Well-being & Climate Change

A curated climate resiliency tool for emotional well-being.

Ingrid Dabringer, Digital Learning Experience Designer

1. Climate Adaptation

An important part of adapting to climate change is understanding your climate anxiety. Increasingly, psychologists are encouraging people to approach their feelings around climate change within a grief paradigm.

Let's define some climate terms before we get into climate, creativity, innovation, and well-being.

Feel free to jump around this unit and engage with the content in any order. Mostly, take care of yourself and reach out to friends and professionals if you are feeling anxiety.

Lot's of seeds make up one whole sunflower!

Don't go it alone!

Climate change in context

Put yourself on the map. Everybody's relationship to climate change depends on their location.

This unit provides a road-map for how to get involved with climate adaptation. It doesn't take long to become involved in your community. It also feels good to be part of the solutions. And, there are so many ways to contribute.

  1. Identify your region.
  2. Understands what is special about your area.
  3. Link your land to community agendas.
  4. Link agendas to your action.
  5. Link your action to feeling better.

Maps! Location! Location! Location!

What is special about where you live? Here are three ways to look at your area through maps.

Let's begin by focusing on some under-reported good news! Good news helps us be resilient.

Responding to climate events with positive actions is remarkably fulfilling and easy.

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Activity 1: Group creativity warm-up!

You are one of many! Each person is an essential part of climate resilience. Working together and understanding that you are an important part of a bigger community is an important part of climate resilience. Working together builds hope and trust.

Creativity and climate resiliency reflection

Creativity and Climate Action

2. Innovation & Solutions

Thinking critically and creatively in systems

Western society was built on a linear economic model. Linear economies expect to make trash. In fact, it relies on waste. It wants people to throw stuff out so that they buy new stuff.

Colonialist countries solidified the linear/waste mindset during industrialization.

We have to be creative to shift away from a waste-based economy. This is called innovation. We need to shift our societies back to a circular economy mindset.

Good News Alert!

Humans used to live in circular economies.

Indigenous knowledge systems are crucial for sustainable and circular systems

The best news within climate adaptation is that Indigenous communities have saved much of humanity's creative solutions. Phew!! Oral storytelling cultures that rely on elders to pass information down to youth is a great system that will help climate adaptation. In fact, oral storytelling is the system all humans, everywhere, used until we started recording and writing stories.

Humans have been innovating solutions for tens of thousands of years.

Step 1: Use the knowledge we already have! Yay!

Indigenous knowledge is based in a mindset of being grateful

Indigenous people see the land and its resources as gifts. When we approach the land through an Indigenous lens, we think  seven generations ahead . We value land for our children.

Linear systems, or large-scale capitalist systems, see resources in terms of costs and not in terms of value. Linear systems are extractive. Extractive systems are systems that take resources away from nature without putting any back.

Indigenous communities across the world still hold the knowledge systems we need.

 Watch, Terry Teegee explain why it's important to overcome this dominating linear mindset.  He is Regional Chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, Tribal Chief of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, and the former forestry coordinator for Takla Lake First Nation.

Regional knowledge is important for food security

Agroecology combines many fields.

  • agriculture
  • sustainability
  • ecology
  • food security
  • policy

Indigenous communities have local land knowledge that is central to regional sustainability.

How do you access regional indigenous knowledge systems?

Use the Tribal Adaptation Menu developed by the  Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) , as a guide for accessing indigenous elders and knowledge in your area.

Design Thinking & Systems Thinking

Indigenous knowledge systems are a central way to shift from linear thinking to circular thinking. This is important for people, society, and the planet as we adopt a climate lens.

Many systems will come together to organize for climate adaptation. Here are other useful systems.

01 / 05

Systems Thinking and changing mindsets

When we grow up in a linear economy it makes us have a linear mindset.

Tim Brown, from IDEO, will explain what that means in this video.

In western society, we expect to throw things in the trash. Western society has created most of the greenhouse gases that are now affecting communities that have never lived in a waste economy. Billions of people live in the global south and are experiencing climate devastation as a result of western mindsets.

IDEO is a human-centered design consulting company that has solved many problems by focusing on a 5 step process.

When you use Design Thinking to solve a problem, let yourself skip around these steps as soon as you get more information. It's not a linear path:

  • Empathize! Travel to the location of the "problem" and observe and interview the people at the heart of the problem.
  • Define! What is the problem? What do they need? What assumptions did you uncover?
  • Ideate! Brainstorm, challenge even more assumptions, and create ideas.
  • Prototype! Build rough and dirty models to test new products and systems.
  • Test! and retest and restest and restest.

Systems thinking

Systems thinking is a way of valuing how things impact each other. It's a way that helps us find the places to enter the system for the greatest impact.

