It All Started With One Student

Just 2 years ago, Gretta Thunberg skipped her school in Sweden and stood alone outside the Swedish Parliament with a sign that had the words printed on it “SKOLSTREJK FÖR KLIMATET,” meaning “School Strike for Climate.” Since that day she has gained the support of four million people around the world who join in her weekly peaceful strikes for the climate. This is how the ‘Fridays for the Future” campaign was born nearly one hundred weeks ago. People are proud to stand outside of their town offices with signs advocating for climate change and things that can be done to help out the Earth. These “demonstrations” are always held after school so that students are able to attend. 

With the help of Ken Batts, the Fridays for the Future movement has come to Wellesley! 

Fridays for the Future has taken place for more than 6 months. Even with the COVID 19 pandemic, a variety of committed community members (socially distanced and masked for optimal safety) are out there on a regular basis. You can see everyone from elementary aged students, to Wellesley College women and other Wellesley adults. These weekly events have brought people together, allowing networking to go on, and great discussions.

You may have seen these folks, including Ken Batts, standing on the lawn in front of the Wellesley Town Hall, right in the middle Town, on Washington Street/Rt.16.  Ken’s goal which he has met so far “is to simply have one or more people out there weekly to spread awareness,” Batts said. “With COVID on top of everyone’s mind, these weekly deomostrations are even more important, making people congnisant about the fact that different species interacting can create pandemics, and how these interactions may be changing with climate change,” Batts explained.

Due to the slow creeping nature of climate change, it can be easy to not recognize. “If there were tsunamis everyday, you couldn’t ignore it, but since these catastrophes are invisible, they sometimes get ignored,” Batt said. 

If you are interested in joining these demonstrations, they are held every Friday at 3pm outside the Wellesley Town Hall. Absolutely everybody is welcome and encouraged to attend. There is also a Facebook group called FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE-WELLESLEY, MA with photos and information for the events. 

Thanks Ken for the inspiration!