About 50 people took part in a climate demonstration Friday in Montesano.

They gathered in front of the Grays Harbor County administrative building at the northwest corner of Broadway Avenue and Main Street as part of a global movement of climate strikes. The Washington Post was reporting Friday that millions of people around the world were taking part in similar protests, which were organized by youths.

Montesano’s gathering was sponsored by Citizens for a Clean Harbor.

Several people spoke to the crowd.

“I think we are wasting so much energy, so much strength when we don’t include our youth in these affairs,” Pastor Ele Garcia of the Montesano United Methodist Church said. “… When we see the youth getting involved in this. There is hope that something is going to happen. That strength and that enthusiasm and that idealism is not wasted.”

Several other members of clergy from the county spoke to the crowd as well as students.

Aberdeen freshman Will Boling was the first student to address the crowd. He quoted a statement by Patagonia that included the phrase, “Unless we make some big changes, we might be toast, too.”

Madison Hopkins, a junior at Montesano High School, read a list of demands:

• Pass the Green New Deal, which would transform the U.S. economy to fight inequality, as well as fight climate change … .
• Restore and protect biodiversity.
• Respect indigenous peoples and lands.
• Implement sustainable agriculture.
• Pursue environmental justice by advocating for communities on the front lines of poverty and pollution.

People from across the Harbor spoke and the spirit of the event was positive and hopeful. They called for political action, including reaching out to national and local leaders, and registering people to vote.

In closing, event organizer Donna Albert, offered an apology to young people, which included her grandson Terrance Albert, a junior at Monte High, who joined the crowd.

“I’m sorry kids, we’ve really dropped the ball over the past 20 years or so, but it’s time to turn that around,” she said.

Madison Hopkins (center), a junior at Montesano High School, reads a list of climate demands to the crowd Friday, Sept. 20, in front of the county administration building in Montesano as part of a global climate strike. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

Harborites take part in a climate demonstration Friday, Sept. 20, in front of the county administration building in Montesano as part of a global climate strike. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

Aberdeen freshman Will Boling (center, holding microphone) reads a statement to the crowd Friday, Sept. 20, in front of the county administration building in Montesano as part of a global climate strike. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

Aberdeen freshman Will Boling reads a statement to the crowd Friday, Sept. 20, in front of the county administration building in Montesano as part of a global climate strike. (Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)