Eco-anxiety is prevalent in society today, especially in youth as students learn about climate change and environmental issues. Characterized by feelings of helplessness about the future of our planet, eco-anxiety can have serious implications on a student’s well-being and academic performance. In a survey done with students from ten different countries, it was found that 59% of the 10,000 asked were very or extremely worried about climate change (Hickman et al.). Teachers have the unique opportunity to not only address the fears that students may have but also empower them with different tools and resources to manage their feelings effectively. By creating an environment that is understanding and proactive, educators can help learners navigate their eco-anxiety and turn students' concerns into hope and resilience through the actions they lead in their school or community. This blog will assist educators in exploring strategies and resources to help students cope with eco-anxiety.
Creating a Supportive Classroom
The first step in helping students cope is by creating a supportive classroom. Encourage open dialogue about environmental issues, after creating classroom expectations with your students about respectful conversations. This gives students the space to feel safe and express their concerns and emotions. It is important to listen to the students and allow for discussion between peers. Many students become exposed to different environmental issues through the media and education, which can evoke fear or helplessness. By creating a classroom environment that acknowledges and normalizes the students’ feelings, it can create open discussion. You can also encourage students to speak with other figures like the school's guidance counselor and suggest other resources like Kids Help Phone and giving students the phone number 1-800-668-6868. Promoting open, respectful communication will help your students feel less alone in their concerns when discussing with others.
Incorporating Environmental Educational Resources into Lesson Plans
By incorporating environmental resources into regular lesson plans, students can become educated in ways that they can help and hear about success stories in terms of environmental stewardship. For example, climate policy activities are great to use in a high school social studies class and energy activities are great to do in an elementary science class. GreenLearning has free resources that can be easily incorporated into your class’ curriculum and can be found here. The resources from GreenLearning are great to take climate action with your students in areas like environmental advocacy, energy and extreme weather. A great activity to follow after discussing climate change with your students is GreenLearning’s eCards that will help elevate students' voices. Students can research a topic they are passionate about, and turn this into a visual card along with a message that they want to share with others. From there, eCards can be uploaded to our website where we will send the cards to a stakeholder of their choosing. In completing an activity like this, teachers can facilitate further discussion with the class as they review the eCards together. Students can express their concerns, and share with others what they researched and learned. Environmental resources give students a realistic and hopeful approach to learning about climate change.
Encourage Empowerment and Action
When students collectively take action and talk about their feelings, it can help alleviate their anxiety and give them a sense of accomplishment. GreenLearning challenges are great tools for students to lead change that allows them to know they are part of the solution. Whether it is hosting a lights-out event, reducing plastic waste, building renewable energy models, creating climate resilience plans or climate policy, students can see the practical ways that they can make a difference and feel empowered. Participating in these challenges will help students feel a sense of hope as they can track how much energy they saved in a lights-out event. Seeing how they are making a difference helps them cope with eco-anxiety.
Other Helpful Resources
There are many other helpful resources online that you can use to help your students. The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators provides themes and resource types that are helpful to create further discussion with your students in regards to eco-anxiety. Another great resource is SUTE, a youth-led organization that teaches a practice of rest, recovery and resistance to counter eco-anxiety. The learnings from these resources can then be used in the classroom with your students.
Connecting students to positive environmental actions and taking a solutions-focused approach to teaching environmental issues can help to ease these feelings of anxiety. Students that participate in climate action are able to root their learning to real experiences and people who are working for a better future. By acknowledging students' feelings, offering them a safe space to talk about them and providing them with tools that will make a difference can make a significant impact on students’ well-being. Together, we are able to guide learners to a future where they are empowered, hopeful and engaged in environmental stewardship.
Hickman, Caroline, et al. “Climate Anxiety in Children and Young People and Their Beliefs About Government Responses to Climate Change: A Global Survey.” The Lancet Planetary Health, vol. 5, no. 12, Dec. 2021, pp. e863–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-...(21)00278-3.