Our Minds Matter: Enhancing climate resilience skills and well-being for environmental students and professionals

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Program Overview

This event will connect natural resource and environmental professionals with healthcare specialists trained to address workplace anxiety and stress related to a changing climate. The morning program will support those involved in critical climate change adaptation work, helping them adjust our ecosystems, infrastructure, and communities effectively while managing work stress, anxiety, and pressures. Our goal is to limit burnout among all professionals, including mid-career individuals, and assist both younger and older career professionals in developing essential Climate Resilience Skills to heal our communities and ecosystems as annual temperatures rise.

Climate anxiety, also known as “eco-anxiety,” refers to the distress or anxiety related to the impacts of climate change. This can manifest as intrusive thoughts, feelings of distress about future disasters, or concerns about the long-term future of human existence and the environment¹. Symptoms can include irritability, poor concentration, insomnia, feelings of hopelessness, and even physical symptoms like a racing heart².

Climate resilience skills can help manage climate anxiety by empowering individuals to take positive action and build a sense of control. Here are some key skills:

1. Mindfulness and Stress Management: Techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, and spending time in nature can help reduce anxiety and improve mental well-being³.
2. Community Engagement: Participating in group activities and collective action can buffer against climate anxiety by fostering a sense of community and shared purpose⁴.
3. Education and Advocacy: Learning about climate change and advocating for sustainable practices can provide a sense of empowerment and purpose⁵.
4. Adaptation Planning: Developing skills in project management, grant writing, and collaboration can help professionals effectively contribute to climate adaptation efforts⁶.
5. Personal Resilience: Building personal resilience through physical activity, healthy lifestyle choices, and maintaining social connections can help individuals cope with the stressors associated with climate change⁷.

By integrating these skills, individuals can better manage their climate anxiety and contribute positively to climate resilience efforts. Additionally, the event will feature late-morning and afternoon professional development workshops focused on:

1. Grant Writing and Fundraising Skills
2. Project Management and Collaboration Skills
3. Mindfulness Skills.

 

References

¹ Yale Sustainabilty, "Yale Experts Explain Climate Anxiety" (2023) link here. 

² Psychology Today, "Climate Anxiety" (n.d.) link here.

³ The Conversation, "Three Practical Ways to Address Climate Anxiety" (2024) link here. 

4 Yale Sustainabilty, "Yale Experts Explain Climate Anxiety" (2023) link here. 

⁵ The Conversation, "Three Practical Ways to Address Climate Anxiety" (2024) link here. 

6 U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, "Get Started" (n.d.) link here. 

⁷ Time, "7 Resources to Help You Cope With Climate Anxiety" (2021) link here. 

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Agenda

7:15 a.m. Doors open at Ohio State 4-H Center; Coffee served for in-person attendees. 

7:40 a.m. Breakfast buffet served for in-person attendees. 

8:00 a.m. Livestreaming service begins for virtual attendees.  

8:10 a.m. Tim Haab, PhD, director, Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) provides welcome remarks.

8:15 a.m. Smitha Rao, PhD, assistant professor in Ohio State’s College of Social Work, addresses the need for strategies to enhance communities' and individuals' ability to cope with climatic and other stressors.

8:25 a.m. Jodie Skillicorn, DO, holistic psychiatrist and author, outlines how to create new neural pathways for healing depression, and addressing the existing gap of climate-aware clinicians in Ohio.

8:35 a.m. Maryanna Klatt, PhD, director, Center for Integrative Health, reviews the Mindfulness in Motion research results showing decreased burnout and stress with increased resilience and work engagement, and how this can address eco-anxiety.

8:45 a.m. Bridget Britton, MSW, LSW, behavioral health field specialist, Ohio State University Extension, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, discusses the work of the Ohio Agricultural Mental Health Alliance (OAMHA). 

8:55 a.m. Expert dialogue on resilience and mindfulness strategies to cope with environmental and climate-induced stress with Klatt, Skillicorn, and Britton. Moderated by Rao.

9:10 a.m. Live audience Q & A session for both in-person and virtual audiences.

