There is a lot of work to be done in the climate movement – so much that it’s common for activists to get overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done, and burnt out from trying to do it all Ironically, this can promote a culture in the climate justice movement that recreates capitalism—one of the very things that has led to the current crisis. Constant growth pushes individuals to their limits, but when there is always work to be done, activists don’t get the chance to rest.
Shake Up the Establishment (SUTE), a youth-led climate justice organization, carries out policy interventions, creates educational resources, and supports community needs related to social, political, or ecological issues that are exacerbated by the climate crisis. This is necessary work, but SUTE stands out by bringing the people-centered goals of climate justice to the movement’s internal culture.
SUTE organizes with a “people before anything” mentality. They act as an “incubator” for youth to gain experience and knowledge. SUTE fosters a supportive environment for youth to learn, play, and build community relationships. They pay their staff ethical wages, offer no-questions-asked time off, and encourage a sustainable relationship with the climate movement that supports well-being rather than sacrificing it.
Earlier this year, SUTE published a book for climate activists: Practicing Rest, Recovery, Resistance: An Interactive Dreaming Journal. Funded by The Youth Harbour, the Climate Dreaming Journal takes a spin on the traditional “three Rs” to guide the reader through restorative activities and resources that will support their mental health while they work towards climate justice. The book is an embodiment of the care that SUTE fosters internally. In a movement ripe with burnout, SUTE stands as a role model for other organizations to care for themselves and their environmental activism. Taking care of yourself is essential to ensure sustained, meaningful contributions to the climate movement – but SUTE also reminds us that we deserve to take care of ourselves simply because we are people..
People in the current systems of power who profit from fossil fuel extraction and environmental exploitation won’t face the long-term consequences of their actions—but youth will. While not responsible for the crisis, youth still bear the burden to fix it, creating a more just future for themselves and generations to come.
But youth also deserve time to be young. Even with the burden they bear and all the work that needs to be done, youth need spaces to explore new ideas and express their creativity. The Climate Dreaming Journal is one such space, carefully and intentionally developed to support their dreams of saving the planet while keeping them connected with their humanity.
There’s an assumption that prioritizing care for oneself and others is incompatible with achieving remarkable things. While care work is at the heart of their organization, let’s take a look at what they’ve accomplished over the past year and what they are currently working on.
In 2023, SUTE’s 29 youth activists invested over 9,500 hours in climate justice work—equivalent to over a year of continuous action. In a world of unpaid internships and underpaid workers, they created 21 paid opportunities to grow in the climate justice space and employed over 15 youth activists with ethical wages. They published 10 digital resources on climate justice, bringing them to over 100 total resources on their website. The Climate Dreaming Journal was published in January and sold over 300 copies by the end of February.
SUTE supported the call for a National Climate Corps and established a collaborative anti-racist, anti-colonial initiative called Righting History. In their main program, Shake Up Your Community, youth gather to learn about environmental news, policy, and calls to action. Notably, SUTE was one of the few youth groups invited to participate in consultations for the Right to a Healthy Environment.
Having organizations like SUTE present where federal policy is being made ensures that there are representatives for youth who are approaching the world differently than the current structures of power. It’s significant for the ethic of care to be in the room for any policy-making—any chance to prioritize people over profit. SUTE’s involvement also ensures marginalized voices are represented, reflecting SUTE’s diversity.
SUTE’s membership contains significant representation of women, people who self-identify as racialized, people with diverse genders and sexualities, and neurodiverse people. Collectively, they speak 14 languages, demonstrating how SUTE creates a comfortable and authentic space for people from all backgrounds. Since the climate crisis disproportionately affects people of color and marginalized groups, the breadth of knowledge and experiences in SUTE strengthens the organization as it works for a just future. According to Manvi Bhalla, President and Co-Founder of SUTE, “it feels like the future.”
SUTE’s approach is a vision for the future: a world prioritizing people over productivity. In the face of capitalism, colonialism, and other systems of oppression, SUTE is making that future happen now. To live in a better future, we must create it, and to create a better future, we must start by living it. In a time when contributors to the climate crisis promote individualist responsibility and pessimism, SUTE takes the hands of their fellow youth and shows them how they are part of a community that cares about the environment and well-being. SUTE represents a vision where we don’t need to sacrifice ourselves to create change; caring for ourselves is one of the best ways we can care for the world.
*Shake Up The Establishment Headquarters are located on the unceded, traditional and ancestral xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories.
Written by student intern: Molly Boley
