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Addressing Eco-Anxiety and Climate Trauma through Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

San Mateo County Parent SEL Community of Practice

April 2022

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Initiative Overview

Mission

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Provide "backbone support" to San Mateo County schools in prioritizing environmental literacy, and integrating environmental sustainability and climate resilient practices across a school's campus, curriculum, community and culture.

Vision: K-12 school communities are models of sustainability and climate resiliency.

This initiative was launched in Fall 2017

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Initiative Goals and Key Framework

  • Strategic Goal: Every district has a baseline assessment, and developed and begun implementing a strategic plan for sustainable and climate resilient efforts
  • Strategic Goal: Every student graduates environmentally literate

SITE STAKEHOLDERS:

Students

Faculty & Staff

Administrators

Community Partners

Whole-School Sustainability/Resiliency Integration Framework

*Adapted from Sustainable Schools Project & Plymouth University: Andra Yeghoian (ayeghoian@smcoe.org) - 2013

CAMPUS

CURRICULUM

COMMUNITY & CULTURE

Facilities & Operations that model a sustainable and resilient future and serve as a lab for learning

Curriculum that integrates Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) and Climate Literacy

Evidence within the “talk” and the “walk” of the school community for prioritizing sustainability

STAKEHOLDERS

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Initiative’s Theory of Action

Capacity Building Programs

Developing knowledge, skills, and values for environmental literacy and sustainability

  • Teacher Fellowship
  • Administrator Fellowship
  • Youth Leadership

Networking Stakeholders and Elevating Change Makers

Scale-up change by fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and strengthening communication channels AND Catalyze innovation with leading edge exemplars

Customized Technical Assistance

- Support with green facilities and operations, as well as climate ready adaptations

- Professional development and training for environmental and climate literacy in curriculum

- Coaching and training for community and culture integration of environmental efforts

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Background and Context: How does the environmental and climate crisis impact physical and mental health of our students?

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Defining Trauma

Trauma is the response to a distressing or disturbing event (or series of events/factors) that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope, causes feelings of helplessness, diminishes their sense of self and their ability to feel the full range of emotions and experiences.

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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). These ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance use problems in adulthood, and can also negatively impact education, job opportunities, and earning potential.

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Pair of ACEs: Show Community Layers That Can Contribute to Additional Trauma

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Chevron Oil Refinery Flaring in Richmond 2020

CA Cities Have Worst Air Pollution in U.S. - San Joaquin Example 2019

Trash Pollution in Oakland 2020

Santa Barbara Oil Spill 2015

CA Water Pollution Hot Spots

2018

What emotions do these images bring up for you?

Example of Community Environmental Injustice

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Chevron Oil Refinery Flaring in Richmond 2020

CA Cities Have Worst Air Pollution in U.S. - San Joaquin Example 2019

Trash Pollution in Oakland 2020

Santa Barbara Oil Spill 2015

CA Water Pollution Hot Spots

2018

Which populations bear the brunt of these environmental injustices?

Example of Community Environmental Injustice

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Visualizing Impacts in California

CalEnviroScreen 4.0

https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/calenviroscreen-40

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Environmental Injustice is Acute and Chronic

Image: Elizabeth Wexler - Baltimore Behavioral Health

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World Health Organization Also Tracking Global Data on Environmental Trauma

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Connecting Climate Change and Trauma

What emotions do these images bring up for you? Which populations are most vulnerable to these impacts?

CA Drought in 2015 and

High Heat in 2019

CA Wildfires and Subsequent Air Quality Issues Annual in Fall

CA King Tide Flooding Bay and Coastside in San Mateo County 2020

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Local Climate Issues

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Wildfires

Drought

Extreme Precipitation

Sea level rise

Ocean impacts

Habitat Loss

Air Quality

High Heat

Biodiversity

34 Schools Vulnerable this Decade

Least amount of Air Conditioners Per Capita in the State

Fires Contribute to the Most School Closure Days in CA

Canceled Activities and Adjustments to Routines

Schools Experiencing Flooding

Our districts and schools are already dealing with the impacts of climate change - this will increase in frequency and intensity throughout this decade.

Climate Issues in San Mateo County

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Triple ACEs Includes Climate

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Climate Risk Index and Intergenerational Equity

  • Currently, almost every child on earth is exposed to at least one climate shock
  • Children born in 2020 will experience a significant increase in disaster compared to older generations

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Youth Experiencing Eco/Climate-Anxiety

  • Three-quarters of youth said they thought the future was frightening
  • Over half say humanity is doomed
  • Many of those questioned feel betrayed, ignored and abandoned by politicians and adults

Unicef Youth Climate Movement Video

NGSS Rollout #6 Video: Youth Call to Action

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Pause and Reflect

  • What environmental issues and climate crisis issues are most relevant to your community?

