by rising emissions, something that concerns Ms MacDonald.
While Ms MacDonald her group have been unable to protest for the past weeks as restrictions limit movement, they have been very active where they can, allying with a number of other environmental groups and putting forward questions and policy proposals to political entities.
The group earlier called for answers on the Murray-Darling plan from member for Dubbo, Dugald Saunders, who met with them following a demonstration outside of his office.
Now, they're turning their attention to local politics, supplying Dubbo Regional Council with a policy proposal drafted by the group and drawing on research and testimony from scientists to advocate for a reduction to net zero emissions by 2050 in the Dubbo local government area.
The policy proposal, drafted by several members of the group, calls the goal 'essential' to meeting the objective of the Paris Climate Agreement that seeks to keep global average temperature rises below two degrees and prevent the most damaging impacts of a changing climate.