Sackville resident Penny Mott is part of a group of seniors concerned about the climate crisis, and planning to show that concern in a rally and awareness event on Tuesday in Sackville.
“Many of us are sitting in our homes and we’re distressed about with the dramatic climatic changes we’re experiencing,” says Mott. That’s why Mott is helping organize a Seniors For Climate event at the Bill Johnstone Memorial Park on Tuesday, October 1st, from 11am to 1pm. The event is open to all ages, and will also include an opportunity to learn about green burials.
“We are planning to have a real call to action about the climate situation in our area,” says Mott. “Rising sea levels at our coastlines, unusual hot days, long periods of drought with sudden and intense rainfall, and the worry of very intense hurricanes coming up the eastern seaboard… There is a real reason, too many reasons, for us to stand up and tell the political leaders and the corporations in our country that we need to have more intense action addressing the climate.”
The event is part of Seniors For Climate, a national initiative to coincide with National Seniors Day on October 1st, with over 70 events happening across the country.
In addition to the rally, Mott says there will be information available about alternatives to cremation. “It developed out of a conversation around my kitchen table,” says Mott. “It has come to our attention that cremation produces a considerable amount of CO2 emissions, and so as well as our call to action, we are offering some information about green burial.”
Mott says events like Tuesday’s are a “great beginning to show that the seniors in Canada are joining with the rest of the population.”
“We realize that we are a very large demographic force in our country,” says Mott. “We have economic power. We have political power because we tend to be a group that votes. And we’re also a social power.”
”We’re a significant power, if we act collectively,” says Mott.
