Tiny Ecology Part 2
My sit spot has become a place for my own mental well-being. It allows me to breathe and take a step back from the hustle of my face paced life, where there is always a feeling that there isn’t enough time. Today’s visit embodied the true weather of the northwest spirit. The rain gently fell on my head as I looked up at the trees. Trees that have been on this land much longer than I have. Although, the pattern of the weather has turned to overcast days and cold mornings, there is still such an immense beauty and power to this climate. I couldn’t help but think of the correlation between being immersed in nature and its effects on mental health. The more we find ourselves in a natural environment there is a deeper connection and understanding established that is indescribable. We come to know ourselves in a more pure and true form.
What I chose to focus on from the Connor et al. paper is the domain of health, and specifically, youth mental health in relation to climate change. Connor et al. (2016) add that, “environmental degradation [is] a common public concern” and impacts youth in a dramatic way (p. 466). I believe that mental health suffers when there is a lack of engagement with the natural world. This loss-frame is exacerbated by climate change and the inability of our young ones to fully process and comprehend how environmental and climatic shifts impact their mental wellbeing. I argue that our young ones are the most affected by climate change, as they are left to undo the generations of harm done to our planet. Sanson et al. (2019) add that “climate change poses an urgent threat to future generations…Children are more susceptible to its effects than adults, with immediate and life long impacts on their physical and mental health” (p. 201). Our efforts, as parents, academics, educators, and climate action leaders, must focus on interpreting mental health through a climate based lens. What I mean by this, is more land based counselling and therapeutic approaches to help process the relationship between anxiety, for example, and a changing climate.
There are ways to take action and to do so thoughtfully with the objective of creating and framing a compelling message to the public. Sanson & Bellemo (2021) note that, “professionals can support young people…by supporting their capacity to take action, raising awareness on the impact of the climate crisis on youth mental health and physical health, and taking actions themselves to work for a secure climate future” (p. 205).
I think a wonderful way to reach a larger audience would be in the form of an educational tv show. Topp et al. (2019) add that “entertainment increas[es] cognitive engagement associated with climate change” (p. 697). I spend quite a bit of time watching shows with my two year old daughter. How impactful would it be, if from a young age, children could watch an animated show based around climate change and how it impacts kids? Communication through entertainment in a creative way. The show’s episodes could take place in various cities and rural areas around the world highlighting that regions most pressing climate concerns and its effects on local children and their way of life.
For future consideration, I would like to further explore the direct impacts of climate change on youth mental health and strategies to help youth cope with the lasting impacts of climate change and climate grief. What can be done? How can we tackle youth mental health while simultaneously making space for our next generation of climate action leaders?
Resources
Connor, P., Harris, E., Guy, S., Fernando, J., Shank, D. B., Kurz, T., Bain, P. G., & Kashima, Y. (2016). Interpersonal communication about climate change: how messages change when communicated through simulated online social networks. Climatic Change, 136(3-4), 463–476. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10584-016-1643-z
Sanson, A., & Bellemo, M. (2021). Children and youth in the climate crisis. BJPsych Bulletin, 45(4), 205–209. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2021.16
Sanson, A. V., Van Hoorn, J., & Burke, S. E. L. (2019). Responding to the Impacts of the Climate Crisis on Children and Youth. Child Development Perspectives, 13(4), 201-207. https://doi.org/10.1111/ cdep.12342
Topp, K., Thai, M., & Hryciw, D. H. (2019). The role of entertainment in engagement with climate change. Environmental Education Research, 25(5), 691–700. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/13504622.2019.1572072
Thank you for such a thoughtful and interesting read, Tony! As someone who knows too well the feeling of “climate anxiety”, I know that being out in nature, specifically, feeling the power and resilience of nature can be a wonderful tool in grounding and feeling more hopeful.
I love the idea of an educational tv show – as I child I remember watching a movie called ‘Once Upon a Forest’ where a little animal (hedgehog? maybe?) had to go on a quest for a cure for his mother who had fallen sick from toxic waste. Obviously, this movie stuck with me and likely influenced me more than I give it credit for! I have a lot of friends who say their first introduction to the dangers of pollution and logging was ‘Ferngully’…
Children are so impressionable, and if we provide them with opportunities to learn about the planet and then give them the resources and encouragement to make real changes, I bet we would be amazed at what they come up with!
Hey Kaitlin,
That is so interesting that you watched a show as a child that is really all about what I had mentioned in my post! I’ve never heard of it! I am glad to hear that and I think that shows like that need to be more common. As you mentioned, children are so impressionable. They take in there surroundings so genuinely and deeply feel in the moment. It is a perfect time in life to start educating our youth about our planet and, hopefully, spark some passion down the line to get involved. I am experimenting in my garden right now and planted some olive trees this afternoon with my daughter. It is so fun for me to watch her roam the natural environment with curiosity. I believe that curious spirit is what is needed for this movement of climate action. We need to explore solutions and engage our young ones (of all ages) in dialogue. Thanks for your reply!
Dear Tony,
I too am very passionate about this topic, and in fact I am exploring something similiar for my research at York University. I would enjoy chatting with you more about this. That said, there is an emerging body of research on the rising rates of ‘climate anxiety’ and ‘climate grief’ experienced by young people (Burke & Sandson, 2020; Patton et al 2016; Wu, Snell & Samji, 2020). In fact, there is a recent study that shows nearly 60% of youth globally are suffering from some level of ‘climate anxiety’ namely to do with government inaction and a sense of betrayal from the adult world (Hickman et al, 2021).
