Living with the Climate Crisis: new course begins in spring 2024

Concerned about the climate crisis? Live in Oxford? Join our new free ‘Living with the climate crisis’ group and find your contribution to climate action!

When and where: a total of 20 hours in a small group, at a venue to be confirmed in Oxford: two Saturdays 9.30-17.00, plus four evening meetings on Thursdays.

What is Living with the climate crisis? It is an experience of working in a small group to help you find your place in the collective project of responding to climate change. At its heart is a clear psychological approach, based on the following principles:

• climate change is distressing: people need support in coping with the difficult feelings that sometimes overwhelm them, and to explore ways to feel joy and satisfaction in a precarious world
• the best means to collective solutions is in supportive groups based in local communities
• people need support in finding their way to a variety of personal, political and community actions
• people need skills in communicating, both publicly and in personal situations

So Living with the climate crisis aims to help people to face their complex feelings about the climate crisis, put down roots in the kinds of action (political, personal, community, at work) that feel right for them, share experiences, gain support and support others, and become good communicators with family, friends and wider groups. 

“Having a weekly opportunity to step back from everyday life and really think about how I can live with more equilibrium in the climate emergency was hugely valuable for me. I now feel better prepared to move forward in my life – to have the difficult conversations that need to happen and to feel grounded in my activism. Thank you so much for making this possible.”

(Previous participant)

Who is Living with the climate crisis for? Anyone in Oxford concerned about the climate crisis and wanting to build their capacity to act is welcome. 

To make sure that Living with the climate crisis is suitable for you, we’ll invite you to a short telephone conversation with one of us before accepting you into the group. Once you have joined we will invite you to work with each other in the meetings, and to form supportive pairs to help each other make the progress you want to make.

The group will be convened by Rebecca Nestor and Judith Anderson, members of the Climate Psychology Alliance with experience of facilitating groups and working with individuals on climate change.

Do I have to pay to take part? No. Participation in the group is FREE. You will receive a free copy of our Living with the climate crisis guide for participants which has notes on the themes of each session, and a detailed guide – Living lightly – to reducing your personal carbon footprint. 

The project is being supported and hosted by Rosemary Randall and the Climate Psychology Alliance who provide support and mentoring to facilitators. The materials for Living with the climate crisis are freely available on a Creative Commons basis: read more at the website here. 

Full description of Living with the climate crisis.

More information or to express interest: contact Rebecca Nestor rebecca@rebeccanestor.co.uk.