Stories of hope created together: A pilot, school-based workshop for sharing eco-emotions and creating an actively hopeful vision of the future

Abstract

The climate and ecological crises challenge all communities across the world, with the greatest impact upon the most vulnerable and the youngest. There are multiple impacts on mental health, including the psychological burdens that arise with increasing awareness of the loss, threat and injustice caused by these crises. Large numbers of young people globally are understandably concerned and distressed about these crises, whilst simultaneously reporting that their concerns are regularly dismissed and ignored, particularly by those in power. This can increase feelings of isolation and distress, particularly if they have no recourse to effect change. This pilot project sought to explore how a schools-based, co-created workshop for school pupils aged 16 to 18 years could use a community-oriented space to explore their eco-emotions, address feelings of isolation and engender a sense of realistic, active hope, using storytelling and images of possible futures. A 3-h workshop for delivery in schools was co-designed with young people, researchers, educators and clinicians, using principles of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). Six school pupils aged 16–18 years consented and four completed the workshop, which involved a range of group-based activities to explore their understanding of the climate and ecological crises, support emotional expression related to these and engage in storytelling about hopeful and realistic futures. A live illustrator in attendance created shared images of the participants’ fears and hopes. The workshop was recorded, transcribed and analysed using Thematic Analysis and sentiment analysis. Feedback was sought from participants at 1 and 4 weeks after completion and analysed using content analysis. Results indicated that participants reported a range of painful and positive emotions about the crises. They highly valued having space to express their experience alongside others. Storytelling and creativity appeared to help them articulate their feelings and hopes for the future, and gave them greater motivation and confidence in talking to others about these topics. This innovative pilot study suggests that a school-based youth participatory group could offer a novel way of helping young people to engage more with the climate and ecological crises in a way that supports their wellbeing. It provides strong support for future, larger-scale projects in this area.

Growing Up in an Era of Storms and Stress—Promoting Hope Among Adolescents in the Face of Climate Change

“…Because many teens report feeling invalidated, providing safe spaces for adolescents to discuss their feelings without pathologizing their fears about climate change can be helpful. 7 Adults could also model actions to care for the planet, provide hopeful but realistic messages about climate change, ensure adolescent representation on climate change efforts, and support adolescent-led advocacy. 5,8…”

“…4 Climate change education for youths also seldomly addresses its effects on mental health, and when youths share their feelings about climate change, they often feel dismissed by adults. 1,7 Author affiliations and article information are listed at the end of this article.…”

“…A key task during adolescence is developing goals for the future, which requires hope to confidently devise and implement such plans . Climate change may undermine adolescents’ ability to develop hope in several ways.…”

“…Climate change may undermine adolescents’ ability to develop hope in several ways. The effects of climate change bring into question the quality of life for humans in the coming years, so much so that some adolescents think they will have to forego traditional life goals like having children . Although…”

“…type="uri">adolescent activism for climate change is gaining momentum, adolescents often have less agency than adults to act on climate change, which can contribute to hopelessness . Climate change education for youths also seldomly addresses its effects on mental health, and when youths share their feelings about climate change, they often feel dismissed by adults …”