Thank you to Happy Eco News for sharing this story on your platform, click here to read it there along with more of their impactful stories.
Engaging with the climate change movement means engaging with the world around us. We learn about science and ecology and how our planet works; we address governments, corporations, and other people; we listen to the struggles of folks who are continents away and folks who live on the other side of town. We recognize that the climate crisis is far greater than our own experience, so we go outward to listen, learn, and act. But climate activists must also go inward – not just to reflect on what we’ve learned, but to make sure we’re taking care of ourselves.
Making the space to rest and process emotions is easier said than done, especially for post-secondary students who always have more work to do. At the University of Guelph*, the Climate Café decided to create a space to guide students through restful discussions about climate anxiety, eco-grief, and all of the complicated emotions that stem from climate change.
What’s it like to attend the Climate Café? Roughly once a month, around fifteen students from a variety of programs settle into the room. The tables are set with art supplies – paints and brushes, pencils and paper – but students will grab a steaming mug of coffee or tea and a snack before they sit down. In this calm space, casual conversations are nudged or guided by a facilitator, and everyone gets a chance to talk about what they’ve been feeling. Sometimes, these discussions include prompts from the facilitator – “What does a better future look like?” – to be answered any way the students choose, whether it be through art or writing or more discussion. It’s a place to be honest, to create art without pressure, and to take a break from everything going on outside the room.
If you attend a second time, you’ll notice that there are other regular attendees. If you attend a third or fourth time, you’ll start to understand that the Climate Café is less of an event and more of a community gathering.
The Climate Café has been created and maintained with care and intention, with the support of The Youth Harbour’s Assembly Grant. There are many opportunities on campus to learn about climate change – that’s part of why Climate Café was created. In classes, students learn about the science behind the climate crisis, about the inequities it creates worldwide, about the effects it’s already having and the ones that are inevitable. They take the weight of this world on their shoulders, only to walk straight to their next class before they can process what they’re feeling. The Climate Café started because students didn’t have a place to unpack these emotions with support and without judgment. Students also say that the Café is a place for them to rest and de-stress from their academic lives. It’s a time-out from schoolwork – there is no participation grade for the discussions, and no one is critiquing the paintings. There are very few spaces for post-secondary students to create without expectation, but ask anyone who’s been to the Climate Café, and they’ll tell you how valuable it is to them.
The intention extends beyond the sessions themselves, too. Resources for the Climate Café are carefully chosen – such as art supplies from the Indigenous-owned business Beam Paints, or books published by the fellow youth organization Shake Up the Establishment. Climate Café continues to add new aspects to the experience and elevate the sessions while maintaining the atmosphere and culture of support that keeps students coming back.
Stress, burnout, anxiety – these are common among both university students and climate activists, so it’s no wonder that those who fall into both categories can get overwhelmed. Climate Café is giving these youth a place to feel their feelings, indulge their creativity, and remind themselves that they’re not alone.
* The University of Guelph resides on the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit.
Written by student intern: Molly Boley