Be The Change Earth Alliance is partnering with UBC Sustainability to offer free workshops to empower youth to take action on climate change. Many resources already exist to teach youth about the science of climate change and the urgent threat it poses to our society. Evidence suggests, however, that informing youth about climate change is not enough, and that providing presentations only on the science of climate change can leave participants feeling worried, anxious, and unable to engage.
Our workshops aim to supplement existing resources with information about how high school students can become “Climate Ambassadors” and encourage their local communities to take action on climate change. By empowering young people to act and demonstrating how effective their actions can be, we aim to foster a sense of agency and purpose.
Each workshop is facilitated by UBC students, who can meaningfully relate to and engage with their high school peers. Workshops can occur in classrooms, before or after school, in community centers, or other community spaces. The workshop is geared for Grades 8-12 but an adapted version can be delivered for students in Grades 4-7 or post-secondary.
We offer two workshops: YCAP (Original) and YCAP: Climate Justice Focus.
Each workshop lasts roughly 60-90 mins and will include:
- An open discussion on students' associations, ideas and feelings regarding climate change, with an emphasis on validating student experiences
- An introduction to the concept of climate justice
- Stories of other teens locally and internationally who are stepping up to act on climate, and what we can learn from them
- An activity to guide students in creating their own “climate story” and identifying a call to action and a target audience
- Personal stories from the facilitators on how they became motivated to take climate action
Options
1. YCAP Original Workshop
Recommended age group: grades 5-12
This workshop empowers students to explore climate change and justice through storytelling, discussions, and creative reflection. Students will dive into climate issues, hear from their classmates' lived experiences, and learn how to share their own climate story. Centred on interactive teaching methods, this workshop sparks hope and encourages meaningful community-based change.
2. Climate Justice Workshop
Recommended age group: grades 8-12
This workshop takes a deeper look into climate justice and environmental racism through reflective and inclusive discussions. Students will participate in a case study analysis focused on a real-world proposed motion to make False Creek a Marine Protected Area. Classes will learn about how inequities are faced by frontline communities in the climate crisis and how to create meaningful change by sharing their own climate stories.
3. Coming Soon: Storytelling Workshop (grades K-4)
Objectives for these workshops include:
- Provide participants with hope and agency through compelling, powerful, and inspiring stories
- Affirm participants’ experiences and feelings about climate change
- Help participants understand climate change as a social justice issue, not just an environmental crisis
- Give participants tools and frameworks to be more effective climate activists and communicators
- Activate participants’ imaginations for effective strategies to encourage others to support climate solutions, policies, and action
REGISTER
Be The Change Earth Alliance and UBC Sustainability are grateful for our sponsors, Vancity and the UBC Community-University Engagement (CUES) Fund, who have generously supported this initiative.
