January Newsletter: Sharing Gratitude & Excitement for 2024!
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!
Welcome to 2020!
Here’s an update of what’s been going on with Be The Change
so far this year
Youth Climate Ambassador Workshops, Youth Action Stories Video series, blog series, welcoming our new executive director
Youth Climate Ambassador Workshops
In January, we officially launched Youth Climate Ambassador Workshops in collaboration with the UBC Climate Hub. These free workshops are designed to empower high school youth to become community ‘Climate Ambassadors’.
Many resources already exist to teach students about the science of climate change and the urgent threat it poses to our society. However, evidence suggests that informing students about climate change is not enough, and that providing presentations only on the science of climate change can leave students feeling worried, anxious, and unable to engage. Youth Climate Ambassador Workshops empowers high school students to take climate action. We love the peer-to-peer process wherein university student facilitators engage high-schoolers in the climate movement through storytelling activities that build hope and agency.
To learn more about this program click here.
Here’s a quote from a student participant:
"It was also helpful to be reminded that I can make a change too...
As a grade 10 student, I can make a difference"
Grade 10 student,
Prince of Wales Secondary
Youth Action Story Videos
Be The Change has also recently launched a new video series: Youth Action Stories. In these short videos, UBC students tell their stories of learning about global sustainability issues and taking action through our SLC program. The audience of the video series is high school students. Research finds that one of the most effective ways to engage youth in climate change education is through sharing stories of other youth taking action against climate change. These videos will leverage the power of peer-to-peer learning, and the role that youth action can have in motivating others.
Check out the one of the Youth Action Stories and be inspired by the future generation!
BLOG SERIES
In January, we launched a new blog series focused on how to discuss the climate crisis in the classroom. The blogs address some of the common questions we get from teachers about how to broach the topic with students in a way that does not shy away from communicating the realities of the climate crisis, but that also does not leave students feeling hopeless. Each blog will focus on an inter-related but specific concern or challenge we have heard from teachers about bringing climate education into the classroom. Each post will synthesize research, tips and tricks, and advice from some of the leading experts, activists in the field.
There is a 3-part series being launched
1) Climate Communications
2) Navigating Eco-Anxiety (TBA)
3) Hope in the face of the climate crisis (TBA)
Click here to read our blog series
Welcoming our new Executive Director: George Radner
On January 6th, 2020, founder Maureen Jack-LaCroix passed on the torch to George Radner, Be The Change’s new Executive Director. George is 24 and has been passionate about climate justice from a young age. He believes deeply in the power of young people to ignite the shift required to address global issues such as the climate crises and create a more just, sustainable and connected world. George first connected with Be The Change a year ago when exploring ENGOs that could help him launch a climate action workshop project in high schools across Vancouver through his volunteer work with the UBC Climate Hub. George then served as a UBC student representative on the BTCEA Wisdom Circle and instantly connected with Be The Change’s mission and programs. George is both thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to guide Be The Change in its crucial work of educating and empowering the next generation of leaders.
Latest posts
December 2023 Newsletter - ⛄‘Tis the season to celebrate at Be The Change!⛄
As 2023 comes to a close and school winds down for winter break, we’re taking a moment to reflect back over the past year. 2023 was a very regenerative time for BTCEA! We developed and delivered our Climate Action, Resilience, and Emotions (CARE) program in communities on the frontlines of wildfires in our province. And as an organization, we prioritized creating space to discuss what decolonization could look like both internally, and in our programming. Here are the highlights:
Oct 2023 Newsletter - Check out our mid-October climate-justice resources!
Hello,
An introduction from Communications Coordinator, Lucy Wicken
Dear Be The Change community,
As we approach mid-October, I’m reflecting on the changing seasons, from the warm and active days of summer to the cooler and quieter days of autumn. Personally, I’ve noticed a desire to slow down, take on fewer responsibilities, and stay inside where it’s cozy. Have you felt this way too?
As 21st century humans living in a world that operates under capitalism, white supremacy, and other oppressive systems, we can be made to feel guilt or shame about listening & responding to our needs. We are expected to maintain the same energy and productivity levels throughout the year, no matter how cold or dark the days are, how heavy world events feel, or how much we’re struggling in our personal lives.
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.
