Pictures as protest march heads through Chesterfield town centre today

Environmental campaigners held a ‘family-friendly’ protest march through the streets of Chesterfield on Saturday.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Chesterfield Climate Alliance and Extinction Rebellion activists walked from Rykneld Square, close to the Crooked Spire church, to Queen’s Park – complete with a samba band and a pedal-propelled ark.

The ark, measuring 5m long and 3m high, was made from recycled materials and filled with animals that are threatened with extinction because of the climate change crisis.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
The marchers make their way through Chesterfield town centre.The marchers make their way through Chesterfield town centre.
The marchers make their way through Chesterfield town centre.

Organisers say about 100 people joined the march, many dressed up as animals or clad in blue and green to represent the natural world.

Brian Lever one of the pedalling team in the ark, said: "Governments like ours are still investing billions in oil and gas and it's gradually killing us and most of the natural world.

"I'm doing this to encourage more people to join us in demanding that humanity stops driving itself to self-inflicted extinction. The Ark is a poignant symbol of what we have to do."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Matlock mum Holly Moloney joined the march and said she was attending with her two-year-old daughter Lucy ‘because this is about her future’.

People who joined the march through Chesterfield dressed as animals or in blue and green.People who joined the march through Chesterfield dressed as animals or in blue and green.
People who joined the march through Chesterfield dressed as animals or in blue and green.

Brian, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion in Chesterfield, said the 100 people who marched were from ‘many different groups including Chesterfield Climate Alliance, Transition Chesterfield and Extinction Rebellion’.

The march headed from Rykneld Square through the Market Place before arriveing at the bandstand in Queen's Park at about 2.30pm, for ‘a bit of Covid-compliant samba band and disc-dancing’.

Support your Derbyshire Times by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe