Toolkit for the Interdisciplinary Infusion of the SDGs into Classrooms
Home » Teaching Approaches » Wellness

Wellness

This image is the logo of the University of British Columbia

The SDGs-in-the-Classroom Toolkit is excited to collaborate with Dr. Kshamta Hunter, Manager of Transformative Learning & Student Engagement with the UBC Sustainability Hub and Instructor in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy as well as UBC Wellbeing.

The Wellness section is an integral part of the SDGs-in-the-Classroom Toolkit, specifically designed to address the often-overlooked mental and emotional impacts of climate change. As educators and learners increasingly confront the realities of our changing climate, it becomes imperative to acknowledge and address the ramifications of this global challenge. This section provides resources, articles and tools to help navigate the complex emotional landscapes.

Role and Relevance 

Climate change's emotional and psychological dimensions can profoundly affect individuals, particularly students and educators engaged in sustainability education. By focusing on climate wellness, this section aims to equip its users with the necessary knowledge and skills to understand, process, and effectively respond to the emotional stresses induced by climate change. It is about coping, building resilience, and fostering a positive and proactive approach to environmental challenges.

Alignment with the SDGs-in-the-Classroom Toolkit 

The Wellness Section complements the overarching objectives of the York University UNSDGs Toolkit, which seeks to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into educational contexts. Understanding the mental health aspects of climate change is crucial for achieving several SDGs, including Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3), Quality Education (SDG 4), and Climate Action (SDG 13). This section enriches the toolkit by bridging the gap between environmental sustainability and mental wellness, fostering a more holistic approach to education and activism in the face of climate change.

Okanagan Charter

The Okanagan Charter is an International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges
(2015). Health promoting universities and colleges transform the health and sustainability of our current and future societies, strengthen communities and contribute to the well-being of people, places and the planet.

Health promoting universities and colleges infuse health into everyday operations, business practices and academic mandates. By doing so, health promoting universities and colleges enhance the success of our institutions; create campus cultures of compassion, well-being, equity and social justice; improve the health of the people who live, learn, work, play and love on our campuses; and strengthen the ecological, social and economic sustainability of our communities and wider society.

UBC Wellbeing

Geneva Charter for Well-being

Over 5000 plus participants of the Global Conference, who met virtually and in Geneva, Switzerland, agreed on a Geneva Charter for Well-being. The Charter builds on the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and the legacy of nine global conferences on health promotion. It highlights the need for global commitments to achieve equitable health and social outcomes now and for future generations, without destroying the health of our planet. This charter will drive policy-makers and world leaders to adopt this approach and commit to concrete action.

World Health Organization

Academic Articles

Climate Change Anxiety

  • Coping with Climate Change Distress by the Australian Psychological Society have grouped a number of adaptive coping strategies into four categories: behavioural, relational, cognitive, emotional in order to provide a toolkit of strategies to help people cope with climate change.
  • Eco-anxiety in Children: A Scoping Review. This scoping review assesses the mental health impacts of climate change awareness among children, highlighting significant affective responses and the need for future research.
  • How Children Make Sense of Climate Change. Gain insight into the emotional world of children regarding climate change, focusing on their understanding, reactions, and coping mechanisms through parent-child dyads.
  • The Generational Stratification of Ecological Anxiety by Wilde, J.H (2022). UVM Honors College Senior Theses. This thesis focuses on the impacts of ecological anxiety within the 21st century—specifically, the non-uniform mental health consequences of climate change across multiple age demographics ranging from Millennials to Baby Boomers.

Climate Kind Pedagogy: A Template for Teachers

Education and Climate Anxiety

  • Climate Change and Sustainability Education: A survey of students in England by Walshe, N., Sheldrake, R., Healy, G., Edwards, RC., Wale, W., Hargreaves, E., (2024) IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society: London, UK.  This report shares detailed findings about student perspectives and experiences of climate change and sustainability education in England in 2024. The results reveal both strengths and gaps in the provision of climate change and sustainability education in England, and serve as an evidence base for researchers, policymakers and practitioners who seek to support schools and teachers to fulfil their important roles in society’s transformation to a more sustainable future.
  • The Educator's Guide to Climate Emotions guide by Climate Psychology Alliance North America provides strategies for addressing climate-related emotions in educational settings, helping students navigate their feelings about environmental issues.
  • The Climate Emotions Wheel by Climate Psychology Alliance North America is a visual tool designed to help individuals identify and understand their climate-related emotions, facilitating emotional literacy and resilience.
  • The Climate Psychology 101 by Climate Psychology Alliance North America is an introductory resource that explores the psychological impacts of climate change, offering foundational knowledge for educators to integrate into their curricula.
  • The Climate Café 101 by Climate Psychology Alliance North America is a guide on hosting informal, supportive discussions about climate emotions, promoting community and emotional processing among students.