What's a system?

A system is a group of interacting parts.

You are a system, and you are a part of many systems.

  • Our bodies are a combination of many systems.
  • Our families are systems.
  • Our schools are systems.
  • Our cities are systems.
  • Our roads and sewers are systems.
  • Anthills are systems.
  • The climate is a system.

Watch Drew Jones from  Climate Interactive  explain systems.

Key idea in systems thinking

Things don't just create themselves. Things happen because other things happened before them.

You do systems thinking all day - every day!

Quick break from serious stuff!

Shout out to children's author Richard Scarry!

This children's book author was a systems thinker. He spent a lifetime explaining to kids that all parts of society are all linked together.

Lots of things are happening all at once.

That's always been the way for all the creatures in the world.

Key ideas in systems thinking

Systems have many parts. If you change a part, then you can change a system.

There are three main ideas to keep in mind when approaching a problem like climate adaptation with a systems thinking mindset.

What is a feedback loop?

A change in one part of the system effects other parts of the system. There is a ripple effect.

Cause and effect.

When the feedback, or information, comes back then it is called a feedback loop. Here are some examples:

  • When the body gets too hot, then it sweats.
  • When you sweat too much, then you might shiver.
  • When soil is healthy, then it can store carbon.
  • When soil is not healthy, then it doesn't store carbon.

What is a leverage point?

A leverage point is a single place in the system where a little effort goes a long way.

You can be a leverage point in the climate adaptation system.

Here are some places where people can leverage the system for climate adaptation:

  • Writing laws that protect the climate.
  • Protesting climate inaction and big oil.
  • Biking instead of driving and asking your company to put in more bike racks.
  • Organizing into climate action groups.
  • Planting trees and sustainable crops.
  • Talking about climate adaptation.

What is a bottleneck?

A "bottleneck" is that place in a system where things get stuck. It's the problem area where the system always holds everything else back.

  • A traffic intersection can be a bottleneck during rush hour.
  • Governments can be a bottleneck when they are slow to pass laws that benefit the climate.
  • Valuing nature can release the  bottleneck on climate  action.

Professor Jennifer Howard-Grenville explains how our relationship to nature creates a bottleneck for climate adaptation:

We value nature but for the most part it's value is invisible in our economic system, in our businesses, and indeed in our political system. So, we need them all to transform the way we look at, and value nature."

Using nature as a resource without valuing it is creating a bottleneck.

Again! Again! Again!

Indigenous systems mindsets have always valued the natural world as living gifts from the creator. Every single part of it deserves our respect.

Now that you have reviewed systems thinking and design thinking, watch Terry Teegee explain our world out of balance AGAIN. Systems thinking and design thinking are just fancy terms for Indigenous thinking.

What's old is new again.

Why are Indigenous elders so important to climate change?

Indigenous elders are so essential to climate change because they still hold the regional land-based knowledge that western, linear mindsets have lost.

Human society evolved because of our shared knowledge of the land.

Let's do it again.

Solutions that help shift the system

There are a cray-Cray-CRAZY amount of great solutions happening right now. As we review some of these solutions, imagine how you might help shift the system.

Imagine yourself as part of a solution.

When, where, why, and how do you enter the climate adaptation system?

10 Everyday Sustainable Living Swaps

Activity 4: Imagine your local next steps - be outrageous!

Urban Imaginaries, Experimentation and urban transformations

Meet Gabriella Gomez-Mont and her work in Mexico City. UNDP - Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) , Urban Talks: Virtual Forum on Urban Transformation, Mayors and cities making change.

M4EG Virtual Forum_Interview with Gabriella Gomez-Mont

(Academic activity plan to come for Fall 2023).

3. Your Well-being

Big weather and big changes cause big emotions.

Where to begin?

Greta Thunberg started her climate journey at home and with small goals. She was feeling overwhelmed about the climate.  Listen to her tell her story in the video below. 

Greta Thunberg on how to tackle climate anxiety | The One Show - BBC

Be together in our struggles.

Use an holistic approach.

Whole person. Whole communities. Whole planet.

What is climate anxiety?

First, What is anxiety? Anxiety is characterized by feeling fear, overwhelmed, tension, and worried thoughts. It can be accompanied by physical symptoms like increased blood pressure, rapid breathing, and nausea.

 Natania Abebe  created an  eco-anxiety toolkit  for her graduate degree at the University of British Columbia. Use it! Let's break it down!

What is eco-anxiety? Anxiety Canada defines Eco-anxiety as

a dread of environmental perils, especially climate change, and a feeling of helplessness over the potential consequences for those living now and even more so for those of later generations.

What is eco-paralysis? Nurse and Lecturer, Rancu Radu defines it as

the response people give when faced by the feeling that one cannot do anything meaningful to positively affect climate change.

