Program Addresses "Climate Anxiety"

By Leo Im '28
Photos by Aurora Song '26

The Schauffler Library at Northfield Mount Hermon changed its focus from academic research to internal reflection on a recent Sunday afternoon as students gathered to address one of the most concerning challenges of the modern era, climate anxiety. This focus on psychological resilience expands on NMH’s commitment to sustainability and education, emphasizing mental strength as a necessary basis for long term environmental activism. 

The initiative for the program was led by NMH librarian Kendall Futrell, who acknowledged that the personal impact of environmental change can sometimes be overshadowed. “In an academic environment, sometimes we’re talking a lot about what the problems are and how we can fix them, but if you don’t have the sort of resilience, you aren’t actually going to be able to implement those solutions,” Futrell stated. “I thought that it would be neat and something a little different than other climate programming I’ve seen.”

To facilitate this conversation, NMH invited Sadie Forsythe, a climate informed therapist, and Hannah Harvester, a visual and theater artist. Forsythe, a clinical social worker with over 10 years of experience in university counseling and private practice, specializes in assisting individuals in navigating climate distress. She currently serves as the chair of the climate cafe group for the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America.

Harvester, who is a lifelong environmentalist and teacher, started hosting eco-grief support circles in 2022 based on Joanna Macy’s “Work That Reconnects.” This framework, using a four-stage process of gratitude, honoring our pain, seeing with new eyes, and going forth, helps individuals to convert feelings of being overwhelmed and despair to a sense of motivation and interconnection. As a member of the native plants and permaculture movements, Harvester has collaborated with Forsythe since 2023 to introduce climate cafes to public libraries throughout Western Massachusetts. A climate cafe is a small, confidential group session designed for sharing personal feelings and experiences regarding the climate crisis throughout the globe in a safe environment devoid of judgment. 

Their collaboration yields a unique approach of “artist plus therapist” that aims to make the rather heavy subject of eco-grief, defined as sadness and anxiety related to environmental destruction, more approachable for a general audience. Forsythe said that the conversation at NMH “focused quite a bit on personal engagement, personal experiences, what our individual choices can make a difference or not, and in relationship with systemic change in response to the climate crisis.”

Harvester’s role as an artist also provided a bridge for those who might be intimidated by a strictly clinical setting. “I think part of being an artist is being sensitive to the world and emotionally connected with the world,” Harvester explained. She added that she even experimented with dressing up as a clown during the presentation to help open up human emotions. 

For NMH students, who are from various backgrounds throughout the globe, the climate crisis is often a personal reality. During the discussion, students reflected on their own experiences and feelings towards education regarding environmental conservation and environmental disasters in their home countries. Futrell emphasized how important having a space to process these feelings was. “It’s hard to know and see it and be like, ‘I can’t do anything about this.’ So you have to have somewhere to put those feelings and some way to process them,” she said.

While the program was initially planned to include a formal Climate Cafe, the format changed to a discussion after the main presentation. Forsythe said that because the event didn’t include a formal cafe, it was difficult to accumulate the usual group feedback. However, during the presentation and the discussion, strong reactions from the participants were seen. “I did see a lot of visual signs of the conversation resonating. People were nodding their heads or smiling, and that often indicates a sense of connection, appreciation, or relief to be having the conversation, since it’s so unusual societally right now,” Forsythe observed. 

The program ended with a message of collective support. “No one of us carries the burden of figuring this out on our own,” Futrell said. “It’s okay to have big feelings about this. … It’s a long fight. So we have to take care of ourselves, so we can keep doing that work.”

By mixing clinical proficiency with artistic sensitivity, the program at Schauffler Library aimed to build a sturdy basis for student well being, reinforcing that while the climate crisis persists as a global challenge, the community of NMH need not have to face the emotional weight of it alone.