I explore this topic through a parallel field of climate change education (CCE). For often there is a lack of CCE in elementary, secondary and post-secondary institutes globally. Few countries in the world have a national mandate for CCE (Graham-McLay, 2020), and Canada has left it to the federated model of provinces and territories deciding the standards and curriculum for CCE (Nicholas & Wynes, 2019). That said, I believe there is a correlation between the rising rates of climate anxiety experienced by youth and the lack or poor CCE they receive.
For example, those youth that do get a CCE, it is narrowly confined to the discipline of the sciences, rather than a ‘whole school’ approach in every discipline and as extracurricular projects. Moreover, the was a study by Nicholas & Wynes (2019) that showed that the focus of climate science curricula in Canada is primarily on the problem side, such as the climate system, rising temperatures and anthropocentric causes, with even the later being debated in some public schools. However, there is little to no teaching about the solutions, such as climate action in the form of civic engagement or what the mitigation and adaptation fields look like across sectors (Ibid). Lastly, there is only limited CCE examples in Canada that frames the issue more broadly into a social justice issue than singularly an environmental issue (Cho, 2014). However, this later approach is arguably crucial in widening the scope of the problems and the scope of the solutions. Hence, youth are getting either no education about the crisis, or a bare minimal education that limits the scope of the crisis to the bare minimum.
Which then begs the question: how are we preparing youth for the warming world ahead? Quite simply, the answer is we are not. That is why, to me at least, youth are experiencing rising rates of ‘climate anxiety,’ and understandably so. For we are teaching them an archaic and outdated educational model that was built for the 20th century skill sets. But frankly we owe it to them to do better than this, as we all have a ‘climate debt’ owed to the young people of today. That is why I very much appreciate the articles you have mentioned, specifically with article by Topp, Thai & Hryciw (2019) on entertainment, engagement and education.
For we need a climate education model that doesn’t just repeat the 20th century discipline focus. Rather it attempts innovative pedagogy like your article, but with the explicit goal of transformative learning for youth in grasping and addressing complex ‘wicked’ problems of our society like that of our climate emergency. Perhaps even more broadly, it is a pedagogy that aims to address this traumatic event with the psychological tools or emotional awareness for managing their own anxiety, in order to reduce barriers for action and foster self-care in this turbulent time.
Reference:
Burke, S.E.L. & Sanson, A.V. (2020). Climate Change and Children: An Issue of Intergenerational Justice. Children and Peace: Peace Psychology Book, pp. 343–62. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-22176-8_21.
Cho, R. (2014). Climate Justice for BC: Lessons for Transformations. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Retrieved from: https://teachclimatejustice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/full_teachclimatejusticedotca.pdf
Graham-McLay, C. (2020, January 13). New Zealand schools to teach students
about climate crisis, activism and ‘eco-anxiety.’ The Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/13/new-zealand-schools-to-teach-students-about-climate-crisis-activism-and-eco-anxiety
Hickman, C. et al (2021). Young people’s voices on climate anxiety, government
betrayal and moral injury: a global phenomenon (pre-print not peer reviewed). University of Bath, UK.
1. Nicholas, K.A. & Wynes, S. (2019). Climate Science Curricula in Canadian
Secondary Schools Focus on Human Warming, Not Scientific Consensus, Impacts or Solutions. PLOS ONE, 14(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218305
Patton, G.C., & et al. (2016). Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. The Lancet Commissions, Vol. 387, pp. 2423 – 2470. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00579-
Topp, K., Thai, M., & Hryciw, D. H. (2019). The role of entertainment in engagement with climate change. Environmental Education Research, 25(5), 691–700. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/13504622.2019.1572072
Wu, J., Snell, G., & Samji, H. (2020, October). Climate anxiety in young people: a call to action. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4 (10). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30223-0
Emily,
Thank you for such a thoughtful and eloquent response. I would be very interested in furthering this conversation with you, as this is a topic I am quite passionate about as well. In my current role, working as an Indigenous Youth and Family Counsellor, I am, specifically, interested in the correlation between the mental health of Indigenous youth and climate grief. It is something that has become more and more obvious to me in the last couple years through my work. Youth struggle, even if it is subconsciously, with climate change but when it is addressed there is little to no understanding of how to live with a changing climate and what can be done about it (practically speaking). What are some steps that can be taken? As you mentioned so perfectly, the lack of CCE is a huge factor in this. There is a lack of CCE in our curriculums across the board. However, I think that within Indigenous Communities, intergenerational trauma and institutionalized racism must also be factored in. Indigenous peoples around the world, in many ways, experience the most direct impacts of a rapidly changing climate. One that requires thoughtful and prompt engagement in order to sufficiently educate, inform, and guide climate action. I really found your response well written and quite informative. Thank you for sharing your ideas with me.
Thank you for this excellent and interesting post, Tony. It has clearly struck a nerve! The deeper I get into climate action the more evident it becomes to me that education is such a fundamental part of the pursuit of change, and working with youth in that regard is really key. As part of this, I think we need a robust set of processes around grief, including things like ceremony and rites of passages, which can be so transformative to youth and adults alike. While there is much opportunity as we operate at the threshold of rapid and intense change, it will inevitably come with grief for what we lose, what has been lost, and what changes are before us, and education can really bring this grief to the surface. So as part of that process, the land based therapies you suggest are definitely an arrow in the quiver. Simply spending time in the woods, or swimming in a river can be deeply healing, for example.
I also love the idea of children’s entertainment that actually centres climate change in meaningful ways. I think about this for my son too, who is five. Even shows that teach about the natural world and foster nature connection would be rad (and an improvement over some of the hectic stuff popular these days!).