Seasonal Family Climate Actions: Get involved from wherever you are and on your own timeline. We hope you and your family will join in around your kitchen table, or with friends or neighbours. You’ll be acting with hopeful families across the country and making a difference. Make sure you're signed up here for updates.
Your mission for this summer, should you choose to accept it, is to insert the words "I'm curious ..." and "climate" into one or more conversations sometime this summer.
Here's an example:
You run into a neighbour at the park or grocery store, and you both start talking about the weather. When it feels natural, you say something like: "I'm curious ... do you feel that changes in the climate are impacting your life, apart from the weather?"
Or: "I'm curious ... do you think the weather is getting more extreme because of climate change?"
The challenge is to keep your mind open and really listen to what the other person is saying. Turn on your active listening skills and pick up on verbal and non-verbal clues to keep the conversation going. Keep the focus on them by asking questions and being genuinely interested in their perspective.
Above all, hold yourself back from sharing everything you know
about climate change and its impacts.
Why?
For many people, hearing someone talk about "climate change" doesn't always lead to healthy or productive action or changed mindsets. While some people are motivated by what they learn from reliable sources and what they see and hear for themselves, others may not be so sure. And for substantial change to happen, a substantial portion of the population needs to be engaged. Not necessarily to agree, but to be engaged.
Listening to what others are proud of, would like to see more of, are worried about or are unsure of is a step toward finding common ground and making a connection. And connection is what changes attitudes and mindsets over time. Not alienation.
Share your story - and enter our prize draw!
We'd love to hear how your conversation went, and what you learned. As a thank you for sharing your story with us, we'll enter your name in a draw to win one of three awesome book prizes!
After your conversation, take a minute to capture your curious climate conversation with a couple of notes, maybe a photo or drawing of what happened, what surprised you, and whether you found any common ground with your conversation partner. If you like, you can use this form as a prompt, as well as a way to capture your thoughts.
Then, share what happened with us using this Google Form. You'll automatically be entered in the draw. Every conversation submitted earns you one entry, so more conversations = more chances to learn and win.
We'll share insights and resources from this activity to keep the conversation about climate conversations going.
Questions or ideas? You can find us at [email protected]
Good luck, and safe summer days!