9:30 a.m. Dr. Haab concludes EPN Breakfast program component. Break and networking session for in-person guests.

9:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. Professional development workshops offering tools and strategies for fundraising, grant writing, and mindfulness training in climate change adaptation work.

These workshop sessions are open to all. These sessions will be modified for environmental professionals, natural resource management practitioners, and students. Attendees are encouraged to bring their laptop or other computational devices for hands-on workshop training during the 11:00 a.m. session.

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Experience a taste of the Mindfulness in Motion course and mobile app to address eco-anxiety by Maryanna Klatt, PhD, director, Ohio State Center for Integrative Health.

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Turning technical skills into a fundraising strategy tailored to our Region 5 (US EPA Region 5) for federal sources and non-federal sources by Jesse Casiano, senior community engagement specialist, Environmental Justice, Community Health, and Environmental Review Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5.

12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. Lunch and Yoga session by Ellen Eilers, MS, lab manager, Environmental & Social Sustainability, owner and founder, Zen Yoga Studio.

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Creating networks for climate resilience workshop session led by Kimberly Ordonez, PhD candidate and forest social scientist, The Nature Conservancy.

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Speakers

Smitha Rao, PhD, assistant professor, Ohio State’s College of Social Work

Dr. Smitha Rao’s work at the intersection of environment, development, and social policy is informed by her interdisciplinary background in social work and human geography. Her research interests include: (1) extreme weather events and contextual vulnerability, (2) improving adaptive capacities among communities to deal with climatic and other stressors, and (3) effects of air pollution on environmental health and improving access to clean energy. Dr. Rao has over a decade of macro-practice experience spanning academic and not-for-profit settings. This included post-disaster community-based reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, campaign strategy and design for local and international environmental organizations on climate change, phasing out toxins from industry, and promoting sustainable agriculture practices. Her current work encompasses social vulnerability in the context of disasters and disaster risk reduction to develop knowledge and inform policies centering underserved communities. Her interdisciplinary work touches upon climate change implications for vulnerable groups, energy poverty, anti-oppressive praxis, and ecological justice.

Jodie Skillicorn, DO, holistic psychiatrist and author

Photo by Kelly Tooman

Jodie Skillicorn, DO, ABIHM is a holistic psychiatrist who believes strongly in the body’s innate healing powers. In her practice, she combines mindfulness-based psychotherapy with a variety of complementary modalities that assist the healing process. These may include mindfulness, breath-work, yoga, energy psychology, energy medicine, guided imagery, biofeedback, exercise, EMDR, eco-therapy, auricular acupuncture, nutrition, and supplements. She tailors techniques based on the needs and interests of her patients. She continually seeks to learn about additional modalities through research and training opportunities that serve to enhance the healing process. Dr. Skillicorn graduated from the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine and is Board Certified in Psychiatry and a Diplomate of the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine (ABIHM). She completed a psychiatry residency at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacology (NEOUCOM), where she served as chief resident.  Prior to opening her own practice, she cared for patients through Summa Psychiatry Associates in Akron and Alternative Paths in Medina.

Maryanna Klatt, PhD, director, Center for Integrative Health

Dr. Klatt’s research focus has been to develop and evaluate feasible, cost-effective ways to reduce the risk of stress-related chronic illness for both adults and children. Trained in mindfulness and a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance, she combines these two approaches in a unique approach to stress prevention and reduction. Her adult program, Mindfulness in Motion, is delivered at the worksite, while the program for children, Move into Learning, is a classroom-based intervention. Both programs combine yoga, mindfulness and relaxing music. Specifically, her research has shown that nurses working in a surgical intensive care unit reduced their stress by 40% (shown in their salivary amylase), university faculty and staff slept better, Scandinavian bank employees significantly reduced their perceived stress, cancer survivors and their caregivers became significantly more resilient, and inner-city third-graders significantly improved in hyperactivity and cognitive inattention — behaviors often related to stress. Klatt has shown that mindful awareness interventions produce an average of $4,000 annual cost savings for adult participants up to five years postintervention. In 2011, she delivered a TEDx Columbus talk on her work with stress reduction and resiliency building. Klatt received a PhD in Educational Policy and Leadership from The Ohio State University and an MA in Medical Ethics from University of Virginia. 

