Climate Anxiety

This page includes a record of past events and programs for PCC students, staff and faculty around the theme of climate anxiety. Many of these events were supported by a 2023 EcoSocial Justice grant.

Gratitude to the students and staff who coordinate the EcoSocial Justice Grant program. 

Join us for an online student/faculty/staff book club of Sarah Jaquette Ray's A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety - How to Keep your Cool on a Warming Planet.

• Starting Fall 2023
• Author book talk! Sarah Jaquette Ray will join us by Zoom on Oct. 13th, 9 - 10:30 a.m.
• Free copies of the book available for students (while supplies last).
• Library print and e-copies available
• Contact Roberta Richards (rrichard@pcc.edu) or Taryn Oakley (taryn.oakley@pcc.edu) for more information.

About the book:  Gen Z's first "existential toolkit" for combating eco-guilt and burnout while advocating for climate justice.

A youth movement is reenergizing global environmental activism. The “climate generation”—late millennials and iGen, or Generation Z—is demanding that policy makers and government leaders take immediate action to address the dire outcomes predicted by climate science. Those inheriting our planet’s environmental problems expect to encounter challenges, but they may not have the skills to grapple with the feelings of powerlessness and despair that may arise when they confront this seemingly intractable situation.

Drawing on a decade of experience leading and teaching in college environmental studies programs, Sarah Jaquette Ray has created an “existential tool kit” for the climate generation. Combining insights from psychology, sociology, social movements, mindfulness, and the environmental humanities, Ray explains why and how we need to let go of eco-guilt, resist burnout, and cultivate resilience while advocating for climate justice. A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety is the essential guidebook for the climate generation—and perhaps the rest of us—as we confront the greatest environmental threat of our time.

Climate anxiety schedule of events for students:
 

April 25, 2023 -- Eco-anxiety + Environmental Justice: How Young People of Color Experience Climate Change

• April 25, (in-service day, no daytime classes), 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. via Zoom.

• This online workshop explores the intersection of Environmental Justice and Eco-anxiety, providing community resilience tools that center the experience of young people of color + other intersectional identities. 
   

May 4, 2023 -- Climate Wisdom Lab - a resilience workshop for students

• Sylvania Campus, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

• The Climate Wisdom Lab is an experiential workshop designed to prepare students for sustainable engagement with climate change, structural injustice, and other systemic stressors.
   

May 19, 2023 -- Climate Grief: Strategies for Hope and Resilience

• Online workshop for students, faculty and staff, led by Dr. Kim Smith, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

• Workshop  uses lessons from climate research and eco-psychology, as well as Joanna Macy’s “Work that Reconnects,” to help us voice concerns, cope with climate grief, and build personal reserves that allow us to go forth with fresh eyes and take action. 

Eco-therapy events for students led by PCC counselors See flyer for dates and details 

Fall 2023 -- A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety, by Sarah Jaquette Ray

• Book group for students, faculty and staff

Climate anxiety schedule of events for faculty and staff:
 

March 3, 2023 -- Climate Anxiety in the Classroom: Student Impacts and Resources for Faculty

• CTLE online training, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. 

•  A team of PCC faculty share strategies and resources for addressing the affective aspects of the climate crisis in the classroom.

• Watch recording (1.5 hours)
   

May 5, 2023 -- Climate Wisdom Lab

• Full day workshop for faculty and staff on the Sylvania campus

• Workshop enables participants to explore their own affective experience of this moment, to learn new tools for addressing the psycho-social dimensions of climate change and social injustice, and to develop specific, practical ideas for implementing these understandings in their classrooms.
   

May 19, 2023 -- Climate Grief: Strategies for Hope and Resilience

• Online workshop for students, faculty and staff, led by Dr. Kim Smith, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

• Workshop  uses lessons from climate research and eco-psychology, as well as Joanna Macy’s “Work that Reconnects,” to help us voice concerns, cope with climate grief, and build personal reserves that allow us to go forth with fresh eyes and take action. 
   

Fall 2023 -- A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety, by Sarah Jaquette Ray

• Book group for students, faculty and staff