Extinction Rebellion Bute protest draws crowds in Rothesay

Extinction Rebellion Bute's first demonstration, held in Guildford Square, Rothesay.

The new group invited locals to join them at Guildford Square in Rothesay to coincide with the fourth youth strike and second global strike for climate change.

Emma Thomas from the group was delighted with the local reaction to the event.

She said: “Our demonstration on Friday was a great success. It was a great atmosphere and we were really pleased with the turnout.

“We had almost 100 signatures on our petition calling for Agyll and Bute Council to declare a climate emergency.

“A lot of people just stopped by and had a chat. Generally people were supportive and keen to understand why we were doing this. It certainly raised awareness of the issue of climate change and that’s why we were doing this.

“Hopefully it has given us a bit of exposure and shows that the island cares about this issue and that it is not just people living in cities that are concerned.Extinction Rebellion Bute tweets from the day have been viewed over 22,000 times. We hope to build on this event in the future. We now need to sit down as a group and discuss what we want to do next.”

Emma added that the public Facebook group ‘Extinction Rebellion Bute’ has 72 members, and anyone else who is interested is very welcome to join.