Vermonters are seeking actionable tools and resources they can use in their communities right now on the issue of eco-resilience and eco-anxiety. They are seeking help understanding and defining what it is, a common language for offering support, data to reinforce the urgency of the issue, and a sense of community and mutuality for navigating what is for many an unfamiliar topic.
During this workshop, participants will:
Understand connection between our environment and mental health, including recent data which demonstrates this is a priority concern for young people and historically underserved populations
Understand the definition, context, and narratives of eco-anxiety/climate distress, as well as associated symptoms and perspectives and how to guide patients toward eco-resilient practices
Engage in large and small group discussion, including role play, to better understand how they can support their those they serve, as well as themselves, around this vital issue
Use the "future self" exercise as way to process anxiety and other emotions around the climate crisis and foster eco-resilience
Identify additional supports and resources for environmental mental health
About the Instructor
Heather White is a changemaker and author of One Green Thing: Discover Your Hidden Power to Save the Planet and Eco-Anxiety: Saving Our Sanity, Our Kids, and Our Future. She's an environmental lawyer, writer, consultant, author, motivational speaker, nonprofit executive, and a former Senate staffer. She has more than 20 years experience in nonprofit management and policy advocacy. She's the former President of Yellowstone Forever, the nonprofit partner to Yellowstone National Park, Executive Director of EWG, and Director of Education Advocacy at the National Wildlife Federation. Heather also served as Counsel on Energy and Environment to United States Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) and an associate a Bass, Berry & Sims law firm. She was a recount attorney and presidential campaign staffer for Al Gore in 2000.
Cost: Free; pre-registration required here. CEUs pending.
This program is part of VCPI’s Environmental Mental Health Initiative with support from the Vermont Community Foundation.