Trauma Informed Practices for Eco and Climate Anxiety and Climate Impacts Emergency Response

Introduction to Trauma and the Environmental Crisis AND Environmental and Climate Aligned Trauma Informed Practices (TIP) for Educators and Schools: 

• This introductory resource provides definitions, research, frameworks, and tools for exploring how environmental issues and climate impacts connect to physical, social, and emotional trauma. 

• The resources also includes a crosswalk of frameworks that demonstrate how educators can integrate environmental and climate aligned trauma informed practices into classrooms and school communities to address and prevent these impacts. 

The Climate Mental Health Network addresses the mental health consequences of climate change through community engagement and by harnessing the power of media and technology.  They curate research, and sponsor webinars that provide background and resources for educators to be empowered to address eco and climate anxiety with students. 

 The following are webinars and podcasts that highlight the important issue of integrating trauma informed practices into environmental and climate literacy efforts, as well as webinars and podcasts that advocate for integrating environmental and climate literacy as a form of trauma informed practice. 

• Mind & Life - Mindfulness and Climate Trauma: In this episode, Wendy speaks with neuroscientist and mental health researcher Jyoti Mishra who has an intertwined interests in neuroscience, meditation, and mental health; and understanding climate trauma and its unique impacts on mental health. The conversation focuses on the critical issue of addressing trauma from climate impacts, and deepening the connection of individuals to nature. 

• Inside Climate News - Climate Trauma is a Thing, Here is What the Research Reveals (January 2025): Jyoti Mishra and colleagues from California State University, Chico, studied the psychological and social impacts of the 2018 Camp Fire, California’s deadliest to date, as well as the devastating 2023 Maui blazes. This story captures their insight about Climate Trauma from wildfires. 

• Talking with Green Teachers Podcast -  Episode 47 - Climate Literacy and Resilience (Oct 2022): Talking with Green Teachers features discussions with environmental educators from around the globe. This episode features Andra Yeghoian taking a deep dive on the part of her work that is focused on taking a trauma-informed approach to climate literacy. 

• NAAEE eeInspire Monthly Webinar Series - Climate Emotions in Education (March 2022): NAAEE’s eeInspire monthly webinar series hosted a national webinar focused around environmental and climate change education in a way that avoids traumatizing students, and instead facilitates emotional resilience and empowers them to take action. Guest speakers shared strategies of how to support students deal with feelings of anxiety, grief, anger, and hopelessness. View video here. 

• Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) -  Climate Emotions Matter Webinar (May 2022): Research shows that students overwhelmingly struggle with a range of climate emotions from both learning about climate change and direct environmental disasters experiences. This workshop, facilitated by the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) shows how schools and teachers can help students become more emotionally resilient in the face of climate change.

The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators (Edited by Jennifer Atkinson and Sarah Jaquette Ray)

An easy-to-use field guide for teaching on climate injustice and building resilience in your students—and yourself—in an age of crisis. Featuring insights from scholars, educators, activists, artists, game designers, and others who are integrating emotional wisdom into climate justice education, this user-friendly guide offers a robust menu of interdisciplinary, plug-and-play teaching strategies, lesson plans, and activities to support student transformation and build resilience.

Environmental and Climate Crisis Quadrant of Emotions Activity (30 - 60 min): This activity is an expansion of the Climate Ribbon arts ritual, and aims to support collective emotional processing about the environmental and climate crisis. In this activity, participants are invited to pay close attention to the emotions that they have been experiencing as they explore topics and issues related to the environmental and climate crisis. The activity supports participants to respond to emotions such as grief, outrage, worry, and then to make a shift into hope and optimism about the future. Acknowledging the range of emotions that humans experience around the environmental and climate crisis can be a powerful precursor to activities aimed at supporting children, youth, and adults to be agents of change for environmental and climate action. 

Trauma Informed Nature Connection Activities (Activity time varies in range from 10 - 60 min): This document provides examples of over 15 supplemental trauma informed practices you could do with students to help foster a connection with nature, and to support students to process emotions during an emotionally triggering lesson about the environment or social justice issues. 

Solutionary Teaching and Learning (Activity time varies): Solutionary teaching and learning involves the process of students analyzing "wicked" problems, identifying the inhumane and unsustainable systems that perpetuate them, and then developing solutions that do the most good and least harm for all. This page provides resources for teachers who are interested in bringing Solutionary Teaching and Learning into their classroom. Teachers looking for supplemental resources should start with the "Solutionary Teaching Strategies" section. Those looking for comprehensive "Take and Teach" frameworks and unit exemplars should utilize the two different Solutionary Unit of Study frameworks: "Content Driven" and "Research Driven". 

Solutionary and Environmental Books (Reading time varies based on length and age of students): This book list (and some videos) provides examples of solutionary stories of action and advocacy, or are books that explore environmental themes. Reading these stories with children and youth and engaging in a meaningful discussion is a great trauma informed practice. The curated list includes a number of sections: 

• Solutionary Action Themed Books

• General Environmental Themed Books

• Climate Themed Books

• Environmental Justice Books

• Environmental Books by Topic: Energy, Water, Waste, Land Ecosystems, Transportation, and Food

• Systems Thinking Books

• Kindergarten - Jadelyn Chang: Becoming a Problem Solver is a Trauma Informed Practice (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 1st - Kimber Trefero: Using a Let's Make a Difference Mindset (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 2nd - Sarah Hartman: Using a Solutionary Lens to Teach Environmental Justice (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 2nd - Rachel Haynes: How One 2nd Grader's Story Inspired Climate Justice Curriculum (From Rethinking Schools)

• Fourth (Dec 2024) - Gulf Beach Elementary School (Florida) and the Response to Hurricane Helene (from Climate Central and NPR's WUSF)

• Fourth - Jennifer Young: Addressing Big Emotions with Solutionary Problem Solving (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• Fourth and Fifth - Sonia Meyers: Solutionary Work and Advocacy at the Forefront (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 6-8 - Charu Gulati: Fostering Empathy, Leadership, and Environmental Stewardship (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 7th - Corinna Low: Tapping into the Power of Emotions (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 8th - Habiba Naqvi: From Classroom Learning to Community Impact (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 7-12 - Beth Kassler: Growing Hope and Creating a Better Future (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 9-12 Social Studies - Rhonda Clements: Flipping the Narrative, Marking Heavy Information Powerful (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 9th Science - Matthew Sahagun: Addressing the Day The Sky Was Orange in Science Class (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)

• 12th English - Matt Clemens: Navigating the Climate Crisis in English Class is a Moral Responsibility (From SMCOE's Solutionary Teacher Fellowship Program)