Winter Season Highlights
The inaugural season of our From Root to Sky program was a success! Our winter programming explored themes of climate joy, climate anxiety, art, spirituality, and much more. Check out our Winter 2023 programming below.
Session 2: Spirituality, Land Connection and Anti-Oppression
This session explored what it means to cultivate a spiritual connection to land and the interconnections between our bodies, ancestors, and the land. From there, we examined how anti-oppression is an essential part of climate justice and explored examples of anti-racist climate action. Participants took part in a brief meditation, creative activities and a group discussion. This session was facilitated by Damaris Miller (they/them) and Amani Olugbala (they/them) from Rested Root.
Session 4: Arts-Based Approaches to Climate Justice
In this session, participants collectively explored how art, photography, and climate justice intersect to promote wellness, social justice, and community. We were joined by our facilitator Ryan Osman (he/him), a Mauritian Photographer and Water Resources Specialist, whose work sits at the intersections of environmentalism and photojournalism. Though the topic of water conservation and climate change can feel like an uphill battle, Ryan shared that photography has the power to redirect efforts towards climate justice in healthy and positive ways for oneself and one’s own communities.
Session 1: Exploring Climate Joy
This introductory session explored how the environment promotes joy and how we can express and connect to this through art. The group engaged in a grounding technique and reflective discussions & activities about what the environment means to us all. This session was facilitated by Rufaro Muzorewa (she/her) and Celeste Alcena (she/they) from the Community Team at YCL.
Session 3: Engaging with Eco-Grief and Climate Anxiety
This workshop, hosted by Bonita Ford (she/her), offered a safe space for BIPOC youth to learn to work with their feelings, to practice some self-care tools, and to connect with like-hearted community. Bonita is the author of the book “Embers of Hope: Embracing Life in an Age of Ecological Destruction and Climate Chaos” and she supports people in coping with and addressing ecological and climate breakdown.
Session 5: Writing as an Act of Care
This workshop was an exploration of the power of the written word as a tool to record living memory. Participants left the session with a first draft of their own creative writing, and with new tools to connect to their environment, each other, and themselves. This session was facilitated by Kimberley Dawkins (she/they), an award-winning multidisciplinary and performing artist, writer and event producer.
Participant Testimonials
“A peaceful, warm, caring, reflective, inclusive space.”
- Session 1 Attendee
“I loved the focus on the true causes of the climate crisis, the systems of dominations y'all named. Often times its focus on the hard sciences like emissions and other ills, but being in a space that names cisheteropatriarchy/colonialism/imperialism as the root of the problem is rare and valued.”
- Session 2 Attendee
“The sessions are led in a way which makes the participants feel comfortable. I was able to open up, as well as consider my own feelings around the issues discussed. I am glad we were also given tools to help us practically with anxiety and grief through visualization techniques.”
- Session 3 Attendee