Hello! And welcome to Parenting in the Climate Crisis: a place to explore what it means to be a parent amidst the climate crisis.

To parent at this moment. Teetering on the edge of climate disaster is to live never far from anxiety and grief. It creeps up unexpectedly. Striking while buying groceries, spotting a headline about wildfires, or simply watching your kids play outside. They're genuine emotions. Real fears. Immense sorrow.

Amidst the catastrophic headlines, it can be hard to feel hope. But parents are powerful. We have long transformed societies. And we're coming together now to demand climate action, working tirelessly to stop the worst of the climate crisis. But while many argue that systemic change is what we need to focus on, I don't believe systemic change and individual action are mutually exclusive. We know the climate crisis is an "us problem," not a "me problem." Yet, that doesn't mean that individuals can't or shouldn't do anything. Small actions have the potential to drive systematic change. While the responsibility to solve the climate crisis is not on us, there are things we can do to prepare our kids for all the possible climate change scenarios and help them develop the skills they'll need to thrive. 

For years I've been having conversations with everyone from oyster farmers working to restore clean waters to psychologists pushing for changes to how medicine addresses eco-anxiety about the climate crisis but also about their kids. About how they parent. 

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Each month, I'll publish one or two deep dives on a topic—either an interview or essay—that explores parenthood, raising climate-resilient kids and the people and projects offering climate solutions. 

I can't claim this will provide all the answers, but I believe it offers part of the solutions to many of the issues facing parents as we raise our children in the climate crisis.

Who Am I?

I've been an environmentalist for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are running up and down the beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My dad would take me on evening walks, flashlight in hand, to try to spot the crabs scurrying along the sand. My mom would wake me up early to watch the sun rolling over the horizon and help me spot the dolphins playing in the surf. My brother and sister and I spent countless hours jumping in the waves. Idyllic, yes, but I was also aware of the precariousness of it all from a young age.

Storms are scary on the Outer Banks. We'd sit on the covered deck when summer lightning storms rolled, the stilted house swaying in the wind. When I was a baby, my parents and I once got stranded on the road starting to flood (that road later became a bridge). A generous passerby stopped to rescue us. I grew up hearing that story almost every time we went over the bridge or the forecast called for a big storm. I vividly recall listening to my parents talk and worry about the beach outside of our home becoming smaller and smaller. And as much as I loved watching the dolphins and the other wildlife, especially the pelicans, which I still find mesmerizing, I also witnessed how human-made pollution could kill them.  

 The stretch of barrier islands where I fell in love with the natural world is now at risk. The beaches my parents worried about years ago are now shrinking by more than 14 feet a year in some places. The people who live in the towns that dot the shore are considering how much they are willing to pay in taxes and other fees to save the land. It's a fight many know they will eventually lose. My daughter will not know the Outer Banks the way I did. So much of her childhood and adulthood will be different than mine. The climate crisis divides us in this way. The knowledge and experience I have from my childhood lived feel insufficient. 

As an independent journalist been writing about climate solutions for years for publications including Civil Eats, Modern Farmer, Martha Stewart, Parents and more. But once I had a child, I started questioning more. Not only if I was doing enough, but how to raise my child so that she carries an awareness and care for the environment. 

I hope what I've learned and continue to learn will help and inform you. I hope you’ll join me and share what you’re learning too.

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Bridget Shirvell writes about the intersection of the climate crisis and parenting. You can subscribe to her newsletter: Parenting in the Climate Crisis here: https://raisingclimateresilientkids.substack.com/