Orange Extinction Rebellion member Kate Allan was one of a dozen environmental and climate activists from Orange, Bathurst, and Mudgee who travelled by bus to the On the Steps event that held outside Parliament House in Canberra.

Ms Allan said a variety of groups including the Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange, Bathurst Environmental Network, and Stop Adani protesters, were among the thousands of people who attended the peaceful event.

She said there were various speakers throughout the day calling for an end to the reliance on coal and use of fossil fuels.

"We were with like-minded people who were all concerned about the climate," Ms Allan said.

"All the speakers were talking about this crisis, we haven't had bushfires this bad before, we haven't had a drought this bad before."