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Do you live in Ottawa? Join us in-person on January 18th as we gather together to watch this virtual author conversation about the book Hot Mess: Mothering Through a Code Red Climate Emergency.
Hot Mess is the story of mothering amidst a climate crisis to shape futures that will flourish under the politics of care. Blending vulnerability with analysis, Wiebe discusses how community and care are essential for us to address the climate crisis and to thrive in our changing world. Each chapter is its own vignette - feel free to join if you've read only part of the book, or if you don't have time to read it but are interested in talking about these themes.
What to expect:
3pm-3:55pm: Join us in the Desjardins Room at St Paul's University, at 95 Clegg St. We'll spend some time mingling, have a chat about parenting in a climate crisis, talk about some For Our Kids initiatives, and share vegan recipe ideas. We'll have a craft table for kids too!
4pm-5:15pm: We'll sit down to watch the virtual author talk and participate in the audience Q&A.
5:15pm-6pm: You are welcome to stay and debrief, mingle and connect.
The room is wheelchair accessible and has bathrooms. We'll provide snacks! If you have capacity to help with running this event (bringing snacks, helping to set up the room), please contact [email protected]. We appreciate your support.
About the book:
"No longer is the climate emergency purely an external threat to our wellbeing: this profoundly political circumstance is deeply personal. The summer after giving birth, Sarah Marie Wiebe and her baby endured the 2021 heat dome in British Columbia, with temperatures over 20 degrees above normal, creating all-time heat records across the province. It was the deadliest weather event in Canadian history. The extreme heat landed Wiebe in the hospital, dehydrated and separated from her nursing baby from dawn until dusk. So began a year of mothering through heat, fires and floods. The climate emergency’s many incarnations shaped Wiebe’s politics of parenting and revealed the layers, textures and nuances of the disastrous emergencies we encounter in a world dominated by extractive capitalism.
Drawing on hospital codes to explore the connections, Wiebe opens up tender conversations about intimate matters of how our bodies respond to emergency interventions: informed consent, emergency C-sections, reproductive mental health, and anti-colonial and anti-racist resistance. A critical ecofeminist scholar, Wiebe invites collective envisioning and enacting of caring, ethical relations between humans and the planet, including our atmospheres, lands, waters, animals, plants and each other."
- Fernwood Publishing
About the author:
Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe (she/her) grew up on unceded Coast Salish territory in British Columbia, BC, is the mother of a three-year old and an author of the recently published Hot Mess: Mothering through a Code Red Climate Emergency. She is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hawai'i, Mānoa as well as a Co-Founder of the FERN Collaborative. Her research focuses on community development and environmental sustainability. At the intersections of environmental justice and public engagement, her teaching and research interests emphasize political ecology, policy justice and deliberative dialogue. As a collaborative researcher and filmmaker, she worked with Indigenous communities on sustainability-themed films including To Fish as Formerly. She collaborated with artists from Attawapiskat on a project entitled Reimgining Attawapiskat which is a companion website to her recent book Life against States of Emergency: Revitalizing Treaty Relations from Attawapiskat. Dr. Wiebe is also the author of Everyday Exposure: Indigenous Mobilization and Environmental Justice in Canada’s Chemical Valley (2016). For more about Dr. Wiebe’s research see: https://www.sarahmariewiebe.com/.
Join our online conversation and audience Q&A with author, scholar, and mother Sarah Marie Wiebe as we discuss her new book, Hot Mess: Mothering Through a Code Red Climate Emergency.
Saturday, January 18th
Time: 1pm PT/ 2pm MT/ 3pm CT/ 4pm ET/ 5pm AT
Length: 1hr 15 min
Format: This event will include a presentation by the author followed by a conversation, and then a Q&A with the audience.
In a recent article in Macleans, Sarah writes: "There’s no simple answer to the question of whether to have a child amid a climate crisis. For me, responding to this moment as a parent goes far beyond lifestyle choices. Raising children can be a radical political act when we transform homes into environments of care and community-building. This is the best chance we have to collectively strive for climate solutions. I must. My son’s future depends on it."
About the book:
"No longer is the climate emergency purely an external threat to our wellbeing: this profoundly political circumstance is deeply personal. The summer after giving birth, Sarah Marie Wiebe and her baby endured the 2021 heat dome in British Columbia, with temperatures over 20 degrees above normal, creating all-time heat records across the province. It was the deadliest weather event in Canadian history. The extreme heat landed Wiebe in the hospital, dehydrated and separated from her nursing baby from dawn until dusk. So began a year of mothering through heat, fires and floods. The climate emergency’s many incarnations shaped Wiebe’s politics of parenting and revealed the layers, textures and nuances of the disastrous emergencies we encounter in a world dominated by extractive capitalism.
Drawing on hospital codes to explore the connections, Wiebe opens up tender conversations about intimate matters of how our bodies respond to emergency interventions: informed consent, emergency C-sections, reproductive mental health, and anti-colonial and anti-racist resistance. A critical ecofeminist scholar, Wiebe invites collective envisioning and enacting of caring, ethical relations between humans and the planet, including our atmospheres, lands, waters, animals, plants and each other."
- Fernwood Publishing
About the author:
Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe (she/her) grew up on unceded Coast Salish territory in British Columbia, is the mother of a three-year old and an author of the recently published Hot Mess: Mothering through a Code Red Climate Emergency. She is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hawai'i, Mānoa as well as a Co-Founder of the FERN Collaborative. Her research focuses on community development and environmental sustainability. At the intersections of environmental justice and public engagement, her teaching and research interests emphasize political ecology, policy justice and deliberative dialogue. As a collaborative researcher and filmmaker, she worked with Indigenous communities on sustainability-themed films including To Fish as Formerly. She collaborated with artists from Attawapiskat on a project entitled Reimgining Attawapiskat which is a companion website to her recent book Life against States of Emergency: Revitalizing Treaty Relations from Attawapiskat. Dr. Wiebe is also the author of Everyday Exposure: Indigenous Mobilization and Environmental Justice in Canada’s Chemical Valley (2016). For more about Dr. Wiebe’s research see: https://www.sarahmariewiebe.com/.
Join Us for a Collaborative Working Session!
Let's shape the future of school-based climate action together!
Join us for a fun and interactive session where we will:
Everyone is welcome, whether you're new to For Our Kids or you've been involved for a while. Your insights and experiences are invaluable as we work together to create a more sustainable future for all.
RSVP so we can save your spot.
We can't wait to see you there
Join us for a 1 hour meet-up to learn more about the Banking For Our Kids campaign!
Find out more about how Canadian banks are financing oil and gas -- keeping us locked into a fossil fuel economy and supporting projects that violate Indigenous sovereignty -- and what you can do to push for investment in a just, low-carbon future.
Everyone is welcome, whether you're new to For Our Kids or you've been involved for a while. Hope to see you there!