In this article, Lily Drury writes about her passion for the environment and how she and her mum arranged for Green Party Co-Leader James Shaw to come and speak to Year 4 via Zoom as part of our Unit of Inquiry focused on "Sharing the Planet".

It all began when I became a vegetarian to help the environment, when I turned 7. Since then, I’ve learned about helping the elephants and found a way to donate to help save the elephants. I am very interested in the environment, helping animals, and saving our planet. That’s why I’m so interested in the Green Team because they help the environment become a better place for plants, animals and humans.

The Green Team is one of the parties that work in our Government, and James Shaw is one of the leaders and the Minister of Climate Change with a focus on Biodiversity. 6 months ago, my Mum asked James Shaw if he could come and speak to the Year 4s. It took 6 months (because he’s very busy!) but he replied! On Thursday James Shaw came and spoke to the Year 4s on Zoom and answered some of our questions. Here are some things we learned:

- James said rubbish is our next big move. There’s just too much of it.

- 90% of pollution from our households comes from transport. To reduce this we can walk or bike or bus to school.

- By 2030 all cars imported to NZ will be electric – James thinks by then, cars might even be able to drive themselves!

- One of the reasons for deforestation is because people live in poverty and cut down trees to build shelter. James plans to work with the people in rainforest regions to stop illegal deforestation by helping them live more safely not in poverty. We need our forests and trees because they produce oxygen to keep our air clean, and there are so many ecosystems in forests. Actually, the rainforests are the most biodiverse places in the world.

James said the voice of young people in NZ has helped the Government to make climate change a priority. But he says our voices have gone quiet. I am really inspired by Malala Yousafzai who is a young activist. She says: “one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.” James says one thing we can do to use our voice is write to our local member of parliament to tell him that the environment and climate change is important to us. His name is Simon Watts. You can email him here: simon.watts@national.org.nz

I hope you will write to Simon. Even though we are young we can still make a difference. I will be walking to school more often. And I hope that everyone in school switches from plastic wrap and bags to using containers.

By Lily Drury