They told stories, they read poems and they sang songs. They laughed a little and some shed a tear.
A couple dozen residents came together at dinner hour Monday evening outside the front door of MLA Dan Ashton's office at Riverside Village for a candlelight vigil honouring the lives lost and disrupted during the extreme climatic events of 2021.
Organized by First Things First Okanagan and Penticton Climate Justice, the vigil, apparently one of many across the province last night, was intended not only as a memorial but as an incentive to spur government to act.
Speaking for the group Monday was tireless local green advocate Lori Goldman.
"We're here because there was a terrible loss of life this year due to unprecedented climate events like the heat dome, the massive floods from the atmospheric river, and the mud slides from the clear cuts," she explained.
"All of these things can be mitigated and acted on by our government. So we're at our MLA Dan Ashton's office. He is not here with us, but we’re here as 25 other MLA offices are having these actions around BC to commemorate not only the people who lost their lives but also the wildlife and habitat loss."
We asked Goldman what she had to say to those who aren’t yet convinced climate change is a serious issue.
"We know from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report that we have to work on things differently," she said. "And without doing something, without transitioning out of fossil fuels and into a green economy and creating jobs in that new economy, we will not have a future for our children."
According to Goldman, there were no hard feelings that MLA Ashton was absent despite an invitation to attend.
"He knows we're here," she said, "but he's busy doing something else. He said he would be here and was very happy to join us in this because he thinks the BC government is doing some things that need to be changed. He was very vocal that the BC government needs to do more on climate."
Two of the younger people at the event were Penticton sisters Eden and Kyla Bamford, both of whom were holding glass jars with candles inside.
"I'm very concerned about the devastation I see to the environment," said Eden. "I just think more people need to take action and treat this as the emergency it is -- especially the government. Lives have been lost because of climate change."
"If a bunch of people come together and do small things," added Kyla, "I think big change is possible."