Hope Pedagogy and Climate Change Education

  • The Hope Wheel: a Model to Enable Hope-based Pedagogy in Climate Change Education is an article written by William Finnegan and Cathy d’Abreu (2024) in Frontiers in Psychology 15:1347392. Finnegan and d'Abreu state "in response to concerns about climate anxiety and distress, researchers and practitioners in both education and psychology have been investigating the importance of engaging climate hope in Climate Change Education (CCE)." The authors have synthesized recent multidisciplinary research with insights from the development of educational programs and their article proposes a new theoretical model for pedagogies of hope in CCE (Finnegan and d'Abreu, 2024). 

Stress Management in Climate Context

Wellness and Climate Change

  • Community Resilience and Well-being. This report highlights the linkages between climate change, mental health, resilience, and community wellbeing. By way of a literature review, this report outlines ways to overcome resilience-building barriers, develops a set of resilience guiding principles, and offers five progressively staged recommendations to assist stakeholders in addressing climate change impacts on community mental health and wellbeing. 

Publications

  • A Teachers’ Guide for Managing Climate Anxiety in the Classroom from EducationWeek provides educators with essential strategies to address and manage climate anxiety among students. As climate change brings about unprecedented environmental shifts, this guide offers practical advice for creating supportive classroom environments where students can express their concerns and find constructive ways to engage with climate issues.
  • Climate Psychology 101 offers an insightful exploration into the profound mental health impacts of climate change. From the direct aftermath of extreme weather events to the indirect consequences of environmental pollution, this resource sheds light on the complex relationship between climate phenomena and psychological well-being.
  • Game On! Omnibus and Focus Groups Survey II. Dive into the findings of a survey conducted across eight European countries to assess public perceptions and understandings of climate change, its impacts, and potential solutions, offering a comparative analysis to gauge shifts in climate awareness and attitudes.

Podcasts

  • BBC Discovery Ecological Grief . As the Earth experiences more extreme weather, and wildlife is dying, from corals, to insects, to tropical forests, more people are experiencing ecological anxiety and grief. Science journalist Gaia Vince has been reporting on the growing crisis across our planet’s ecosystems, and has met many who are shocked and saddened by the enormity of the environmental changes taking place. She talks to scientists and medics working at the frontline of environmental change, and hears that, despite being expected to distance themselves from what’s happening, they are affected emotionally.
  • Climate and You. How can you - personally - face the truth, stay strong, and take action in the midst of an ongoing climate and ecological emergency? Former wildlife biologist, Zen priest, and climate activist Domyo Burk offers weekly episodes to help you stay engaged with the climate crisis in an authentic and sustainable way.
  • Climate Change and Happiness podcast describes language to what people feel about the climate crisis and supports resilience and mental health and wellbeing.
  • How to Cope with all the Climate Feels by A Matter of Degree. This episode is all about feelings. You’ve heard the phrase “climate grief,” right? But how do we deal with what it does to our hearts, minds, and bodies? And how might it impact the climate action we take?
  • How to Save a Planet . Join journalist Alex Blumberg and a crew of climate nerds, as they bring you smart, inspiring stories about the mess we're in and how we can get ourselves out of it. "We know. It can feel too overwhelming. But what if there was a show about climate change that left you feeling... energized? One so filled with possibility that you actually wanted to listen?" How to Save a Planet is reported and produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Rachel Waldholz, Anna Ladd, Daniel Ackerman, and Hannah Chinn.
  • Outrage and Optimism. Face the climate crisis head on, but understand that we have the power to solve this. From former UN Chief Christiana Figueres and the team who brought you the Paris Agreement, this podcast about issues and politics will inform you, inspire you and help you realize that this is the most exciting time in history to be alive.
  • SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing. During the Cheltenham Science Festival at Home, we explored six of the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations with the support of UK Research and Innovation.  In this episode, we take a look at SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing with host Greg Foot, Giles Yeo and Helen Fletcher.

Videos and Documentaries

  • Artifishal by Josh Murphy who delves into the environmental impact of global fisheries, challenging the notion of a pescatarian diet as an eco-friendly option.
  • Before the Flood with Leonardo DiCaprio and National Geographic witness global warming's impact and humanity's potential to reverse climate change.
  • Climate Change and Mental Health by The American Psychiatric Association's Insight video shows an understanding of how climate change triggers anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and its profound impact on mental health due to disasters and loss.
  • Exposure documentary follows a diverse group of women, including a Muslim chaplain and French biologist, on a daring Arctic ski expedition, showcasing resilience and global citizenship.
  • Ice on Fire narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio grasps the potential scale of climate catastrophe due to Arctic methane release, and explores innovative technologies to mitigate atmospheric CO2 damage.
  • Powerlands by a Navajo filmmaker discovers the global impact of extractive industries on communities, with a focus on Indigenous women's resistance, in this continent-spanning documentary.
  • RiverBlue by David McIlvride and Roger Williams who join conservationist Mark Angelo's quest to unveil the fashion industry's damage to global water supplies, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable practices.
  • The Wisdom of Trauma documentary features Dr. Gabor Maté and explores the impact of trauma and its relevance to societal issues, including environmental concerns.
  • 2040 by Damon Gameau explores hopeful environmental solutions for a brighter future, as envisioned for the filmmaker's daughter in 2040.

