Climate, Ecosystem & Biodiversity
Traditional Indigenous Knowledge has long reminded us that we exist inseparable from the health of the environment and the community as a whole. While many versions of Chief Seattle's speech in 1854 can be found online, these words carry a timeless and universal truth that the masses have lost sight of: "This we know: the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know: all things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children that we have taught our children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of earth." EARTH embraces ecological models of health and well-being. EARTH proactively works towards relational healing with the environments that we are born from and live in. Through the International Transformational Resilience Coalition and the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice, EARTH has been designated a prospective Transformational Resilience Coordinating Network (TRCN) and is working to establish this community network of trauma-informed mutual aid in Southern Arizona - a smaller arc within a larger and growing circle of communities and organizations devoted to ecological health and healing.
If you are interested in partnering with EARTH to support our efforts, please reach out.
Addressing Climate Anxiety
"Solastalgia" is a newer word that describes the emotional distress caused by changes in the environment, local environmental adversity, or the overall topic of climate change. For some, it can feel like carrying the weight of the world on their back.
A global survey of 10,000 people aged 16 to 25 found that 59% were very or extremely worried and 84% were at least moderately worried about climate change. (Hickman et al. 2021)
Researchers have created and validated a simple survey tool to explore climate-related anxiety. The Hogg Climate Anxiety Scale (HCAS) is comprised of four dimensions: emotional symptoms, behavioral symptoms, repeated distressing thoughts, and anxiety around one’s own personal impact on climate health. (Hogg et al. 2021; Hogg et al. 2024).
If you would like to complete an HCAS, you can click this link. At the end, a free Guide to Self-Care in relation to solastalgia will be emailed to you, along with more information about the HCAS.
EARTH appreciates your interest and support in bringing healing to Mother Earth in tandem with individual and collective stress and trauma healing initiatives.