Students across Nelson Tasman who have been impacted by severe weather events are urging the region’s two councils to listen to them as decisions are made that will impact their futures.
Last week, youth fronted meetings of both the region’s joint climate change advisory group and the full Nelson City Council.
They were all part of Lighthouse Aotearoa, a local group that aims to inform children about the effects of climate change and support them to engage with decision-makers.
Director Will Stovall said the group has formed due to an “overwhelming demand” from young people to ensure they have their say.
Many of the students in the group joined after being taught by Stovall in a climate change learning programme he was contracted to teach across local schools.
The programme and Lighthouse Aotearoa are both supported by the Nelson City and Tasman District Councils, and the students asked that the councils continue funding the initiatives.
Harry Easton, a Year 10 at Nayland College, told Nelson’s elected members on Thursday that a bank under his home slumped during May 2025’s heavy rains, requiring a retaining wall to be built “to stop our home from collapsing”.
“I know that this is mild compared to what some in our region have experienced,” he said.
That “some” includes Maisie Martin, a Year 8 at St Joseph’s School. A landslide forced her to evacuate during the August 2022 storm, “just a few days before my 9th birthday,” she told the climate change advisory group.
“Thankfully, my family was able to come back home, but not everyone was as lucky. One of my classmates had his house completely crushed.”
Garin College Year 10 Genevieve McGill’s father has conducted a 3am rescue of a neighbour due to severe weather, Maitai Valley resident and Nelson College Year 10 Nate Morris had seen flooding devastation first hand, while Nayland College Year 10 Amy Morton’s home will eventually be impacted by rising sea levels.
As severe weather events grow more frequent, the students say it is their futures that will be most greatly impacted by climate change.
While climate change could be scary, they said they were inspired by the school programme and Lighthouse Aotearoa to try and advocate for meaningful change.
They asked for the councils to continue supporting the initiatives and to provide more opportunities for youth to have their say on the response to climate change.
“We’re not too young to contribute,” said Harvey Aitken, a Year 8 at Waimea Intermediate School.
“This is our home too and we want a future we can all be proud of.”
The two councils provide a total of $66,000 for the climate change learning programme and Lighthouse Aotearoa.
Will was hoping to secure an additional $8000 per year to support a subcontractor for the climate change learning programme to meet the rising demand from local teachers.
Tasman councillor Kerryn Ferneyhough, chair of the region’s joint climate change advisory group, was “very impressed” of the students and their passion.
She was supportive of continuing funding the initiatives for the region’s children.
“Supporting programmes like this, and raising education and awareness about climate change, gives them the confidence to be able to use their voices,” Kerryn said.
“Every day, we’re facing different climate-related weather events in this country, and that’s only going to continue and increase. So having these education programmes means that hopefully more kids and their families will be involved in different initiatives.”
Climate change mitigation and adaptation were “critical” council responsibilities, she said.
“This is going to impact the lives of all New Zealanders, and we have to get it right.”
