Western Springs College students will hold a "lie in" climate protest during class time at 12:30 pm today.

The school’s lunch period starts at 1 pm.

Principal Ivan Davis has given media permission to film at the college, 100 Motions Rd, Auckland.

Western Springs year 13 student Luke Wijohn is the School Strike 4 Climate Auckland spokesperson.

A "lie-in" is a form of protest where participants pretend to be asleep to represent the need to "wake up" about an issue, he says.

"Humanity is facing the sixth extinction event, and adults are asleep at the wheel," he says. "We love our planet far more than we hate detention, so we're striking for a better future for everyone."

"Last year the UN warned we only had 12 years to save the planet from climate breakdown," he says. "Their latest report says if we don't act soon, 1 million species face extinction, undermining the life support systems we all rely upon."

Wijohn say's ecological collapse is a separate issue to climate chaos, and we often forget about it.

Already sea "dead zones" where life can't survive have grown to a combined size similar to the area of New Zealand, he says.

Wijohn say's students are practising for a larger lie-in during this Friday's school strike starting at noon, Aotea Square.

"We'll lie-down and close Queen Street to get local and central Government to wake up and declare an ecological and climate emergency," he says. "Taking no action is disruption - it would take millions of years for Earth to recover from this avoidable crisis."

Wijohn says a Vietnam War activist believes the largest lie-in in New Zealand was 700 people in the late 60s.

Strike 4 Climate Auckland aims to beat that record on Friday, he says.

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