Students from across the Blue Mountains took part in protests demanding climate change action on Friday, September 25.
Socially distanced rallies took place in Glenbrook, Valley Heights, Springwood, Hazelbrook, Lawson, Leura, Echo Point and Narrowneck Peninsula in Katoomba.
Protests this year focused on Prime Minister Scott Morrison's gas energy push, calling for no public funds to be spent on "gas or other damaging fossil fuels".
Ten high school students took part in a silent protest in Springwood's town square at 3pm on Friday.
Year 7 Springwood High School student Lily Joyner said COVID-19 had forced changes to the protests this year.
"Instead of having big events with thousands of people at them, we are having thousands of events with much smaller numbers of people," she said.
Her reason for protesting was simple: "It says it on my sign: 'This is a life or death situation'. We have to act now for us and every living thing on Earth to have a future. Climate change is such an important topic... and it's so important to address it now."
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In Gloria Park at Hazelbrook, homeschoolers Ember Henninger, Luka Brett-Hall and Maddie Brett-Hall protested at 10.30am using found objects from nature to create their message.
Holly Engel, another local climate strike supporter, said: "In the last year we've moved from devastating drought into fires that incinerated nearly 20 times more land than an average NSW fire season and then into enormous rains and flooding.
"This isn't the 'normal' that I want to return to after COVID, but things will only get worse unless we take radical action now... I want to survive. I don't want my money sent to big gas companies."
The protest day was organised by the School Strike 4 Climate network, as well as First Nations communities, unions, and everyday Australians.
