Hi, I'm Katherine
I've had my own battles with climate anxiety and grief - from avoiding speaking to family and friends because they didn't 'get' why I wasn't flying to see them, to days swallowed by doom scrolling - and I've spent years studying sustainable consumption and how to live within planetary boundaries trying to figure out the best way to turn around runaway climate change.
And I did.
At least in the sense of learning to play my part in a way that feels like enough and keeps me going, rather than feeling too small and lacking to do anything.
Along the way I became a qualified coach, changed organisation's environmental policies, set up community resilience projects and found peace in my allotment.
I want to help you also figure out how you can keep trying to create more sustainable systems from a place of enjoyment, rather than sacrifice.
That's why I became a coach and consultant alongside being a sustainability researcher and author.
Climate Anxiety & Activism Coaching
Let’s call it CAC for short.
Because yes, we’re in some 💩 if we don’t act now to keep fossil fuels in the ground, overhaul our agricultural system and tread more gently on this beautiful planet we call home.
The worry and fear that comes from seeing more and more heat waves, droughts, fires, and floods in the news understandably gets us down. You’re not alone if you’re feeling climate anxiety, burn out or paralysis from trying to raise awareness, live with integrity or change systems around you to be more sustainable and equitable (I’ve been/am there too).
Coaching helped me to learn to regulate my nervous system so that I could process the grief and despair that comes with confronting climate science and the realities of global heating.
Coaching tools also helped me deal with the 3Ps of paralysis (perfectionism, people pleasing and procrastination) so that I could take practical action fuelled by a sense of community and curiosity.
I help social justice and environmental activists fuel their advocacy from a place of joy.
Whether you're volunteering to change your local community, an ESG professional in a large corporation, or a passionate person working for a sustainable start up or NGO - this is support for you.
Climate coaching is not about catastrophe.
I often find that once space has been held for clients to process their climate grief – for example, fears for grandchildren, choosing not to fly and the places and people that cuts them off from – the sessions move onto both everyday and profound concerns:
- Feeling comfortable to have a conversation about climate change with anyone and not turn into a blushing hot mess
- Being able to tell a family member ‘no’ when you want some alone time to refuel
- Offering feedback to employees in a way that supports them to feel seen and capable
- Kindling your passion for play and creativity and then feeling confident to put your ideas out into the world
- Figuring out what you really want and accepting that contributing to the causes you're passionate about in ways that you enjoy is enough
I’m here for all of it.
I've also found that sustainability activists don'y need 'solutions' but if you do want to discuss systemic options and explore what the academic literature says about a particular intervention I'm more than happy to go there with you!
Let me be clear about a few things:
Working with me will be challenging at times, because if we want to do things differently we have to burn down some old, familiar and cosy thought patterns. Doing something when it's uncomfortable and scares you can be a good thing (I get it! Check out Episode 3 of the Joyful Climate Writing podcast). But I’ll only go where you want to go, you are the ultimate expert on you. In fact, this is a foundational concept in my certification with the Ethical Coaching Collective.
It’s also going to be a lot of fun. Check out my testimonials below, I know how to keep it light even when were talking about heavy stuff - which let’s face it is going to come up when we’re talking about climate chaos.
This is going to feel like an incredibly safe and supportive space for you. I’m forking good at holding space for others, holding up a mirror so they better understand their fears, desires and actions. I can handle tears and frustration, even if it's directed at me, you'll surprised if you’ve not invested in yourself how forking good it feels to have space that is all about you and processing your emotions.
That being said, this isn’t a space for spiralling in our 💩. It’s amazing to express your emotions and feel them in your body, especially if you aren’t familiar with doing this, but I’m also going to give you the tools to make a change, to centre yourself in calm and clarity and take action from there.
Working together means that you will:
- learn to trust your internal navigation so you don't need to ask others for the next step or spin in indecision for weeks
- cultivate a positive mindset and be able to choose the stories you tell yourself, this means you'll have a huge set of tools that allow you to quiet inner critic voices and calm your nervous system
- feel confident to befriend, or at least approach, and cultivate authentic and essential relationships with crucial keystone actors (from CEOs, CFOs, and heads of departments to assistants, office managers and grounds staff) so that months of work developing a sustainability policy or project isn't dumped at the last minute and can be smoothly implemented
- find and clarify what you love doing and allowing that to be your compass for activism so you can do epic things without burning out
Side benefits often include:
- feeling more energetic and spaciousness in your life because it becomes easier to so no to commitments that don't matter as much and aren't aligned with your values
- a forking fantastic community and new friendships, shifting out of relationships that leach from you to finding, or starting to find, people that love you just as you are and that fill you up #climatejoy
I offer 1:1 coaching via video call or tailor-made group coaching for organisations and community groups.
If this is sounding exciting and you want to explore if we'd be a good fit, get in touch on [email protected] with three times you're available next week, and we'll schedule a free thirty-minute consultation.
Want a little sunshine in your inbox?
If you want unshaming and encouraging weekly emails about climate solutions sign up below. I love sharing academic work through personal stories, so buckle up your bicycle helmet for what's going to be a fun ride through the field of sustainable consumption.
(And if you don't see a message from me today in your inbox, check your spam.)
