Children and young people are understandably anxious about climate change. Here’s how you can help them manage negative feelings – and turn climate anxiety into positive action.
Climate anxiety and eco-anxiety are terms which have gained prominence in recent years. They refer to feelings of stress, sadness, and anger relating to the worsening climate crisis – feelings which, understandably, disproportionately affect younger generations.
Research published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal found that, globally, 59% of young people are very or extremely worried about climate change and feel betrayed by the inaction of adults in positions of power. Furthermore, 45% of young people say these feelings of climate anxiety are negatively impacting their daily lives.
Climate anxiety doesn’t only affect children and young people’s mental health. It can also influence their behaviour, social development, and academic performance. The good news is that schools and educators can help manage these negative feelings and turn climate anxiety into climate action.
Here are some ways to navigate climate anxiety in the classroom:
Make space to share concerns
Providing space for children’s climate concerns to be heard, without them being dismissed or minimised, can help to reduce feelings of frustration and build resilience.
A good time to have these conversations is when covering difficult or potentially upsetting topics related to the climate crisis. It might form part of a geography lesson about flooding or food scarcity. Or it could be a class discussion following an assembly that touched on a recent natural disaster.
These conversations should give pupils the opportunity to process, and express, their feelings on the topic covered before moving on to something new. This can help to reduce the build-up of stress and negative feelings which can stoke underlying anxiety and affect concentration in following lessons.
Check out Mental Health UK’s advice on coping with climate anxiety, which includes tips on supporting young people.
Show that action is being taken
Just because young people might lack the power to make the changes they would like to see in the world, it doesn’t mean they can’t influence decision makers or make personal lifestyle changes.
Talk about the work your school is already doing to reduce carbon emissions. Climate Education’s carbon calculator (available for member schools) is a great way to track progress and be accountable to your pupils.
Look for examples of good news, too. Positive News is a great source for this, with sections dedicated to positive environmental news.
Connect with nature
Topping up on ‘Vitamin N’ (the ‘N’ stands for nature) has a wealth of positive effects on our overall wellbeing. And whilst not all schools have abundant green space in which pupils can get their daily dose, there are other ways they can connect with nature during the school day.
Setting up bird feeders, building a bug hotel, or simply cloud spotting from the classroom window can help pupils connect with the natural world and reduce feelings of anxiety.
Climate Education members can find more useful activities to help pupils connect with nature in the Our Natural Environment section of the Resource Library.
