Feature Story: Climate & Wellbeing Education Grant

The Climate and Wellbeing Eudcation Grant project spans varying iterations and reaches different groups within the UBC community. Starting at the Sustainability Hub, its conceptualization prompted by collaboration progressed into a cohort, course content changes, and grants centered on promoting climate change and holistic health within the classroom. This feature story focuses on the collaborative commitment to wellbeing that is integrated and integral to the project. Focusing on wellbeing in classrooms became an approachable angle for individuals to add climate justice content in a personal health-related context.    

Launched in Fall 2023, the Climate & Wellbeing Education Grant program funded the development of curricula embedded with climate change and wellbeing. This collaborative, dual-campus initiative led by the Sustainability Hub and the Office of Wellbeing Strategy shared grants valued at $6,000 with 13 faculty members from 11 departments and seven faculties to intentionally contextualize climate change in their classes engage more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students every year. These successful efforts brought more support that prompted a cohort and celebration. On April 19th, 2024, 12 grant recipients led a showcase of their impact. This event was celebratory of the progress and practice of intersectional content that was accessible in more classrooms on both campuses in a variety of courses across faculties. Moving forward, the Climate and Wellbeing Education Grant project is funded by the UBC Wellbeing Strategic Initiative Fund and Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) to support educators who value climate justice and wellbeing. It will continue as a two-year project to create a web-based toolkit co-created between students and teachers that will be used in classrooms.   

As the Climate and Wellbeing Education Grant project progresses with grants, cohorts, resources, and groups, wellbeing for faculty and students is a key component of practical and purposeful outputs that ensure holistic health and growth in the UBC community. It is an ongoing collaboration fostering reciprocal relationships while creating classrooms of care and climate justice. 

Click on the student, faculty, and staff profiles below to learn about the people behind the work. 

How has your capacity to teach about climate change and wellbeing content and pedagogies been impacted by the Climate & Wellbeing Education Grant? 

Andrew Almas

"This project improved my capacity because I've been able to intentionally work with students to create content, test lecture material and test questions, have time to reflect and integrate it into course work." 

Role: Urban Forestry Program Director and Assistant Professor of Teaching at UBCV 
Department/Unit: Forest Resources Management 
Helpful Tool: Metro Vancouver's Tree Guide
Course: UFOR 100 (Greening the City)

 

Zeina Baalbaki

"The grant has allowed me to develop and integrate new materials into multiple courses in the Environmental Engineering program. One of the key responsibilities of environmental engineers is to protect public wellbeing, which includes addressing environmental challenges such as pollution and climate change, through mitigation and adaptation. Integrating these strategies into my teaching is a form of relief in action."   

Role: Lecturer 
Department/Unit: Engineering
Helpful Tools: "Principles of Climate Change Adaptation for Engineers" by Engineers Canada; Life cycle Assessment through OpenLCA software
Courses: ENVE 202; ENVE 401

 

Chris Colton

"I felt really inspired through the cohort and learning what others were doing and engaged in creating more content that is related to [the] field but addresses more sensitive topics.  There are so many technology driven climate justice projects out there that require sensitivity and compassion to learn and teach."

Role: Lecturer at UBCV
Department/Unit: Forest Resources Management 
Helpful Tool: Esri Landsat Explorer
Course: CONS 127

 

Kari Grain 

"The cohort provided a multidisciplinary community wherein wellness and climate are facets of the same conversation. It can be tempting to think about the prioritization of “wellness” climate content as a “soft”, humanities-oriented approach to the work, but this was an opportunity to meet educators and faculty members across STEM, humanities and social sciences, who all see the connections between emotions, systems thinking, the climate crisis, and climate justice." 

Role: Adult Learning and Global Change Program Coordinator and Lecturer  
Faculty: Education 
Helpful Tools: “Teaching in a Time of Climate Collapse: From “An Education in Hope” to a Praxis of Critical Hope” by Rebecca J. Williams and Kari Grain; Dr. Jennifer Atkinson’s “Facing it” podcast 
Course: EDST 503: Foundations of Adult Education and Climate Emotions 

 

Tanya Kyi

"Though I'm of course interested in and concerned about climate issues, I don’t have a science background. I may not have been brave enough to do a climate assignment in my course without this program. We were able to learn from one another, be non-experts together, and find ways to address climate change in our classrooms while also being mindful of our students’ wellbeing."  

Role: Lecturer at UBCV 
Department/Unit: School of Creative Writing 
Helpful Tools: Bompa's Insect Expedition by Tanya Kyi; Emily Posts by Tanya Kyi; “Climate change anxiety and mental health: Environmental activism as buffer” by Schwartz et al.
Courses:CRWR 203: Introduction to Writing for Children and Young Adults; CRWR 503: Advanced Writing for Children and Young Adults 

 

Katherine Lyon

"I feel less overwhelmed now and more confident that I know what resources I can use. I plan to incorporate climate content in a new course titled “BC Disasters, Power and Inequality” to start in January 2026."