Climate Change and Mental Health #ecoanxiety #ecoparalysis #ecogrief

What is eco-grief?

Grieving for Earth: How to Cope with Climate Anxiety | Seat At The Table

Coping with climate anxiety

Working on climate adaptation can feel a lot of different ways.

Below are some ways to cope with your climate anxiety.

01 / 06

Links for climate anxiety

If you are feeling distress please reach out to your local health provider.

Meditation

There are lots of types of meditation. Nature meditation.  Soft Pine Wellness offers a self-guided meditation practice on their website. 

Exercise

Get moving. Don't sit there. Dig a hole and plant a tree. Or, go for a bike ride. Play frisbee golf or plant a garden.

Social activism as meditation.

Gathering in groups to protest climate inaction is a soulful experience.

Check in with your friends

Most people are feeling anxious about the climate.

  • Share your feelings: sadness, frustration, hope, anger, grief
  • Share new knowledge
  • Share good stories

It's easier to deal with emotions when you're with people and while working on solutions.

Climate art

Art is an important way to express yourself and insert your voice into the cultural moment. Nicole Kelner is a climate artist responsible for all the watercolours in this unit.

Visit her work on her  website,  and on  Instagram .

Activity 5:

(Academic activity plan to come for Fall 2023).

Learning Standards

Learning implies that there is change in understanding over time within a given area of knowledge and skills. Learning is an acquisition of knowledge and an ability to apply a new skill set in a specific context.

Selecting standards for change

Climate adaptation is an interdisciplinary pursuit. The required skill sets for the future are not in one discipline or domain. Research has established that applied and project-based learning is the key to deep learning and change. Let's review the possible standards for AdaptEd units.

Ontario Ministry of Education Standards

Consider additional education standards such as the following:

Pan-Canadian Global Competencies

  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
  • Learning to Learn: Self-aware and Self-directed
  • Global Citizenship and Character
  • Communication
  • Collaboration and Leadership
  • Creativity, Inquiry and Entrepreneurship

Sustainable Development Goals

Climate Adaptation Competency Framework

The Adaptation Learning Network has developed a  Climate Adaptation Competency Framework  to guide the skill-sets needed for our future communities.

They are free to download, use, and share.

Activity 5: Share what you know with others

References

Abebe, Natania. (March, 2022). Climate Change and Mental Health. Press Books. Vancouver: British Columbia. Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmA07vdOb2M .

Adaptation Learning Network. (2021). Climate adaptation competency framework. Climate Risk Institute. Retrieved from https://can-adapt.ca/canadapt-capability.

Agroecology Now. (2022). Putting Indigenous knowledge into practice for climate change: the Tribal Adaptation Menu. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission: Wisconsin. Retrieved from,  https://www.agroecologynow.com/indigenous-knowledge-for-climate-change/ .

BBC. (November, 2022). The One Show: Greta Thunberg on how to tackle climate anxiety. London: England. Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK_nBKtWyvk&t=1s 

Brown, Tim. (2016). Tim Brown: Design & the circular economy –  Circular Design Guide . Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved from  https://youtu.be/yAvkM7B7BBs .

Brunner, Wil. (2022). Self-guided sensory nature meditation. Soft-pine Wellness. Ontario: Canada. Retrieved from  https://www.softpinewellness.ca/resources--research.html .

C40. (2022). The C40 knowledge hub. Retrieved from  https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/?language=en_US .

Centre for Agroecology, Water, and Resilience. (2015). Agroecology: Voices from social movements. Coventry: England. Retrieved from,  https://youtu.be/Ab82gAfh554 .

City of Ottawa. (2022). Checklists for emergency preparedness. Ottawa Health and Public Health: Ottawa, Ontario. Retrieved from  https://ottawa.ca/en/health-and-public-safety/emergency-preparedness/emergency/checklists-emergency-preparedness .

City of Ottawa. (2022). Ottawa, Engage Ottawa: Ontario. Retrieved from  https://engage.ottawa.ca/climate-resiliency .

City of Ottawa. (2022). Flood mapping and climate change. Engage Ottawa: Ottawa, Ontario. Retrieved from  https://engage.ottawa.ca/climate-resiliency/news_feed/flood-plain-mapping-and-climate-change .

City of Ottawa. (2022). Health and built environment. Ottawa Health and Public Health: Ottawa, Ontario. Retrieved from https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/public-health-topics/health-and-the-built-environment-.aspx.

City of Ottawa. (2022). Ottawa's vulnerability and risk assessment. Engage Ottawa: Ottawa, Ontario. Retrieved from  https://engage.ottawa.ca/17951/widgets/96535/documents/83467 .

