Staying Sane in the Face of Climate Change toolkit evaluation

Young people are increasingly worried about climate change and what it means for their futures. A recent global survey of 10,000 young people aged 16–25 found that 59 per cent are extremely worried about climate change, 45 per cent said their worries negatively affect their daily lives, and 75 per cent said they think the future is frightening. 

At UTS, researcher and teacher Dr Tania Leimbach has been witnessing these statistics come to life. Over the last few years, she’s noticed that more and more students are being impacted by bushfires, floods and rising sea levels that are threatening their homes, communities and everyday lives.  

We hear about the impacts of extreme weather events on external communities through the media, but for some students in our classes, we were dealing with a reality in the world at large that was having, in some instances, a direct impact on them; that led me to really think about what other educators who are addressing climate change in their studies are doing, and what students are learning. – Dr Tania Leimbach

Inspiring youth-led climate action  

Comprised of educator and student toolkits, the resource combines links to professional organisations working to tackle climate change, a collection of meaningful actions that students can take to address climate change within their communities, and a series of professional profiles that showcase how graduates can embed climate action in their working lives after leaving university.  

A lot of the literature suggests that finding ways to take some form of action is a really good thing for your own mental health and wellbeing. It was about trying to support that process of joining and working with others on this issue and not feeling isolated and alone. – Dr Tania Leimbach

In 2021, Dr Leimbach received a UTS Social Impact Grant to evaluate the toolkits among their target user groups. The focus, she says, was to understand the extent to which the resources did what they were designed to do, as well as to identify opportunities for improvement.  

The Social Impact Grant has facilitated so much. This is really important work. When you’re doing anything on climate, particularly with children and young people, you need to be really careful how you bring that new knowledge to them. 

A collaborative approach to evaluation  

Area of expertise
Young people

UTS Social Impact Framework Domain
Domain 4. Targeted research

Sustainable Development Goal
Climate action

Dr Leimbach partnered with academics and students from three UTS degrees to conduct the evaluation. At the TD School, fourth-year students in the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation (BCII) worked in consultant teams to respond to a series of purpose-designed activities and assessments about climate anxiety. 

In the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, fourth-year pre-service teachers from the Bachelor of Education were asked to think about how to embed the toolkits into their own teaching practice, while third-year Communication students were asked to analyse them and consider their utility as a communication tool.  

Collectively, the evaluation findings showed that students see value in the toolkits and believe they can inspire positive action in the face of climate change — “I think this could go really far. I would love to eventually see the new and improved toolkit pop up around other subjects, unis or even countries some day!” said one student.  

Students also indicated that they want to see the toolkits become living resources that are regularly updated and more clearly targeted at their age group.  

The feedback I got was yes, this is great, and there’s more that could be done to make it relevant and impactful. 

Educators also saw significant utility in the toolkits, not only as teaching resources but as a broader reflection of the UTS learning ethos.   

“Empowering students to see climate change as a shared challenge that can be addressed through the joint contributions of diverse stakeholders provides a great example of the UTS Model of Learning in action,” said one collaborator.  

Taking the toolkits beyond UTS 

The evaluation findings are set to be published in the Environmental Education Research journal, with a particular emphasis on the BCII student experience, and they will also inform future iterations of the toolkits’ content. Analysis of the evaluation data is continuing.  

For Dr Leimbach, the evaluation process was part of a broader dissemination strategy designed to share the toolkits far and wide. Climate anxiety research is a growing field, but to date, a limited body of work in the humanities and social sciences speaks to its emotional and psychological impact.  

The toolkits have been presented at Australian conferences and seminar series and are now available via the USA-based Climate Mental Health Network. They form part of a webinar series from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. More than 35 academics worldwide are now using them as part of their teaching. 

Further, Dr Leimbach and her team have established a climate education network in partnership with other academics from UTS, Deakin University, Queensland University of Technology and the University of Sydney to help to teach staff to develop strategies to address climate anxiety among their students. Dr Leimbach and her colleagues have also partnered with Waverley Council on an intergenerational knowledge exchange program to harness climate change impact.  

The toolkit is framing this issue in a way that has both the seriousness of the situation at the forefront, but also a sense that this is not disempowering — all is not lost. 

Project Summary

The problem

Young people are increasingly worried about climate change and how it will impact their futures. In the higher education sector, very few resources address the affective/emotional dimension of learning about the climate crisis.  

The response

In 2020, a multidisciplinary UTS research team developed Staying Sane in the Face of Climate Change, an educational resource comprised of educator and student toolkits designed to raise awareness of climate change's emotional impact and support users in tackling climate anxiety through meaningful action. A 2021 evaluation, funded by a UTS Social Impact Grant, showed that the toolkits offer substantial value to their target audience. 

What helped accomplish this?

Social Impact Grant funding and cross-faculty collaboration were the key drivers of the evaluation program’s success. The research team worked with academics and students in the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation, the Bachelor of Education and the Bachelor of Communication to capture meaningful insights that will inform the toolkits’ future development.  

What has changed as a result?

The evaluation findings will help shape future iterations of the toolkits and already support their widespread dissemination. The research team have now presented the toolkits at Australian conferences and has made them available to educators and climate action groups in Australia and around the world.