We are pleased to announce the conference will feature a variety of artists/authors, activists, and climate communications organizations, including the following:
Organizations
Artists and Authors
Website: https://climateeducation.ca/
About: The climate crisis, the pandemic, and related social inequities indicate the need for education that teaches compassion and care towards the planet. Climate change and the related social impacts have necessitated a re-think of traditional pedagogies. Educators are faced with the challenge to not only engage learners in these conversations, but to support and address the range of emotions and pedagogical complexities that involve socio-scientific realities. Climate Kind Pedagogy (CKP) cultivates climate and justice informed approaches and promotes the practice of kindness within educational settings. The framework for Climate-Kind Pedagogy addresses foundational values that are reflected in syllabus & course planning, attitudes of the teacher, activities, tools, evaluation strategies and expected outcomes. The pedagogy is grounded in a commitment to confront oppressive practices and to support students from all cultural backgrounds while honouring lived experiences and cultural knowledge.
Presenter: Dr. Kshamta Hunter
Biography: Dr. Kshamta Hunter is an instructor in the Faculty of Education and the manager of Transformative Learning & Student Engagement at the University of British Columbia. Her research aims to design responsive and relevant integrative curriculum and pedagogical approaches for the 21st century, through a values-based and justice-informed lens.
Website: climatestoriesproject.org/
About: Climate Stories Project (CSP) is an educational and artistic forum for sharing stories about personal and community responses to climate change. CSP focuses on personal oral histories, which bring an immediacy to the sometimes abstract nature of climate change communication. Some of us may recount dramatic events such as floods and wildfires, or we may address our observations of changes in seasonal patterns and our fears for the future of our families and communities. We may discuss how climate change is forcing our communities to adapt to extreme weather and sea level rise. Or we may speak about how we are getting involved in movements to build more resilient futures and to fight the fossil fuel industry through community organizing or nonviolent protest. There is no “right” way to talk about climate change as it is a vast topic that is increasingly touching every corner of our lives.
In addition, some climate stories are being used as the basis for music and soundscape pieces that allow audiences to witness the effects of climate change in a novel way. By presenting climate change narratives through music, Climate Stories Project reaches new audiences that may not be currently engaged with the effects of climate change. These pieces can be found on the Climate Music page.
Presenter: Jason Davis
Contact: jason@climatestoriesproject.org
Biography: Dr. Jason Davis is the Director of the Climate Stories Project. Jason is a musician, environmental educator, and leader of the environmental sound and improvisation ensemble Earthsound. He teaches music and environmental studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. In fall 2022 he served as the Basler Chair at East Tennessee State University. He holds a Doctorate in music from McGill University in Montreal and has Master’s degrees in Music and Ecology. Jason was inspired to create the Climate Stories Project from listening to Different Trains by composer Steve Reich, a piece which uses recorded interviews to explore the very different experiences of people traveling by train in the US and in Europe during World War II.
(Photo credit: Randy Cole)
Contact: Createchangecollective.c3@gmail.com
Website: createchangecollective.weebly.com
About: We believe people will protect what they care about, and what better way to get them to care about the environment than through education. Our vision for the future is accessible and inclusive environmental education, inspiring others to take action towards conservation and preservation of our shared planet. To accomplish our mission we have developed a simple three step process of educate, engage and grow. We educate both ourselves and others on important environmental and social topics. Then we develop monthly engagement projects which aim to engage community members in these discussions and movements. We provide individuals with the necessary background knowledge to facilitate individual curiosity and further action. We act as steppingstone for environmental education and climate action.
Presenter: Rae Landriau
Biography: Rae Landriau is a graduate student at Carleton University pursuing an MSc. in physical geography. Their research is on legacy drilling waste sites in the western Canadian Arctic, in partnerships with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Inuvialuit Land Administration and NSERC PermafrostNet. Rae is a nature enthusiast and founded Create Change Collective, a community-based organization dedicated to making environmental education more accessible through the use of art.
