Montrealers are taking on climate change with cookies and community
NDG residents organize monthly meet-ups to talk about how to act on climate change
This story is a collaboration between Concordia University's journalism department and CBC Montreal.
Once a month, 20 to 30 Montrealers gather in a small chalet in the middle of the Notre-Dame-de-Grace Park to take on a monumental task: tackling climate change.
In March, one of the attendees was 19-year-old CEGEP student Kianna Staniforth, who is concerned about what's to come.
"I want to see my grandchildren live and not have to wear a mask to breathe the outside air," she said.
"[Climate change] is real, it's happening and people need to pay attention."
Staniforth is not the only one who feels this way.
Each month, Resilience NDG, a grassroots environmental group in the west of Montreal, hosts a series of workshops called the Climate Café, where people concerned about climate change meet to discuss the crisis.
Since its inception a year ago, the Climate Café has organized a dozen workshops. They delve into a variety of topics, from how to talk to kids about climate change, to understanding COP-29.
In mid-March, the group gathered to learn about economic degrowth. Attendees sipped on herbal tea and leafed through pamphlets about moving toward more ecologically sustainable economies. The group discussed how to implement concrete actions to combat climate change in their daily lives.
In addition to their in-person meetings, the group hosts online sessions called "Resilience and Reconnection."
These zoom meetings, which typically see five to six participants, are a more intimate format, offering participants a chance to talk about difficult emotions brought up by climate change.
Climate on the brain
Indeed, almost half of people in Quebec experienced climate anxiety in 2024, according to a report published by Université Laval. In addition to mental health concerns, over two-thirds of Quebecers suffered physical disruptions to their daily life — such as extreme weather events, impacts on their physical health and property damage at the hands of climate change.
Judith Gulko, clinical psychologist and a facilitator of the sessions, hopes to help people understand their negative climate emotions in a new way.
She encourages people to fully experience their climate change despair, before taking action. She wants to normalize the feelings of anxiety and depression that the climate crisis can bring.
People often ask her how they can "possibly make a difference."
"It's easy to feel collapsed — that's fine! Collapse today, but you don't have to stay collapsed," she tells them.
Researchers have found that seeing others take action against climate change can provide what's called "constructive hope" — inspiration for those struggling with climate anxiety.
Kara Johnston, a lead organizer of the Climate Café, said there's power in bringing people together.
"It's not so much about that facilitator," she said. "It's really about all the expertise in the room."
Along with the lively discussions, the group sometimes organizes informal activities such as book exchanges.
Activities that are "purely connective and pure fun" balance the anxiety and frustration people can feel about climate change, Johnston said.
Promoting social connection
For Roksana Bahramitash, a regular Climate Café participant, attending the group has become a way to break isolation.
"Being with people who are like-minded and engaged in action is a way that has become very nourishing," she said.
The social connection offered by the Climate Café has helped long-time environmental activist Jane Barr stay motivated.
"My heart is full of connection and togetherness. Knowing I'm not alone, that there are people who feel like I do, think like I do," she said. "You don't go away defeated."
Barr, who has been attending these sessions since they started, said that the cafe reminds her of her civic power.
"I really believe that individual actions can make a difference. A thousand miles starts with one step. A million dollars starts with one penny, so we can all do something," said Barr.
The events mostly attract older adults, the majority of them women. Johnston hopes the cafes fill up with a younger and more diverse audience in the future too.
For example, Johnston hopes to invite Indigenous knowledge holders to future Climate Cafés to expand the group's perspectives.The group has booked workshops on topics suggested by attendees until November 2025, according to Johnston.
However, the group has learned that they will no longer be permitted to use the chalet in the park.
The borough stated in an email that the group was asked to leave as a result of construction in the NDG community centre. Activities that were typically hosted there have been relocated to other locations, among them, the NDG chalet.
Johnston worries that it will be difficult to find a space in NDG to accommodate the group. With no public funding and most expenses out of Johnston's pocket, the group is now searching for a new home for the Climate Café.
Emotion as fuel
Wherever the Climate Café ends up, Gulko hopes that participants come away with the understanding that despair about the climate crisis is a normal part of fighting against it.
She reminds people that feeling excitement and hope one day, and then despair and discouragement the next, is normal.
"We're not failing in any way if we don't always hold on to gratitude and perspective," she said.
She believes that those who want to stay in the fight against climate change must allow themselves the time to fall apart.
"It makes total sense if you're not fine. It means you care. Your heart is open and broken.You're not," Gulko said.
Staniforth, who was participating in her second Climate Café and aspires to work in an environmental field after she graduates, said she'll be back.
"It's nice to be around other people who are paying attention."
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