Creative response
Reflecting on this context has resulted in a new programme ‘Love and Fear in a Warming World’ developed in collaboration with Jigyasa Labroo, co-founder of the award-winning Indian youth arts charity, Slam Out Loud. Our collaboration grew from two shared beliefs: that creative activities could unlock deeper, more meaningful insights into climate change and that such insights were most powerful as shared experiences, whether as groups of educators, parents, students, or even people living in the same city or community. Love and Fear sessions have happened live in the UK, Europe and India, and online with participants worldwide.
Participating in these sessions requires no specific knowledge about climate change. We work with whatever information participants already have, weaving connections between what we feel about climate change, the values we aim to live by, and what we love and cherish about the world we live in.
Our exploration happens through a variety of easily replicable creative activities that help to unlock deeper and more meaningful conversations about a topic that can easily feel overwhelming to adults and young people alike. We finish by discussing how we might bring this practice into our classrooms and schools to create richer, deeper connections to climate education and learning.
Just bring yourself
You don’t need to prepare anything for these sessions – just bring yourself as a human and as an educator. There are no decks or handouts, though there is strongly scaffolded in-session guidance and post-session support. By removing external media from the session, we aim to draw the focus more closely to ourselves and each other, aiming to discover new ways to engage with climate change as adults and for the young people whose futures we are helping to shape.