Instagram: @creatingwithsabrina
About: Creating Climate Resilience is the program Sabrina developed through her Master’s study of the same name, drawing on principles and practices from art therapy, environmental psychology, and climate emotions scholarship. This program arose in response to high levels of climate distress among young people in particular, including climate anxiety, ecological grief and solastalgia among others. The purpose is to create a safe space in which participants can process their climate emotions with like-minded others and cultivate art-making as a mental health practice/tool they can continue to use in the future. As climate impacts are projected to worsen in coming years, cultivating emotional resilience tools will be a crucial aspect of climate adaptation. No art-making experience or climate expertise is required, and participants are actively encouraged to focus on the process of art-making and how it makes them feel over the end product, or what the art looks like.
Presenter: Sabrina Guzman Skotnitsky
Contact: sabrina.guzmanskot@gmail.com
Biography: Sabrina Guzman Skotnitsky is a climate justice advocate, artist, researcher and consultant residing on the unceded territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. She has been part of the movement since she was 15 years old, and is especially passionate about supporting other young people on their climate journeys.
Website: https://ecovoiceproject.org/
About: The EcoVoice Project (The EcoVP) uses music and interdisciplinary collaboration to inform, connect, and inspire people to act for environmentally just causes. As an arts organization designed to bring awareness to climate change and environmental issues through musical performance, the EcoVP connects musicians, interdisciplinary artists, scientists, and community members through a series of concerts, guest speakers, outreach, and civic engagement. We seek to:
- Educate people about the effects of climate change and inspire them to act
- Create a space where music brings people together for environmental activism
- Explore creative ways to run an arts organization with sustainability as a priority
- Serve as a model for artists and arts organizations through sustainable practices
- Encourage participatory music-making
- Create new music that meaningfully engages people with today’s challenges
Presenter: Kirsten Hedegaard
Website: kirsten@ecovoiceproject.org
Biography: Kirsten Hedegaard has enjoyed a varied career as a singer, conductor, and scholar. Currently Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Loyola University, Hedegaard is interested in bringing together musicians and artists to explore how the arts can support environmental education and action.
Contact: futures.europe@gmail.com
Website: https://www.futuresofeurope.org
About: Futures of Europe is an open-ended, multidisciplinary project that aims to encourage discussion and engagement and to create new visions around possible futures of Europe. Faith in politics is at an all-time low, and hope for the future is collapsing as conspiracy theories and dystopian visions flourish. To counterbalance these trends, our actions tackle themes like sustainability, climate action, countering extremism, the need for unity, action against racism, and finding positive, empowering uses of digitalisation, with the broader aim of helping to rebuild the commons in Europe and encourage consensus on some of the most difficult issues we face. We want people to see that their words and ideas matter, that they have something of value to contribute to crucial debates, and that everyone living in Europe – north, south, east or west, centre or periphery, rural or urban – has an important role to play in deciding our collective fate.
Presenter: Simone Ashby
Biography: Simone Ashby is an Assistant Professor in New Media Design at Tilburg University, where she co-founded the multidisciplinary Futures of Europe research group. Her research focuses on participatory speculative design methods and leveraging collective intelligence to help people become more connected and empowered in their communities.
Presenter: Julian Hanna
Biography: Julian Hanna is an Associate Professor in Culture Studies at Tilburg University. His research focuses on critical intersections between culture, politics, and technology. His latest books are The Manifesto Handbook: 95 Theses on an Incendiary Form (Zero Books, 2020), and Island (Bloomsbury’s Object Lessons series, September 2024).