Role: Associate Professor of Teaching at UBCV 
Department/Unit: Sociology 
Helpful Tool: Hope Matters byDr. Elin Kelsey 
Courses:“Global Pandemics” (SOCI 290); “BC Disasters, Power and Inequality” (a new 200-level sociology course, starting in January 2026)

 

Sally Stewart

"The cohort helped increase my knowledge base on climate change with a diversity of areas/projects." 

Role: Associate Professor of Teaching at UBCO
Department/Unit: Faculty of Health and Social Development, School of Health and Exercise Sciences
Helpful Tool: Lancet Planetary Health Journal/newsletter 
Courses: HINT 331: Nutrition for Health Professionals; HES 200: Nutrition; HES 100: Introduction to Exercise Sciences; HEAL 100: Introduction and Principles of Health and Wellbeing 

 

Robert Pammett

"The amount of time I spend thinking about climate and planetary health has increased. Students are more aware and therefore more anxious or worried about it but I don’t take it personally. I’m hopeful about the future and my wellbeing isn’t negatively impacted working in this space. Stressful to now have to do all the work. But motivated!" 

Role: Associate Professor (Partner) at UBCV 
Faculty: Pharmaceutical Sciences 
Helpful Tools:Climate Mental Health Network;Kari Grain’s book Critical Hope; Group discussions with the Canadian Association of Pharmacy for the Environment, and the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy Planetary Health Special Interest Group 
Course: 4th year undergraduate Entry to Practice Doctorate of Pharmacy course

 

Liv Yoon

"It allowed me to be in conversations with others thinking about it, and how to shift the conversation from individual-oriented approaches more towards collective wellbeing." 

Role: Assistant Professor at UBCV 
Department/Unit: Faculty of Education, School of Kinesiology 
Helpful Tool: Nancy Krieger’s (2005) work on embodiment 
Course: KIN 487D ‘Kinesiology & Climate Justice’ (a pilot course, so it will be a different course code this upcoming year until it becomes part of the regular curriculum)

 

What are you excited to implement and be involved in through the Climate and Wellbeing Project?

Jixiang Wang

"What excites me most is the extensive engagement with staff, faculty, and students throughout the project. Connecting with people from diverse parts of the university and hearing their personal passions and stories about climate and wellbeing has been profoundly inspiring. And it fuels my own motivation to contribute meaningfully to this work" 

Education: M.A. in Geography
Helpful Tool: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It is an inspiring book that informs my understanding of climate and wellbeing. Her reflections on reciprocity between humans and the land invite me to see wellbeing as a collective and relational experience, deeply rooted in care. For me, her insights offer a meaningful perspective on climate change that extends beyond the scientific aspects, viewing it instead as an interconnected issue fundamentally grounded in reciprocity, care, and collective wellbeing.

 

Jessie Jiang

"After being part of the Climate Justice in Kinesiology Seminar, I hope to continue exploring how movement is not neutral, where power dynamics and systemic inequities control who gets to move and who doesn't. I am excited to continue exploring the intersections between kinesiology and climate justice through pursuing environmental health as a focus of study." 

Education: Bachelor's of Kinesiology with specialization in Neuromechanical and Physiological Sciences, Minor in Geography  
Helpful Tool: The practice of (un)learning is a concept I was introduced to in UBC Sustainability Ambassadors' Program. Meghan Wise's Messy Hope helps me better understand how we can use (un)learning as a tool to create climate narratives that hold capacity for many complexities and uncertainties. 
Course Experience: Being in a collaborative class setting where students of all different backgrounds and knowledges about climate justice was truly a wholesome experience. Especially in Kinesiology, where a biomedical approach is often used, it was really special to see all the different connections we made within/beyond kinesiology and climate justice. Creating a space where all experiences can come together to share, connect, and build upon each other's learnings is a unique skill that not all professors are able to do. As a class, we reframed the climate crisis towards imagining alternative futures full of opportunities for radical change. Social isolation was a topic that continually appeared in our discussions of heat domes, housing injustices, energy insecurities, and mental health. I hope that through learning about how social isolation affects our collective liberation, each one of us was able to find some sort of connection with one another.  

 

Hasfariza Mohamed Hassan

"I’m excited to use storytelling as a bridge between climate justice and community wellbeing. Through my piece on waste colonialism, I explored how environmental issues are tied to power, inequality, and the lived experiences of communities in the Global South. Writing for a younger audience challenged me to make these issues understandable without diminishing their urgency and showed me how accessible language can spark empathy and action. I hope to support climate storytelling that uplifts marginalized voices and empowers youth especially those whose realities are often overlooked in mainstream narratives." 

