How to engage young people on climate change? Try screening a doc on environmental racism, says prof

Young people will need to be persistent if they want to make change in the world, says a Canadian author and researcher on environmental racism. 

That's the message McMaster University professor Ingrid Waldron hopes students receive as they hear from three women on Thursday who have been leading fights against industrial impacts on Black and Indigenous communities in Nova Scotia. 

The women were featured in the 2019 documentary, There's Something in the Water, which screens on Thursday on campus before the panel discussion with the three women. The film was co-produced by Waldron, Canadian actor Elliot Page and Ian Daniel and is named after Waldron's book by the same name. 

"What they will get out of this [screening and discussion] is that these are three women who have been organizing around environmental justice issues for over a decade and they haven't given up," Waldron told CBC Hamilton ahead of the event. 

"They have been persistent and consistent and that's the way to do it. You have to stick with it. Just because it's not going as fast as you would like it to be doesn't mean that you give up."

The film highlights the work Indigenous and African Nova Scotian women who are fighting to protect their communities, their land, and their futures. Its Hamilton screening falls on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Dorene Bernard (Sipekne'katik First Nation), Louise Delisle (Shelburne), and Michelle Francis-Denny (Pictou Landing First Nation) will share insights into their environmental justice organizing and activism over the years. 

The event is open to the wider community and runs between 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Togo Salmon Hall.

"In terms of the young people, I think what they will get out of it … in terms of these women and their activism over the years, is just persistence," Waldron said.

"It's not a sprint, right? You've got to be patient. And things sometimes back track, things don't go well and it's like one step forward, two steps back. But you keep on it, and I've seen what has happened due to the fact that they've kept on it, you know, for these women in their communities," she added.

Waldron engages young people in a few areas of her work and said in recent interactions with them, she's observed "kind of a sense of hopelessness that as young people, they're never heard [and] nobody takes them seriously."

But she said the environmental justice movement and the climate justice movement are led by young people, and she disagrees with the belief that they are not respected by older adults.

Getting young people involved in climate discussions

Waldron is also the co-founder and co-director of the Canadian Coalition for Environmental and Climate Justice that has been providing opportunities for racialized youth to go to the United Nation climate change conference, COP.

"We've sent youth twice … and we plan to keep it up," she said. 

"Of course it requires funding, but it's a really great opportunity for BIPOC youth to network… It's an opportunity to meet leaders in the climate, environmental justice sector, make those contacts and see whether or not something comes out of it.

"So this is something that we want to continue to do. We think it's really important. It's probably one of our most important programs in the coalition," Waldron added.

Another Hamiltonian out to get young people engaged on climate issues is Rachel Salt. She has recently published a book for teenagers, explaining extreme weather and how it's related to climate change.

Salt said the book — Is it Weather or Is It Climate Change? Answers to Your Questions About Extreme Weather —  delves into a question which usually arises "when we step outside and we see unseasonable weather or extreme weather and we're not sure what's happening. Is it a fluke or is this part of climate change?"

LISTEN | Hamilton author Rachel Salt speaks with Fresh Air about her new book:

Fresh Air10:31Is It Weather or Is It Climate Change? A new book for teens has the answers.

This week's warm weather has many of us struggling to explain it to ourselves and our children. Is it just a bout of good weather, or is it climate change? We talk with Rachel Salt in Hamilton. She's the author of a new book for teens called Is It Weather or Is It Climate Change? It's all about how to communicate about climate change.

Salt, a science educator, said that feeling can lead to doubt about what climate change is and isn't.

She said while older kids or teens probably know a lot more about climate change than adults, the book digs into a lot of questions about the basics of climate change and also provides case studies from around the world of how extreme weather will impact different parts of the world.

Salt said eco anxiety and climate anxiety are really big concerns, especially for young people, and it can feel hard to talk about climate change with kids. 

Additionally, she said kids of a certain age are already hearing about climate change, talking about climate change at their school, with their friends, and it can bring big emotions.

She said one way to help manage kids' anxiety is to help them discover facts, know that they are not alone, and know that their parents are there to listen and find ways to take action together.

"Think about your kid's age and how to have an appropriate conversation with them depending on their age. So, if you have really young kids, talk to your kids about environmentally friendly things you do every day and get them to appreciate caring for the planet," Salt said.

"If you have a bit of an older kid and they have questions, it's good to provide honest and simple answers…if it's been a really warm summer and they have questions about that, you can say the earth is getting hotter because people have used too much stuff like oil and gas.

"Dig into their questions with them, and you know, it's OK if you don't have all the answers. [There are] lots of resources online that can provide parents and caregivers with tools to have these conversations," Salt added.

Finding 'creative ways to share knowledge'

Meanwhile, Waldron said using multimedia is another engaging and effective way to discuss topics like climate change with young people.

"I'm very interested in creative ways to share knowledge. Certainly a documentary is one way," she said.

"[Use] short videos, online modules, [be] as creative as you can be and as multimedia. [That's] really effective because it's understanding that young people, most people learn in different ways, not just young people but all people.

"But I think also young people, who I think in this generation, I think many of us can agree that there's a shorter attention span …so I think you have to adapt what you're doing to how young people want to learn," Waldron added.