Happy New Year! We hope you had a memorable holiday season and a positive start to 2024. At Be the Change, we are energized and excited for the year ahead!
A Warm Thank You
First off, we’d like to extend gratitude to our community of donors who gave over $20,000 in 2023! We deeply appreciate this support, which will directly advance our 2024 goals to:
- Expand our programming into new regions throughout BC, with a focus on communities on the front-line of environmental crises
- Collaborate with Indigenous partners and advisors to meaningfully integrate Indigenous ways of knowing and being into our programs
- Ensure all programs address the root causes of environmental crises and create space for participants to navigate the mental health impacts associated with such crises
Stay tuned to these newsletters to hear stories and updates of how our resources, workshops, and mentorship are making a tangible impact! Thank you!
Program Highlight: Climate Action, Resilience, and Emotions (CARE)
One of our biggest projects over the past year has been developing and implementing our CARE program in BC’s interior. With funding from the Canadian Red Cross we were able to support approximately 500 youth and educators to explore their climate-related emotions in order to foster resilience and agency! With new funding from the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions and the Central Okanagan Foundation we will be able to continue building momentum in the Kamloops region and will be expanding our reach into the Central Okanagan. This innovative program employs a “by youth, for youth” model that features youth facilitators sharing their climate stories in order to empower participants to navigate climate emotions and take action. Here is what our facilitators are saying about their work on the CARE project:
Heidi Wismath: “I love being a CARE facilitator because it allows me to combine my passion for working with kids and science communication in a meaningful way. Witnessing the positive impact of empowering youth to take climate action and fostering their resilience in the face of challenging climate emotions is incredibly rewarding!”
Tatiana Mueller: “As someone who used to (and still occasionally does) experience climate anxiety, the CARE program is something that I definitely would have benefitted from as a kid. So now, I’m grateful to be able to offer that kind of education and support to others that might need it!”
Molly Sladden: “I am a CARE facilitator because reducing the effects of climate change is the foremost challenge of my generation, and inspiring the next generation while giving them the facts and tools they need is imperative in this task.”
Sydney Sunderland: “Being a CARE facilitator has brought me so much joy and fulfillment. The kids I’ve worked with have been so passionate and adorably intelligent about the complex issue of climate change. It’s really cool to see. I leave every workshop with my cup more full than before.”
Dayna Margetts (she/her)
Co-Executive Director: Programming and Education
This is where the concept of regenerative education comes in. Introduced to the BTCEA team by former staff member Jake, regenerative education calls on us to slow down and turn inward to consider our connection with the natural world. It asks us to examine the living systems that are breaking down due to violent human activity (such as fossil fuel extraction, destruction of Indigenous lands, and human-caused flooding and wildfires) and connect this breakdown with our own high levels of stress.