Website: https://insidethegreenhouse.org
About: The Butterfly Affect is a guided experience to travel through a butterfly’s metamorphosis. It is an invitation for homo sapiens to contemplate growth within themselves—to emerge transformed and ready to co-create an equitable, survivable, and thrive-able world for life and the eco-systems upon which life depends. Three participants enter the half-hour experience at a time and proceed from the first stage inside an egg, to the second emerging as a caterpillar, the third stage hanging within a chrysalis, and final emerging as one of three different butterfly species, Monarch, Blue Morpho, or Wester Tiger Swallowtail. Delving into the science of a butterfly’s metamorphosis and embodying each stage can allow the opportunity to focus on something within the self that is yearning to transform. Contemplation of a butterfly’s metamorphosis contains useful truths, codes, and inspiration for emergence that carries meaning for this moment in multi-species evolutionary history.
Presenter: Beth Osnes
Contact: beth.osnes@colorado.edu
Biography: Beth Osnes PhD, is a Professor of Theatre and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado active in applied performance and creative climate communication (www.sidebyside.world & www.thebutterflyaffect.org) to co-author an equitable, survivable, and thrive-able future for life and the ecosystems upon which life depends.
Contact: leftcoastlabourchorus.com/contact
Website: leftcoastlabourchorus.com/
About: Formed in September 2014, the LeftCoast Labor Chorus is a group of 30 plus singers who merge their voices and activism in their music. The original members came from a labor background and their repertoire came from a rich tradition of labor and social justice songs. In recent years the chorus has widened its focus to songs and inspirations for dealing with the climate crisis. In addition to being seen at picket lines they now appear at climate rallies and protests. The conductor is Peggy Hua, a musician and conductor who leads a number of different choirs in Vancouver. Choir members believe that joining singing and activism help themselves and others to counteract the negative effects of climate anxiety and that the positive spin-off of raising energy could lead to practical ways of solving the climate problem.
Presenter: Barbara Coward
Biography: Barbara taught EASL for 30 years at Douglas College, and on retirement took on urban farming and singing for social change. Her passion for animals and plants has been lifelong. Singing in the streets with Left Coast Labour Chorus and her feminist quartet, the Re:Sisters, is her joy. She believes songs reach the heart of our humanity in a way that plain speech cannot. For that reason, she thinks artistic expression needs to be centered in the struggle for all aspects of climate, social and political justice.
Presenter: Bill Bargeman
Website: myclimateplan.com
Contact: hello@myclimateplan.com
About: Every day, all kinds of people help each other face climate impacts like heat, fire, and flood. My Climate Plan is a membership community and platform to help you do the most effective things you can to defend your home and stop runaway climate change. Answer a few questions to begin creating a personalised climate plan that links you to local and national solutions providers. Then, if you want, you can join as a member to get ongoing support, community, advocacy and benefits.
Presenter: Reilly Yeo
Biography: Reilly is an interfaith chaplain and spiritual care provider to the climate movement (MDiv UToronto, CPE Basic Victoria General Hospital), a co-founder of Climate Plan, and principle of Full Circle Perspectives. Prior to entering seminary, she was the Director of Communications and Public Engagement at the David Suzuki Foundation, one of Canada’s largest environmental charities.
Website: www.PlanetHeroKids.com
Contact: https://www.steve-eve.com/contact
About:
Planet Hero Kids is a community of kids and parents striving to help save the planet by cultivating a sense of hope, opportunity and awe in young children as they become aware of the climate challenges that we all now face. Climate anxiety is real and the best way to help alleviate it within children is through action.
Our focus is to spread positivity among children by demonstrating that, through the superpower of kindness, they can be enablers of climate and social impacts that help to heal the planet. Secondarily, our purpose is to help accelerate the transition to renewable energy solutions in a manner that involves empathy and kindness to all.
Steve and Eve is a magically-illustrated graphic novel book series that helps address the challenges of this climate change era, while inspiring children with adventure, laughter, and hope.
The first book in the series is the creation of authors Paul Shore and Deborah Katz Henriquez, and their talented illustrator Prashant Miranda. The creative trio recognize the need for engaging young children in climate action, through lighthearted story-telling and art that cultivates hope and a sense of opportunity.
