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Last Thursday, the JX Venue was filled with support, dedication, and an undeniable sense of hope as Colleen Redmond took the stage at our Sustainability Works! 2024 Gala and Awards. She opened with heartfelt gratitude for everyone who showed up. This event was about more than just being present – it was about building resilience, finding hope, and empowering each other in the face of climate change.
Colleen’s work at the University of Minnesota dives deep into how hope and grief show up in youth stories and climate narratives. She passionately reminded us that we’re here because we do have hope, even when it’s tough to find. “Nothing is hopeless; we must hope for everything,” she quoted from A Wrinkle in Time – a perfect sentiment for tackling something as challenging as climate change.
Understanding Eco-Grief
Through vivid examples and studies, Colleen illuminated the new field of "climate emotions" – a powerful range of feelings from grief to gratitude that people experience as they navigate environmental loss. She introduced the "Climate Emotions Wheel," a tool that helps us identify and understand these emotions, especially eco-grief, which can hit us hard when we lose beloved species, landscapes, or ways of life.
But Colleen was quick to emphasize that we don’t have to grieve alone. She shared the moving story of Iceland’s collective "eco-mourning" for the Okjökull glacier. This ceremony honored the glacier’s memory and reminded everyone of the importance of preserving our planet. When grief moves into public spaces, it becomes eco-mourning, giving us a way to acknowledge our losses while also creating room for hope and action.
Embracing Eco-Hope
Colleen then turned to her research on "eco-hope" and how we can cultivate it. Hope, she explained, is more than wishful thinking. It’s about action and the belief that change is possible. It’s a force that propels us to create, innovate, and protect. From stories of young people acting in the face of overwhelming odds to historical accounts of movements ignited by hope, Colleen’s presentation was filled with examples of resilience and determination.
Her message was clear: eco-hope lives alongside eco-grief. In fact, hope often needs grief to make it real and urgent. By facing what we’re losing, we’re more motivated to protect what’s left and work toward restoring the rest.
Finding Hope in Our Own Stories
Using the children’s book Black Beach as a vivid example, Colleen showed us how stories can inspire us to take action. Through the journey of Sam, the main character, we see the markers of hope: motivation for change, the belief that things can get better, the plans that turn that belief into action, and finally, the agency to make a difference.
Then she posed the big question: What about our own stories? Where do we find motivation? What plans can we make to bring hope into our community?
Collective Action and Hope in Sustainable Stillwater MN
The room resonated with Colleen’s final thoughts on how Sustainable Stillwater MN embodies hope through action. From rain gardens to bike events, each initiative shows us that we’re doing something about climate change right here in our community. This is where hope lives – in projects, people, and collective efforts that inspire others to join in.
Colleen’s closing message was powerful: "While one person alone cannot stop climate change, together we are a force to create meaningful impact." Whether it’s volunteering, listening to the youth, donating, or starting conversations, everyone can play a part in building eco-hope.
Colleen Redmond
Resources
Climate Emotions Wheel | Climate Mental Health Network. (2024). CMHN. https://www.climatementalhealth.net/wheel
Climate Lit | Climate Change Literacy. (2024, October). https://www.climatelit.org/
Cunsolo, A., & Ellis, N. R. (2018). Ecological grief as a mental health response to climate change-related loss. Nature Climate Change, 8(4), 275–281. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0092-2
Green Earth Book Award | The Nature Generation. (2021). Natgen.org. https://www.natgen.org/green-earth-book-awards
Hernandez, J. (2022). Fresh banana leaves. North Atlantic Books.
Hickman, C., Marks, E., Pihkala, P., Clayton, S., Lewandowski, R. E., Mayall, E. E., Wray, B., Mellor, C., &van Susteren, L. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: A global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12). https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00278-3
Kelsey, E. (2020). Hope matters : why changing the way we think is critical to solving the environmental crisis. Greystone Books.
Levins, A. (2019). Medicine stories : essays for radicals. Duke University Press.
Macy, J., & Johnstone, C. (2020). Active hope : How to face the mess were in without going crazy. New World Library.
Mckibben, B. (2007). Hope, human and wild : true stories of living lightly on the earth. Milkweed Editions.
Oziewicz, M. (2022). Planetarianism now: On anticipatory imagination, young people’s literature, and hope for the planet. J. Jagodzinski, M. Paulsen, & S. M. Hawke (Eds.), Pedagogy in the Anthropocene (pp. 241–256). Springer International Publishing.
Stith, S., & Stith, J. (2023). Black beach. Simon and Schuster.
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