Education: Political Science Major and Creative Writing Minor 
Helpful Tool: One of the most helpful tools I used throughout CRWR 203 for my non-fiction writing assignment on waste colonialism was incorporating academic research and recent news articles. These sources helped ensure the accuracy of my article on the power imbalance between the Global North and Global South, and how that imbalance impacts the livelihoods and environmental health of Global South communities. 
Course Experience: This course was eye-opening and pushed me out of my comfort zone and CRWR 203 challenged me to explore non-fiction as a powerful medium for advocacy. It helped me grow as a writer by encouraging deeper reflection and research with real-world issues relating to the climate. I chose to write about waste colonialism which is a topic that I’m deeply passionate about as a Malaysian. I'm so grateful towards Prof Tanya Kyi and my TA, Christal Rose for guiding me throughout the process and being supportive when I wanted to take a leap of faith and write from my heart. 

 

 

Tiffani Liang 

Major/Minor: Sociology  
Helpful Tool: Global Pandemics features many scholars from the UBC community in the assigned readings and guest lectures. A practice that helped me deepen my understanding is doing my own research on the experts whose names come up in my courses and reading their publications.  
Course Experience: I took this course later in my degree, but I wish I had done it earlier because it tied everything together for me. Many sociology courses cover intersectionality, but this course taught me the real-world applications and large-scale implications of interconnected forms of oppression. 

 

Gabrielle Rutman

Education: M.F.A. Creative Writing  
Helpful tool: One of the most helpful resources I used in my world-building process was Reef Recovery 2030. This resource provided rich insights into reef conservation that helped ground my storytelling with more scientific and environmental accuracy. 
Course Feedback/Experiences: Participating in this course was an incredible opportunity. Connecting with a graduate student who could distill their vast scientific knowledge and experience into accessible explanations was so appreciated. In turn, after we had our interviews it was an exciting challenge to translate these complex concepts onto the page in a (hopefully) engaging and original stories. Integrating the climate change concepts we discussed into my writing provided meaningful structure and direction. 

 

Student Feedback & Experiences in Courses

“Having the opportunity to participate in the development of the Pharmacist’s and the Environment module was a highlight of my pharmacy education. Through this experience, I was able to connect with experts and gain insight into the environmental impact of pharmacy practice. I believe that incorporating this topic into the PharmD curriculum is essential to help future pharmacists think more critically about sustainability and their role in promoting environmentally responsible patient care. I look forward to seeing how future pharmacy students engage with this content and apply it to create more sustainable healthcare systems.”  

-Simroop Ladhar, UBC PharmD Graduate 2024 [Robert Pammett’s student] 

"This course and its pedagogical approach of play, joy, and connection has changed how I will perceive education for the rest of my life. It has reminded me that education can and should be fun and fulfilling. It should be a time of making new relationships- to ourselves, our environment, our peers, and ideas. It has reminded me about the possibilities for transdisciplinary education that removes the walls we like to build for ourselves and reminds us of our entanglements, and the responsibilities that come through that."   

-Willow Volkert [Kari Grain’s student] 

"I enjoyed the range of guest speakers who helped us as graduating (or nearly graduating) students. I also appreciate how there is an explicit interest in climate adaptation and software in the course. Earlier ENVL courses did not provide a good foundation in software, and I'm grateful to get that chance as a grad"    

-Zeina Baalbaki’s student  

"this experience showed me how much I enjoy working where detailed design meets big‑picture climate strategy. Tackling an industrial decarbonisation problem with real commercial stakes proved that I am driven when technical work lines up with environmental impact. It also confirmed I prefer projects that grow through teamwork and iteration instead of siloed hand‑offs" 

-Zeina Baalbaki’s student 

"The community synthesis assignment was an added bonus as it allowed us to interview an external organization and learn about their field. It was interesting and insightful. Professor Lyon was very accommodating, which helped alleviate some of the stress from the course load."

-Katherine Lyon's student 

"The case studies were great in applying knowledge to real life. The hybrid mechanism of content delivery helped support students who learn in different ways and provided opportunities to learn at their own pace and ask questions in person. The community partner synthesis was a completely unique experience and it was extremely interesting to be a part of. I learned a lot by engaging with my organization and my team members."

-Katherine Lyon's student

Oliver Lane photo

Oliver Lane

Manager, Teaching and Learning, Sustainability Hub

“We hope this project will provide tools for students and instructors that help to create spaces where learning and teaching about climate change can be a powerful and enriching experience for all.”

 

Sara Kozicky

Sara Kozicky

Strategic Initiatives Project Manager, Office of Wellbeing Strategy

"This project is a great example of students, faculty, and staff collaborating with a common goal, complementing the university's initiatives and reaching a large number of students."

 

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