Ebooks

  • When the World Runs Dry: Earth’s Water Crisis by Nancy F. Castaldo. Investigate the global water crisis through stories from around the world, highlighting the essential nature of water and the need for young activists to lead change.

Online Courses

  • Climate Psychology Certificate at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). Gain a deep understanding of the mental health impacts of climate change with this certificate, focusing on trauma-informed therapeutic skills and existential dilemmas related to the climate emergency.
  • The Age of Sustainable Development by Professor Jeffrey Sachs on Coursera. Explore sustainable development's complexities through this comprehensive course, offering insights into the challenges and strategies for achieving sustainability globally.

Organizations

  • Climate Psychology Alliance is a diverse community of therapeutic practitioners, thinkers, researchers, artists and others who believe that attending to the psychology and emotions of the climate and ecological crisis is at the heart of our work.
  • Climate Psychiatry Alliance educates the profession and the public about the urgent risks of the climate crisis, including its profound impacts on mental health and well-being. As a grassroots collaboration of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals, we aim to nimbly and creatively advocate for change—educating and motivating others to act to protect health and build a sustainable world.
  • Good Grief Network is a nonprofit organization based in the USA that brings people together to metabolize collective grief, eco-distress, and other heavy emotions that arise in response to daunting planetary crises. The GGN runs peer-to-peer support groups that help folks recognize, feel, and process their heavy emotions, so that these feelings may be transformed into meaningful action. 
  • Mental Health and Well-Being BC is about building safe and caring school communities. This includes empowering students, parents, educators and the community partners who support them to get help with challenges, report concerns to schools, and learn about complex issues facing students.
  • Mental Health and Climate Change Alliance is a Canadian not-for-profit community of interdisciplinary researchers, healthcare providers, and community organizers committed to identifying and addressing the adverse impacts of the climate crisis on mental health. Its purposes are to (1) conduct equity-based climate distress monitoring, (2) incubate novel interventions and policy ideas to address the mental health impacts of climate change, and (3) facilitate knowledge exchange and mobilization to support Canadian's experiencing climate-related ecological distress.
  • Planetary Health Alliance is a growing consortium of over 400 universities, non-governmental organizations, research institutes, and government entities from 60+ countries around the world committed to understanding and addressing the impacts of global environmental change on human health and wellbeing.
  • The National Association of School Psychologists is the world's largest organization of school psychologists. NASP works to advance effective practices to improve students' learning, behavior, and mental health. Their vision is that all children and youth thrive in school, at home, and throughout life.
  • The Climate Optimist from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health is solutions-based research shaping climate actions that build a healthy, more just, and sustainable world.

Toolkits

  • An Educator's Guide to Climate Emotions - Climate Psychology Alliance of North America provides educators and school counselors with strategies for addressing climate emotions in the classroom. It emphasizes the importance of creating space for students to express their feelings about climate change, offering cross-disciplinary teaching methods and advocating for a sense of agency and collaboration among students.
  • BC Climate Action Toolkit is a comprehensive resource for BC communities, offering news, best practices, and tools to aid in climate change mitigation and building resilient, low-carbon communities.
  • Exploring Climate Change and Mental Health is an educational toolkit by Natania Abebe. This toolkit features a film that discuses the topic of mental health and climate change. The film highlights the voices of students and climate change experts who have previously taken or were guest lecturers in the NURS290: Health Impacts of Climate Change course at the University of British Columbia. The toolkit is meant to empower students to think critically about the structural inequities that affect them and challenge the assumption that they do not have the capacity to critique as well as overcome the sociopolitical issues that affect them.
  • The Activate Toolkit is designed to engage staff and faculty at all levels to identify and accelerate action in policies and practices towards stronger mental health and wellbeing, with an emphasis on workplace settings. A concerted effort to create mental health and wellbeing across our institution and workplace environments is essential for all students, faculty, and staff to flourish"
  • UBC Climate Anxiety Toolkit developed by UBC. The toolkit addresses the mental health impacts of climate anxiety, offering strategies to cope with the stress related to climate change.
  • University of Calgary Ecological Grief and Climate Anxiety Wellness Toolkit is an evolving online toolkit with activities and resources designed to support individuals dealing with ecological grief and climate anxiety.
  • Glossary on Climate Change and Public Health. This glossary is intended to foster knowledge mobilization, communication, and collaboration by standardizing the terminology used in English and French. The glossary contains approximately 400 concepts related to climate change and public health.