For Smiely Khurana, starting the Climate Wellness Network was about filling a gap in available support so others wouldn’t be left searching, as she had been.
“A lot of what’s driven my work or what I’ve started stems from spaces, tools or community that I needed, but couldn’t find. So I thought, well, I’ll just start it.”
Before starting the Network, Smiely spent three years in a public-sector sustainability role, where, as the youngest team member, she realized there was no space to discuss climate anxiety. “That was such a foreign concept to the team I was in. And I didn’t recognize I had those big emotions because I constantly feel guilty that I wasn’t doing enough.”
At the same time, she was finding support in youth climate spaces.
“I didn’t realize how much climate anxiety and guilt were affecting my mental health until I started to find different climate youth spaces where I was like, …, I am only in my 20s. Like, why am I being so hard on myself?”
Those experiences helped shape the direction that Climate Wellness Network would take.
“There are so many spaces that I’m in that are youth-focused, youth-led. It’s amazing. But I think about what it will be like when we grow older and whether access to those spaces will go away. Our feelings and our anxieties and all these experiences that you have don’t go away once you hit a certain age.”
Climate Wellness Network is a Vancouver-based initiative that creates spaces for people to connect with their feelings about climate change and with each other, through climate cafes, art workshops, and nature walks.
“Climate conversations can be daunting. But when you’re sharing space with others, sitting in a circle or doing hands-on activities together, it’s a lot easier to open up. It’s very much like a support group, and you talk to one another.”
Beyond Youth Spaces
Climate Wellness Network is open to anyone. That nuance is intentional, and grounded in Smiely’s own experiences. From seeing the lack of intergenerational climate-based dialogue to the reassurance she felt participating in youth-based climate programming, ideas sparked about how the problems she faced and the solutions she found could be brought together.
Bringing people together from different backgrounds, perspectives, and generations was especially important, enabling unique conversations and powerful shared learning environments. The intergenerational dimension was not written into the original plan of Climate Wellness Network, but “it definitely was woven through the work because I experienced the importance at both ends.”
“There’s a lot of cool stuff that I’m learning from the different generations that’s helping me think about how we can implement climate wellness into workplaces that are not necessarily led by youth, and learn from each other.”
Learning to Lead
When Smiely started building a team for Climate Wellness Network, she went through phases: first thinking no one would volunteer; then being surprised by the interest; then realizing that inviting everyone to help out can bring new hurdles; and along the way, learning important operational lessons that come with leading initiatives.
“Even if you’re bringing on volunteers, you can still be really intentional about interviewing and thinking about what a team structure needs to succeed. I also recognized that it can be challenging to then separate friendship from work relationships.”
Leadership is also not something Smiely expected to take on; it was a reality that emerged through the work and required creating new processes and boundaries.
“Past me would have said yes to everything. And now it’s very much being intentional with what’s aligning, and will I be getting compensated? I’m still working on it!”
“When there are times that I can’t always be up for leading and I need to step away, it’s been important for me to realize that my team is here and they can continue driving the ship.”
Where Things Are Going
For Climate Wellness Network, Smiely’s thinking reaches beyond the programming she currently runs.
“My goal is that we could sort of almost aid in helping organizations create more systems to talk about how we feel and how we show up, and is there a place for vulnerability in the workplace? And that isn’t just waved off as weakness.”
“My wish for Climate Wellness Network is that even if I step away from this, I want this work to continue happening. All the people who are youth today will be the leaders tomorrow. And so the question is: are we transitioning forward in a sustainable way?”
Learn more about Climate Wellness Network and connect with Smiely on LinkedIn. Also check out The Sustainable Act, a climate media agency where Smiely is Founder & CEO.
Amanda Mayer
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