Each training is unique, and this group’s knowledge and enthusiasm for big ideas were especially impressive. Your young people are truly creative, collaborative, and engaging! Read on for Training Recap and CAF events!
Our training programs take a holistic approach to climate action and are always shifting to meet the current climate issue landscape. We hope participants came away understanding more about where their leverage points are, felt creatively engaged, and made some new friends – creating connections is the most critical part of the movement!
At the training, we debuted CAF’s (Dragons &) Climate Action Lab, where participants engaged in systems thinking with a game inspired by D&D role-playing adventures. In small groups, they collaborated on responses to real-life scenarios, like the impacts of fast fashion, dam removal, and urban planning, using CAF’s own “Climate Action Ecosystem Cards.”
For this introductory curriculum we began with some connection games, then covered the basics of climate science and climate justice to get everyone on the same page. We then quickly pivoted to solutions that empower young people to take action. Youth are being exposed to climate science and issues through school and media, but few people (even those who WORK in climate advocacy) know about the breadth of solutions in the climate justice movement.
This group of young people quickly mastered how many different approaches to advocacy work synergistically. They practiced mapping influence and opportunities, inspiring public action, and guiding policy alongside notions of self-care and healing climate harms. Floating among the four teams, we heard unique insights on community education, coalition building, and political leverage – kids intuitively understand this work.
CAF based the design of “Climate Action Ecosystem Cards” on deep research into social movements. The cards explain why approaching climate justice work from many angles is important. We communicate that all actions are part of an inseparable ecosystem – you just need to find the angle that lights you up and jump in!
The actions fall into these six branches:
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Personal Transformation
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Legal & Policy Work
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Cultural Influence
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Solutions Deployment
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Community Organizing
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Healing People & the Planet
We demonstrate a diversity of entry points to civic involvement so people can discover the unique ways their interests and talents may contribute to larger system change. Leadership isn’t just a person with a microphone! It’s about collaboration, skill building, and strategy. Young people need to know that the big problems we seek to address are shouldered together, not as individuals.
After the game and lunch, youth leaders taught everyone some common chants used in the climate movement at rallies (printouts are in their folders), and our music team led several songs. We played with a giant parachute, beat on some drums, painted our visions of a healthy climate future, watched a skit, and heard from Bodhi, one of our youth activists who’s been doing this work since they were 6 years old (many of our youth have been engaged for more than 5 years and several over 10!).
You can read more about our Leadership Philosophy here.
It was a very full, fun day!
