Watch it Back - Hopeful Chats about Climate Change

There’s no denying it, the last few weeks have been very difficult. We’re living through a period where every glimmer of hope we can find is precious - and to be treasured. With that in mind, we wanted to share the recording of a webinar that we hosted just before Christmas - Hopeful Chats about Climate Change. People left the webinar feeling very hopeful - and it continues to give us hope when we think back about it now! You can watch it back here in your own time. 

 

Dr Cara Augustenborg did a super job of chairing the discussion and spoke from her own experience as a climate scientist, activist and mother.

Prof. John Sharry spoke about the importance of facing our emotions in response to the climate crisis and how we can channel these emotions into positive action to help the environment around us and to push for system change.

Youth climate activist, Aiyana Helder, spoke about her activism and the importance of having a support network, such as being involved in an activist group, to support our resilience and personal wellbeing to prevent burnout. We were particularly struck by this quote from Aiyana:

“I understand that many of you may be confused and even angry that we are trying to highlight hope and emotional wellbeing in such a hopeless existential crisis. But the main message is that no change can come about if hope doesn't exist and people are paralysed by inevitability. My best work started when I recovered from my crippling eco-depression and turned it to action because the sheer amount of people also fighting and creating little pockets of the future they want within the present, gave me hope. I am still terrified and furious almost all the time but hope fills the glass that I pour action from.”

Author, Oisín McGann, talked about his work running storytelling workshops at schools. These workshops were a way to engage young people on the topic of climate change. Oisín also shared his motivations for writing 'A Short, Hopeful Guide to Climate Change' - the book we are crowdfunding to publish in the new year.

It's conversations and projects like these that really give us hope. We hope that watching it will lift your spirits too.