Promoting Planetary Health and Addressing Climate Anxiety

At Windsor Park Elementary School (AB, Canada), we facilitate Eco-Club for grades 4 and 5 students to learn about various aspects of climate change and health through hands-on activities. These weekly sessions foster a sense of community, explore different art-based learning strategies to alleviate climate anxiety and stress, and raise awareness about climate-related health impacts. Sessions culminate into a final environmental art project that is co-designed and developed by the students.

This exhibition centers on the PositiviTree, a life‑sized “living” sculpture constructed from new wood, recycled paper, metal wire, and repurposed materials including bottles, cans, and tetrapaks. A companion zine booklet, made from hemp paper and repurposed books, captures student visions of shared human and ecological futures. Transforming waste into form, the work acts as both witness and response: a collective reflection on wildfire and the climate, with a focus on youth experiences of climate anxiety. Leaves on the PositiviTree were created by students across Edmonton, reflecting anxieties and hopes. Visitors are invited to contribute reflections on colour‑coded leaves, forming a gradient from red (fear) to dark green (hope). As it grows, the sculpture becomes a living archive where climate anxiety is made visible, vulnerability becomes connection, and collective expression points toward resilience, care and the possibility of change.

Inspire the next generation of youth in Canada to become leaders, innovators, and advocates in combating climate change by addressing climate anxiety and learning about planetary health.

A harmonious relationship between communities and our planet informed by research, sustainable practices, and ingenuity.