Kids in Tacoma and Seattle are planning to join worldwide demonstrations during the school day Friday to call on adults to take action on climate change.
Demonstrations are expected in dozens of countries. They are inspired by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg in Sweden. Thunberg has been skipping school on Fridays since August to ask lawmakers in her country to adhere to the Paris Climate Agreement.
In Tacoma, kids and parents are planning to gather in Wright Park at noon Friday. Students will read essays urging adult leaders to take action on climate change.
"I think kids draw a bit more attention than just adults," said fifth-grader Theo Sullivan. The 11-year-old is the main student organizer for the Tacoma event.
Theo said learning about the potential environmental consequences of climate change has been scary.
"Kids usually are pretty selfish," he said. "If they care about this, then they care about all the kids and their future lives."
Theo's mom, Grace Sullivan, has been helping her son organize the event. She said she hopes to see at least a few dozen people there.
"These are conversations that are going on in homes and families around Tacoma," Sullivan said.
It can be a difficult conversation for parents, she said, who are trying to walk the line between giving their kids all the information and letting them just be kids.
"Kids are having a lot of strong reactions to finding out what the scientific community is saying about climate change," she said.
In addition to the Tacoma event, there also will be a demonstration at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle starting at 10 a.m. Friday. Other events can be found here.
