Funded by the DfE, Climate Ambassadors match volunteer climate experts with education settings.
Part of Let’s Go Zero, Climate Action Advisors are independent experts who offer free support for schools, colleges, and nurseries across England.
Climate anxiety training
What is climate anxiety?
Climate anxiety is the persistent worry about the state of the planet and what the future holds due to climate change. It affects a person’s emotional well-being and ability to engage positively with the world.
Why climate anxiety training?
Climate anxiety can disproportionately affect young people, and can influence their mental health, behaviour, academic performance, and social development. It's important for education settings to understand and mitigate climate anxiety, and training can help you prepare for this.
A survey can help identify the extent of climate-related stress and what support is needed. For more information, see: establish a regular climate anxiety survey.
Identify who might it be relevant for
Before selecting climate anxiety training, start by identifying who within your setting climate anxiety training is relevant to and who it might benefit in their core role. This is likely to include these roles.
Leadership, including governors and SLT
People responsible for developing the strategic direction of the setting should understand climate anxiety in order to design programs and policies that support learners and staff.
Teaching staff
Educators who spend significant time with learners may encounter questions or concerns related to climate change. Climate anxiety training can equip them to manage these discussions sensitively and provide support when needed.
It may be especially beneficial to offer more targeted training to teachers who cover climate-related topics more frequently, such as science and geography teachers.
Counsellors and mental health professionals
Counsellors or psychologists are frequently approached by learners experiencing anxiety. Specialised training would equip them to address climate anxiety more effectively.
Parents and guardians
Parents can play a crucial role in addressing climate anxiety at home. Providing them with resources or workshops related to climate anxiety can complement your setting’s efforts and create a holistic support system for learners.
Tailor training to roles and responsibilities
Before arranging training, it’s important to assess the current need from your staff and learners. Gauge how staff feel about climate anxiety and their current ability to support students.
A one-size-fits-all training approach is unlikely to address the specific needs of each group. It’s best not to assume the level of knowledge and awareness a staff member or team might have. Everyone should receive some general awareness training either as a refresher or to improve their understanding.
Climate anxiety training tips
Collaborate with experts
Given the nature of this topic, you may want to consider training in partnership with psychologists, or mental health organisations that specialise in eco-anxiety or climate-related stress. Examples include:
Outdoor learning
Outdoor learning and environmental educational programmes can help tackle climate anxiety. You may find training from experts in these fields to help guide staff through the facts of climate change and the emotional response to it.
Attending conferences
Conferences on climate anxiety and related topics can provide immersive learning about the latest research, strategies, and interventions, as well as networking opportunities. For example, EAUC has hosted conferences on this topic, with some recordings available to watch online.
One or more staff members can attend a conference in person or online, and feed back learning and reflections to others.