Older members of Canberra's Extinction Rebellion groups are challenging the notion of what an activist looks like, far removed from the long-haired vagabond image of climate change street protesters.
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For those who gathered in the centre of Northbourne Avenue at Akuna Street during a Friday afternoon peak, imploring passing motorists to honk their horns for the climate, increasing frustration had brought them to the streets.
With a megaphone in hand, 78-year-old Margaret Clough might not be the archetypal protester, but her deep concern for her grandchildren's future has seen her involvement in Extinction Rebellion grow.
Her work with ParkCare on Mt Ainslie means she saw the month-by-month decline, the changing weeds, plants flowering earlier than they ever used to.
"I'll be well gone before the worst hits. A bit of heat won't worry me too much. But within a decade, if we don't take action, things are going to be pretty grim for many people.
"We're a bit protected in Canberra probably, but we can still have bush fires, we can still have massive storms, we can still be not able to pay for food because it's so hard to grow," she said.
I don't think it's fair to expect people who have their careers ahead of them, maybe a public service career, that they should risk being arrested, because it can have long-term effects.
- Extinction Rebellion member Margaret Clough, 78
Mrs Clough first read about Extinction Rebellion, and the group's actions in central London, online. The group's "quieter approach" really appealed, she said.
"We don't have time on our side but I think, given the government we've got and their conservative views and their fairly heavy handed approach to difference, I think any kind of forceful rebellion would just create a very unpleasant climate and we would get nowhere."
Of course, the prospect of arrests is on the mind of Extinction Rebellion protesters, and Mrs Clough, who does not believe in violence, said she would be arrested if police were gentle.
"I don't think it's fair to expect people who have their careers ahead of them, maybe a public service career, that they should risk being arrested, because it can have long-term effects," she said.
"I think it's up to people like me to pull our weight and say, well, I don't have to go overseas again. It doesn't matter if I lose my passport. It's not going to be too terrible for me in the future."
Scott Umbers, a 61-year-old horticulturalist, said the inaction on climate change was acutely frustrating because the technology to avert its worst outcomes already existed.
Mr Umbers, who is thinking of retiring to do more work with Extinction Rebellion, said the group was not trying to upset anyone or hide anything when it made its point in public.
"We don't call out anyone. We won't call out the prime minister's names, or the minister for immigration or whoever it is. Extinction Rebellion believe that everyone is a victim of the system as it is and I think that's the genius of it," he said.
But the prospect of being arrested still weighed on Mr Umber's mind.
"I do have to wrestle with that. I don't know whether I'm ready to do that. The movement, it's sacrificial," he said.
For John Wurcker, however, being arrested at an Extinction Rebellion action in Sydney was part and parcel of his involvement. In the Surry Hills police station, Mr Wurcker said a highlight was seeing video of himself being arrested every half hour on the ABC's television news channel.
"To me climate change, I've known for a number of years, is the issue of our times. It will be the defining feature of the human species, how we respond to this. So it eclipses everything," he said.
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Mr Wurcker, 61, first got involved with Extinction Rebellion when he was travelling in Denmark, taking part in an action outside the Danish parliament.
"I'm not a hardcore activist, and that's what I stay in the street when I'm out there with a megaphone. This is just ordinary people and we know that most Australians, and certainly most Canberrans, are concerned about climate change. But that concern is not enough."
There is plenty of concern among the Extinction Rebellion protesters that has crystallised into action.
Julie Hill, 65, said she could not stand by and do nothing when the overwhelming evidence pointed to a major catastrophe.
"And then from a personal point of view, I'm a grandmother, I'm a gardener. I love nature. But, also, I'm an optimist. ... I feel like we can, with concerted effort and enough people, move the discussion," she said.
Ms Hill said she was involved to fight for changes so that her three young grandchildren would have a liveable planet.
"I've got a small house and a big garden and we go out and [my two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter] comes out with me in the garden and the birds here, we're so lucky here with the birds. I hope that if she has children that they would be able to experience that," she said.
Ms Hill said she had been involved since August, putting her quilting skills to good use by helping with making the distinctive Extinction Rebellion flags.
"We're all in this together. Individually, we try to do different things. Solar panels, water tanks. That's good and that contributes, but that's not going to cut it. We can't just have the onus on individuals to do their bit because that won't [work].
"It has to be systematic changes."
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