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  • What emotions and concerns come up for you as we look at the data and frameworks?

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  • What questions do you have that you want to explore for learning more?

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How can schools integrate trauma informed practices with sustainable and climate ready schools practices?

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Trauma Informed Practices In Schools

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TIP: Resilience and SEL

Trauma can derail the development of healthy skills in regulating emotions, cognitions, and behaviors, as well as healthy interpersonal skills, which can then compound trauma’s negative effects.

Resilience & Social Emotional

Learning

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TIP: Resilience and SEL

Processing Emotions Collectively

Restorative Practices

Between People and Between People and the Planet

Time Connecting with Nature

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Utilize Literature for SEL Efforts

Environmental, Climate, and Solutionary Book Examples: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tsHXi90hCEwnTW3zwC1y71KNCFYk5cdRmGj7yy-cxUU/edit

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Connecting SEL to Outdoor Education and Environmental Literacy

Grow Outside Framework Adaptation of CASEL

In 2018 NatureBridge supported a collaboration of Residential Outdoor Education Programs to connect the CASEL Framework to Outdoor Education.

The next slides adapt the Grow Outside and CASEL Framework to also include general environmental literacy

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TIP: Resilience and SEL

Resilience & Social Emotional

Learning

Community and Culture

  • Support opportunities for collective SEL practices that related to environment and climate issues such as restorative circles, collective emotional processing, etc.
  • Prioritize positive celebration and awareness days such as Earth Day

Curriculum and Instruction

  • Integrate SEL into lessons related to environmental problems and/or climate change
  • Provide ongoing opportunities for students to connect with nature
  • Adapt Grow Outside SEL Framework (see next slides) to be integrated into curriculum and instruction

Campus and Operations

  • Invest in robust outdoor living schoolyard spaces that can be used for learning and play
  • Implement policies such as plant-based food options, fair trade purchasing, that model responsible decision making

What can school communities do to promote wellness practices, and both model and build social and emotional competencies, to help students and the community be resilient?

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TIP: Resilience and SEL

Self-awareness: The ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts and their influence on behavior. This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations and possessing a well-grounded sense of confidence and optimism.

  • Recognizing that human health and wellbeing are interdependent and nested with ecological systems
  • Recognizing that one’s actions impact one’s self, other people, other species and the environment (water, land, air)
  • Participating in outdoor and indoor learning activities that help to accurately assess strengths and limitations

Content Adapted from CASEL and Grow Outside

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TIP: Resilience and SEL

Self-management: The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and academic goals.

  • Understanding how time outdoors can reduce stress, and building in practices and routines to integrate into lifestyle
  • Recognizing that life during the climate crisis will inevitably involve physical discomfort, emotional challenge, and will require coping and adaptation routines and patterns

Content Adapted from CASEL and Grow Outside

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TIP: Resilience and SEL

Social Awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

  • Understanding the meaning and value of diversity and biodiversity in ecosystems
  • Recognizing cultural demands, and different perspectives regarding what is an environmental resource and how it should be used, AND recognizing how these attitudes and behaviors have led to ecological destruction that disproportionately impacts marginalized and vulnerable communities.

Content Adapted from CASEL and Grow Outside

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TIP: Resilience and SEL

Relationship Skills: The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. This includes communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed.

  • Recognizing the reciprocal relationships that exist between people and other species
  • Working proactively and cooperatively to restore interpersonal and interbeing relationships where and when needed

Content Adapted from CASEL and Grow Outside

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TIP: Resilience and SEL

Responsible Decision Making: The ability to make constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others.

  • Pursuing inclusive, mutually beneficial solutions to both local and large-scale environmental challenges
  • Reflecting on the broader ethical consequences and environmental impact of one’s beliefs and actions
  • Recognizing one’s ability to analyze environmental and social situations, identify problems, and solve them using inquiry skills

Content Adapted from CASEL and Grow Outside

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Check out Other Ideas!

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Support Committees and Projects!

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Pause and Reflect

  • What practices do you think are a good entry point for your school community?

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  • How might you best support your school in making this transition to integrating environmental and climate aligned Trauma Informed Practices (TIP)?

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  • Who is a champion you could reach out to in your school community to get started?

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Closing and Reflection

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Commitments & Takeaways

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What are the key takeaways that resonated with you in this session?

What are your commitments for taking action?

SOMEDAY

MONDAY

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THANK YOU!

Questions???

Andra Yeghoian - ayeghoian@smcoe.org