Nearly one hundred protestors from climate action group Extinction Rebellion (XR) held a funeral-style procession last Saturday in honour of the loss of the red-girdled mining bee.
There is concern that the red-girdled mining bee has become extinct from Stoke Newington cemetery. The event, organised by the Hackney branch of XR, was used to raise awareness of the area’s shrinking biodiversity and to demand action on the climate and ecological crisis.
Protestors carried a black coffin through Clissold and Stoke Newington before lowering it onto the steps of Stoke Newington Town Hall.
Hackney XR’s political strategy group made three demands when they reached the town hall: fortnightly meetings between XR and Hackney Council to promote greater collaboration; zero carbon emissions by 2025, rather than 2040; and 100% divestment of pension scheme fund investments away from fossil fuels, rather than the 50% target.
In March, the UN released a report warning over one million species of plant and animal are at risk of extinction, with implications for all life on Earth.
XR plan to take over central London on 7 October in a two-week event called ‘Burning Earth’. XR released a statement saying they aim to “peacefully block and occupy the streets around Westminster, to demand government action on the climate and ecological crisis.”
