Parenting and grandparenting is hard; parenting in a changing climate is harder.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 6th assessment report has found that humanity now stands on the brink of not just climate change, but disaster – we can see it coming. As parents and grandparents, what is ours to do?
We invite you to join a Climate Healing Circle for parents and grandparents which will explore and discover, in a safe container, the threads that underpin our restlessness in facing straight talking to our children about climate change. This group will offer tangible support for cultivating resilience, navigating difficult emotions, practicing hope, and finding your place in the climate movement. The Climate Healing Circle is an intentional gathering with shared leadership, shared responsibility and guidance supported by simple ritual. Sharing is held in compassion for ourselves, nature and Mother Earth in the exploration of the feelings and emotions that are sensed in our restlessness and uncertainty, to share what our individual collective needs are and what next steps might be.
Format
Four 90-minute monthly sessions, September to December 2021 (register for one month at a time or all four)
Single session $20 / $65 for all four sessions
Max. 12 participants - if interest is high, a second set of sessions will begin in January.
OR
Eight weekly 90-minute sessions, beginning September 2021
Sliding scale price:
- Option 1:$120 (if this is a stretch)
- Option 2:$240 (if you’re financially at ease)
- Option 3:$320 (if you’re financially thriving)
- Optional add-on:Option to add on a 1:1 coaching session with me during the program at reduced rate of $100
Host
This Circle will be hosted by Janet Mrenica, a resident in the Golden Triangle neighborhood of Ottawa, who is an Integral Professional Coach and a Climate Change Engagement Coach. Her coaching practice uses somatics in working with feelings of grief, loss and sorrow. Her career has been in Accounting and Finance in public service and the not for profit sector, primarily in the environmental and science sectors. Her passion is holding space for conversation that is conversation we may be hesitant to start. She is a member of the Climate Coaching Alliance and a convenor of the Canada local community Circle. She has recently become the Regional Organizer for Southeastern Ontario for the Climate Reality Project Canada.
“Waking up” to climate change several years ago, when my twins were two years old, I panicked. Every time I’d see another frightening climate headline in the news – another devastating flood, another unprecedented forest fire, another dire prediction for the future – I felt anxious and overwhelmed. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what to do. (And even if I did figure out what to do, I wondered when on earth I’d have the time or energy to do it – working full-time while parenting young children was exhausting enough on its own, without the added burden of feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.)
And what made matters worse was that few people in my daily life seemed to want to talk about what was happening to the climate. Feelings of loneliness, isolation, and sorrow about the future just seem to wash over me on a daily basis.
This group is for you if:
- You’re a parent who’s deeply concerned about the climate crisis – and what it might mean for your child’s future (and all children’s futures)
- You feel anxious every time you see another scary climate headline in the news (and you’ve noticed that they seem to be showing up more and more often)
- You want to do something to help, but you have no idea where to begin – and feel overwhelmed by the daily demands of parenting as it is
- You want the support of a community to process difficult emotions about the climate crisis – and to brainstorm ideas for constructive action
- You’ve recognized you could use some support in building resilience so that you can stay engaged in the climate movement for the long haul
- You understand that social and environmental justice must be central to our collective response to climate change, and believe that none of us are free until all of us are free
- You want to be able to tell your children you did everything you could to protect their right to a safe, healthy livable future