Bridget Britton, MSW, LSW, behavioral health field specialist, Ohio State University Extension, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences 

Bridget Britton, MSW, LSW, is the Behavioral Health Field Specialist in the Agriculture and Natural Resources program area for The Ohio State University serving Tuscarawas County and around the state of Ohio. She is a graduate of Mount Vernon Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master of Social Work from Azusa Pacific University. Bridget’s primary focus is supporting the farm stress initiative and bringing awareness to those in agriculture about the importance of how stress can impact a person. She works daily to try to break down the barriers and stigma that keeps rural Ohioans from seeking mental health treatment. She works to educate every person on spotting the warning signs and symptoms of mental health challenges and how to be a support to someone in need. Bridget is trained to teach Adult, Youth, and Teen Mental Health First Aid, QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), and Trauma Informed Care. 

Jesse Casiano, senior community engagement specialist, Environmental Justice, Community Health, and Environmental Review Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5 

Originally from Hammond, Indiana, Jesse Casiano graduated high school in 1991 and spent the next 21 years on active duty with the United States Navy. After retiring in February 2012, Jesse accepted a position with the United States Navy as an Environmental Protection Specialist at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. In March of 2023, he accepted the position of Environmental Justice Senior Community Specialist in the Environmental Protection Agency Region 5. His role is to provide resources to underserved communities and to build lasting relationships with the communities and other organizations, nationally and regionally.

Ellen Eilers, MS, lab manager, Environmental & Social Sustainability, owner and founder, Zen Yoga Studio

As Environmental & Social Sustainability Lab manager, Ellen is responsible for making efficient use of resources, promoting the development and dissemination of academic research in environmental social science, and initiating and developing research partnerships with internal and external collaborators. Prior to her current role, Ellen has worked with environmental NGOs on both local & national levels. She has engaged influential people to take action, lobbied US Senators, and organized press events in pursuit of renewable and efficient energy options. Ellen holds both a bachelor's in Environmental Policy & Management and a master's in Environmental Social Science from The Ohio State University's School of Environment and Natural Resources. In 2018, Ellen began teaching yoga full-time and fell in love with helping her students receive the benefits of yoga as well. When Ellen saw the Zen Yoga space, she immediately knew it was her calling to open the studio. Since she opened the studio, she has been teaching full-time, growing the studio's member base, and creating the School of Zen - Zen Yoga's Yoga Training program.

Kimberly Ordonez, PhD candidate, School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR), and forest social scientist, The Nature Conservancy

Kimberly is a PhD candidate studying environmental social sciences in SENR and holds an interest in co-productive science, multi-scale behavioral adaptations to environmental pressures, and environmental justice. She was recently hired as a forest social scientist for The Nature Conservancy, and she is based in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a co-founder of the Columbus Environmental Networking Tool, which is an engaged research decision support tool designed to facilitate partnerships between like-minded environmental organizations. Her research and professional goals involve environmental justice and localized community acceptance of climate change adaptations. In her work, Kimberly acts as a bridge between communities and scientists to assist in fair and realistic behavioral changes that can lead to positive socio-ecological outcomes. She received her Bachelor of Science in Wildlife and Master of Science in Forestry from Purdue University.

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Additional Information 

We strive to host events that are inclusive and accessible to everyone. If you have a disability and require accommodations to fully participate in this activity, please reach out to Hallie Stelzle (stelzle.2@osu.edu). Requests made five business days in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access. However, we will make every effort to meet requests made after this time frame. You will be contacted by someone from our staff to discuss your specific needs. 

Masks are optional for all event attendees at this event, in accordance with Ohio State’s Safe and Healthy Protocols as of this date. In-person attendees will be expected to follow Ohio State protocols regarding the prevention of COVID-19 transmission. More health and safety information available on this Personal Safety Practices page.