Inside the movement to bring a climate rally back to Maple Ridge

On the day Hudson Campbell skipped class, thousands of his peers joined him. 

It was a crisp fall Friday in October 2019, and activist Greta Thunberg was going to make an appearance at a climate strike in Vancouver. 

Leading up to that day, Campbell realized that climate change was becoming a bigger problem — one that his generation would need to speak out on.

Maple Ridge, Campbell’s hometown, had its own climate rally one month earlier. 

The rally came after forest fires ravaged B.C. in 2017 and 2018. And after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report outlining the importance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C. 

Campbell, then a high school student, ditched class and headed to the SkyTrain. 

Every school district in Greater Vancouver was notified of the climate strike, and the superintendent of schools said students wouldn’t be penalized for cutting class. 

When Campbell made it downtown, he saw a wave of people his age holding signs and chanting slogans in an effort to urge leaders to move away from fossil fuels and protect the planet.

“It was really, really cool to see so many young people together, passionate about something and taking a stance,” he said. 

But then the pandemic hit.

Bringing back the rally

After the October 2019 climate rally in Vancouver, Campbell became interested in politics. 

He volunteered for MLA Lisa Beare’s 2020 re-election campaign, and successfully ran for school board in Ridge Meadows last fall. He also joined the Maple Ridge Climate Hub, a non-profit group that helps residents take action against climate change. 

“I was just really passionate about the environment, and always had been passionate about the environment,” said Campbell, who is currently a political science student at the University of the Fraser Valley. 

The passion from youth like Campbell was unbelievable four years ago, said Kirk Grayson, president of the Maple Ridge Climate Hub. 

She expected Maple Ridge — spurred by youth interest in the Vancouver rally featuring Thunberg — would have more rallies in the future. 

“Thousands of people marched in Vancouver, we had a smaller one here [in Maple Ridge] and there was so much enthusiasm,” Grayson said. 

But the pandemic stalled the Hub’s plan to host more climate rallies in Maple Ridge.

“It was COVID and I think nobody just stepped up to organize one,” Campbell said.

Earlier this month, however, Grayson noticed that momentum was growing across the world to host another international climate strike. 

The movement came as youth made headlines in the U.S. for suing their home states over fossil fuel use. 

Teenagers in Montana this summer won a landmark case against the state for failing to consider climate change impacts when approving fossil fuel projects. A similar youth-led lawsuit is taking place in Hawaii. 

Grayson then reached out to Campbell, who quickly became vice president of the Climate Hub, to see if he was interested in bringing back a climate rally to Maple Ridge. 

Coming up with solutions

Leading up to the rally, Campbell was nervous. 

He was unsure whether five or 200 people would turn up at the event. But as the event went on, his fears subsided — the energy was high, people were chanting and trading signs. 

Both Campbell and Grayson were pleased with how many people came out.

Roughly 65 people attended the Maple Ridge rally last Sunday. The crowd included Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy and Coun. Jenny Tan. 

“It showed a united front,” Campbell said. 

Working on about three weeks’ notice, Grayson noted that Cambell hosted the event and talked about the importance of civic action in mitigating climate change impacts. 

“He was phenomenal… He threw himself into this and did a fabulous job.” 

Grayson said she hopes residents learn small solutions — such as eating less meat, taking public transportation, or installing heat pumps — that may go a long way to fighting climate change. 

She added that the Maple Ridge Climate Hub is not slowing down.

The Hub is planning a documentary screening and panel to discuss food waste. The group is also partnering with the Fraser Valley Regional Library to host a series of climate change solutions workshops in the spring, Grayson said. 

In the wake of the rally, Campbell is looking at Maple Ridge to build more active transportation infrastructure that encourages people to use their car less frequently.

“We need more buses, rapid transit, and more bike and e-bike infrastructure,” he said. 

“I was talking to a man after the rally who said he has nowhere to plug in his electric scooter. These basic things could really make a difference.” 

More people in Maple Ridge are mindful of climate change, Campbell said, pointing to last fall’s election that saw the city elect four new councillors and a new mayor.

“There’s a new slew of people moving to Maple Ridge that aren’t willing to settle with the status quo,” he said. 

Now, he hopes climate dialogue becomes a permanent fixture in the city. 

“The real goal is to get the conversation started again,” he said. “And get people ready to mobilize and take action.”