Confronting Climate Distress: Climate Affect, Anxiety and Action

This event is part of the CTLT Spring Institute, taking place from May 31–June 3, 2022. To view all events, visit https://institute.ctlt.ubc.ca/spring-institute/spring-institute-events/

This session is meant to offer a thoughtful, interactive, and supportive space for learning, sharing, listening, and expressing theory-to-practice approaches on the intersections of climate change, mental health, and wellbeing. It focuses on tangible and accessible ways to connect educators, researchers, and students with climate justice and trauma-informed coping mechanisms, strategies and pedagogies that support navigating and responding to the complex processes and impacts of climate.

It is important to note that even though an educator, course or content may not directly address climate change, students are regularly living through, and bearing witness to mass climate trauma locally and globally. This means students are often holding forms of climate trauma and anxiety whether we are addressing climate change in our learning spaces or not.

Systematically weaving sustainable and effective threads of integrated climate mental health and wellbeing into our planning and practice through climate justice and trauma-informed lenses can offer powerful support and constructive pathways to action for addressing growing climate and eco anxieties and experiences of climate trauma.

Attend this session to:
– Increase your awareness of the interconnected significance of climate change, mental health, and community wellbeing as it relates to teaching and learning
– Cultivate a deeper understanding of the need for climate justice and trauma-informed climate pedagogy
– Connect to coping mechanisms and strategies for navigating and reframing climate anxiety to action, for expanding individual and community mental health and wellbeing, and resilience in your course

Facilitators:
– Will Valley, Associate Professor of Teaching, Associate Dean, EDI, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
– Vanessa Andreotti, Professor, Canada Research Chair in Race, Inequalities and Global Change, Faculty of Education