City of Ottawa. (2022). What is the urban heat island effect. Engage Ottawa: Ottawa, Ontario. Retrieved from  https://engage.ottawa.ca/climate-resiliency/news_feed/urban-heat-island .

City of Peterborough. (2022). Derecho. Retrieved from  https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/84c5b004e0f14e39b7aa46caf8819fcf .

Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society. (September 29, 2022). The southern Ontario derecho of May 21, 2022: An environment and climate change Canada perspective. Environment and Climate Change Canada: Ottawa, Ontario. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_TMkcvauAY.

Cain, Dennis. (2022). Development of a dercho. NOAA. Retrieved from  https://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm .

Climate Atlas of Canada. (2018). World out of balance. Retrieved from  https://youtu.be/fNkE_QCM3Dk 

Climate Interactive. (May, 2015). The Whole System. Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNelPDgOcjs&t=18s 

Corfidi, S. (2022). About derechos. NOAA-NWS-NCEP Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved from  https://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm .

Corfidi, S., Evans, J.S., and Johns, R.H., et al. (2022). A proposed revision of the definition of a dercho. NOAA. Retrieved from  https://www.spc.noaa.gov/publications/corfidi/der-def.pdf .

Dabringer, Ingrid. (June, September 2022). Images from Pinhey's Forest and P19 in Ottawa's greenbelt [Graphic]. Ottawa, Ontario.

Environment and Climate Change Canada, (2022). Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area and Dehcho Protected Area. Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpbDVijxcCM .

Esri, (2019). Climate Action Map. Government of Canada. Ottawa: Canada. Retrieved from  https://inhoyrrujppwn07k.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=ac1f6bf38dda48a89467e9605061b8c9 

Esri, (2019). Renewable Energy Power Plants. North American Cooperation on Energy Information (NACEI). Retrieved from  https://inhoyrrujppwn07k.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=71bec67acfdb49b0aeb6019736739dca 

Federation of Canadian Municipalities. (2020). Climate in focus: An introduction. Ottawa: Canada. Retrieved from  https://fcm.ca/en/resources/mcip/video-climate-in-focus-introduction 

Kelner, Nicole. (2022). Map of climate Anxiety. Florida: United States. Retrieved from  https://nicolekelner.darkroom.com/ .

McCouver, Amanda. (2022). The horizon, the ocean, the sky. Retrieved from  https://amandamccavour.com/ .

MOMA. (2023). Assemblage. NY: NY. Retrieved from  https://www.moma.org/collection/terms/assemblage 

National Wool Museum. (2021). The history of quilting in four minutes. Melbourne: Australia. Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGgFsNuvk3E .

Native land Digital. (2023). Native land digital. Retrieved from  https://native-land.ca/ .

NOAA/NWS. (2022). Supercell structure [Graphic]. Retrieved from CMOS presentation, Derecho of May 21, 2022. Presented on Sept 29, 2022.

NOAA/NWS. (2022). Downburst NOAA/NWS. (2022). Supercell structure [Graphic]. Retrieved from CMOS presentation, Derecho of May 21, 2022. Presented on Sept 29, 2022.

Northern Tornadoes Project. (November 26, 2022). Open data for the northern tornadoes project [Map Image]. Western University: London, Ontario. Retrieved from  https://ntpopendata-westernu.opendata.arcgis.com/apps/westernu::on-qc-derecho-may-21-2022-event-summary-map/explore .

Popova, Maria. (June, 2022). The age of the possible [Screen grab]. The Marginalian. N.Y.: N.Y. Retrieved from  https://soundcloud.com/brainpicker/age-of-the-possible .

Seat at the Table. (May, 2022). Grieving for Earth: How to Cope with Climate Anxiety. Retrieved from Real Stories,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn2f-B_Gzcg .

UN. (2022). Climate Adaptation. Retrieved from  https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-adaptation .

UNDP. (2022). Getting cities unstuck. Retrieved from  https://unstuck.systems/getting-cities-unstuck/ .

UNDP - Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG). (December 3, 2022).  Urban Talks: Virtual Forum on Urban Transformation [Video]. Retrieved from  https://innovation.eurasia.undp.org/urban-talks/ .

Von Wong, Benjamin. (2022). #TurnOffThePlasticTap. Retrieved from  https://blog.vonwong.com/turnofftheplastictap/ 

Wood, Stephanie and Cruickshank, Ainslie. (2022). Indigenous guardians connected by new national network in Canada — the first of its kind in the world. Retrieved from  https://thenarwhal.ca/first-nations-guardians-network/ .

Contributors! Many hands make lighter work! Thanks to all who brought this to life.

AdaptED Project Architect

 ID ID Inc. 

Digital Learning Experience Designer

 Ingrid Dabringer 

Lot's of seeds make up one whole sunflower!