Planet Hero Kids graphic novels will delight and inspire young readers. Children will experience the thrill of adventure, while becoming empowered by the realization that every act of kindness can help to heal the planet and all of its creatures.
In the first book in the series, I Can Hear Your Heart Beep, readers are introduced to Steve, a kooky polar bear with a magical power gifted to him by the Northern Lights, and Eve, a feisty electric car who wants to change the world. This 200-page illustrated work-of-art is available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats.
Supplementary resources for educators:
www.https://www.steve-eve.com/educators
Presenter: Paul Shore
Website: www.pshore.com
Biography: Paul Shore is an award-winning author and accomplished business professional and engineer who has always embraced adventure and exploring nature with children. Born and raised in Ottawa, Paul moved to the west coast after graduating from Queen’s University in 1990 and has since worked around the globe in high technology, sport, and healthcare. Paul currently is focussed on a climate action writing project that strives to help alleviate childhood climate anxiety, while cultivating a sense of hope and opportunity among young children, parents, and educators.
Website: www.reclimate.ca
About: RE.CLIMATE IS Canada’s go-to centre for training, research and strategy on climate change communications and public engagement. We provide research, strategic services and training to help more than 2,000 practitioners reach new audiences, overcome polarization, communicate urgency and motivate change. Re.Climate is based at Carleton University in the Centre for Sustainable Energy.
Presenter: Amber Bennett
Contact: amber@reclimate.org
Biography: Amber Bennett is a leading voice on climate communications in Canada. She a founder and Executive Director of Re.Climate, a non-partisan centre based Carleton University dedicated to the research, training and practice of climate change communications and engagement. She lives in Calgary, Alberta.
Website: shakeuptheestab.org
About: Shake Up The Establishment (SUTE) is a national youth-led registered not-for-profit organization (#1190975-4) that focuses on promoting climate justice within the geographical confines of what is currently known as “Canada”. We use an intersectional approach to promote non-partisan political advocacy, craft accessible evidence-informed educational resources to improve climate and environmental literacy and work to collaborate directly with underserved and structurally vulnerable communities to address injustices. Although we are a national organization with team members from across what is currently Canada, our founders dreamt up, organized and registered this organization upon Treaty 3 lands, belonging to the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas Peoples. We acknowledge that our actions as an organization and the work that we put out have an impact on these lands and upon all that call it home. We are humbled to be able to follow the lead of Indigenous-led efforts towards the protection and stewardship of this environment since time immemorial across these lands we currently call ‘Canada.’ We honour the contributions of Indigenous, Black and other racialized peoples within the climate justice space and recognize their resiliency in the face of systemic oppression imposed by the settler colonial state. We aim to incorporate joy, rest and dreaming of futures throughout our work, particularly for racialized and/or Indigenous Peoples, women and gender-diverse peoples, low-income, neurodiverse, and (dis)abled youth, to help craft a more sustainable movement. We want to make space for people to reflect on their relationship to lands they live, work and thrive upon, and encourage all to show up responsibly and in solidarity with Indigenous communities to care for and nourish each other and these lands accordingly.
More information about our new book: https://www.shakeuptheestab.org/journal
Link to purchase our book: https://www.shakeuptheestab.org/shop
Presenter: Manvi Bhalla
Contact: manvi@shakeuptheestab.org
Website: manvibhalla.com
Biography: With over 15 years of community organizing experience, Manvi Bhalla is a recognized leader in Canada’s climate justice movement. She co-founded the national nonprofit, Shake Up The Establishment and is also a PhD Candidate at University of British Columbia researching intersectional, anti-colonial environmental justice & health policy.
About: Why do we need all hands on deck and all cards on the table when it comes to climate action? Stop by our booth to participate in a 15-minute Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-style gameplay and reflection activity. Learn about Drawdown, experience the complexity of the climate crisis, and share your thoughts about the effectiveness of learning through play and dialogue.
Interested in playing a full 100-minute game? Sign up here.
