Climate Cafés
Climate cafés occur on a monthly basis. See below for an upcoming event!
What is a Climate Café?
CCTO’s Climate Café is a space where you share your feelings about the climate and ecological crisis. It is a thinking and feeling space, a haven from busyness and isolation. Come as you are, and share as much or as little as you're comfortable with.
A Climate Café is not a space for planning climate action or discussing climate policy. While these actions are very important, they are not the focus of our Climate Cafés. We do this because sharing feelings in a supportive setting helps to build our resilience during this confusing and difficult time.
The café is organized and supported by Carbon Conversations TO and inspired by the work from Climate Psychology Alliance. This is an online adult gathering, not a therapy group. If you find that uncomfortable feelings have been stirred up, the two facilitators aren’t rushing away at the end, so we’ll be available for anyone who wants a separate chat.
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We have no intention of leading participants to any conclusion or course of action.
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This is an open, respectful and confidential space where people can express their views in a safer environment.
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The focus is our thoughts and feelings about climate change, rather than what we or others are doing about climate change. Action is important, of course, but we don’t focus on it here.
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For our online cafés we encourage you to grab a warm drink or cozy blanket to feel that warmth at home.
The principles for CCTO’s Climate Café
Our Group Guidelines
These are our go to group guidelines, however at each café we will craft our independent group guidelines together.
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All emotions are welcome
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Listening when people are talking
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Being mindful of the space you are taking up, sharing the time fairly
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Respect for others' views, not trying to assert a point of view
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Confidentiality
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Allow silence
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Saying ‘Ouch’ - If you feel hurt by what someone else says you can signal that by saying ‘Ouch’
Hear from our Climate Café participants
Francesca Smith
"The CCTOs climate cafés are one of the few spaces where my concerns about climate change can be voiced and received with respect, compassion and understanding. It's essencial for our mental health to be able to process difficult emotions so we can move through and learn from them. The climate cafés are ideal for this and I strongly encourage others to participate."
Sound like something you want to try?
Check out our upcoming climate café below!
Climate Cafes have 12 spots available on a first come first serve basis. This is a virtual, free, and adult-recommended event.