Last week's hundreds-strong Dunedin School Strike for Climate filled St Paul's Cathedral on Friday 31 July, as its Trinity Catholic College Envirogroup organisers turned to the Anglican Church to save their day of climate action. 

Originally planned for Dunedin's outdoor city-centre Octagon, the strike was moved after organisers Sophie Hoexum (17) and Theodora Clarke-Wallace(16) called on Cathedral Dean the Very Rev Tony Curtis to prevent extreme weather cancelling their long-planned strike. 

"We went to ask the Cathedral if we could take the strike inside, because it's right there in the Octagon." said Sophie. "And we could see straight away that Father Tony was really enthusiastic." 

Dean Tony and the Cathedral parish decided they would have to pivot with only 48 hours notice.

"We just dropped everything and made sure that we could make it happen." he said.

"We're so proud of the action they're taking. It's a big part of our Anglican Marks of Mission to take care of the earth – to steward Creation, and they're showing us how it's done."

Students from more than a dozen Dunedin high schools gathered at St Paul's on Friday afternoon, which for some was their first time inside the building. They heard from schoolmates like strike speaker Shiva Kasibhatla(15) who asked his peers to put their future into perspective. 

"Every choice we make, every voice we raise, and every action we take becomes part of the world we leave behind." he said.

"The question is not whether we will shape the future, the question is; what kind of future will we shape for those who come after us?" 

Also on hand were expert organisations including: Forest and Bird, Climate Liberation Aotearoa, 350 Aotearoa, Enviroschools, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Extinction Rebellion NZ and Restore Passenger Rail NZ, as well as political parties' spokespeople on the environment. 

Otago University Climate scientist Dr Jen Purdie was there too, to outline the urgency of cutting reliance on fossil fuels by investing in clean energy solutions today. 

"Globally, 70% of emissions reductions are going to come from transitioning energy systems from fossil fuels to renewables." Dr Purdie said.

"New Zealand is not doing our global fair share of reducing emissions – and this Government has smashed climate and environmental policy. We have made huge leap backwards in the last three years."

Jen encouraged young strikers to keep pressuring their local and national politicians.

"Yes, we all need to drive less, fly less, recycle and buy less stuff, because creating lots of stuff creates emissions."

"But with one Government policy shift, politicians can reduce more emissions than you can reduce in your lifetime."

The students' principal demand on Friday was for Government to protect places of natural beauty and ecological significance by repealing the Fast Track legislation, standing by their placards' slogan which read:  "Fast Track = Wrong Track".

As well as repealing the Fast Track legislation, students asked for more climate education for the general public, and more listening to youth on climate-related policies before local and national decision-makers draft short-sighted laws. 

Climate strike organising team member Made Newson(16) from All Saints' Anglican Church was keen to speak out on policies that turn back environmental protections or expand fossil fuel use. 

"We need to act to protect our environment and to prevent these terrible natural disasters ...and also to protect our neighbours who are being displaced." she said.

At Friday's strike, Cathedral parishioner Ziva Curtis (15) signed the Greenpeace campaign calling for a ban on deep sea mining. 

"I think it's really important that we protect our oceans, not only because's it's important for God's Creation, and for our environment, but especially because here in Aotearoa and around the Pacific it's so deeply rooted in the cultures and stories of how we travelled around and how we got here."

"So it's important to protect the environment, but also the heritage and the history that comes along with that."

Archdeacon Michael Wallace supported the school strike from the Cathedral crypt last Friday, as he cooked and handed out hundreds of cheese rolls, while his daughter Theodora ran the strike proceedings as its MC upstairs.

Theodora believes it's her church's job to care about the fate of the earth.

"It's so important to care for God's Creation, and as young people letting everybody know that we care about it is really important too."

"So if you are over 18, enrol to vote and make your voice heard, and if you are under 18, speak out, sign petitions, talk at your school, talk to politicians and in between try to do things like planting trees and looking after waterways, it all helps."