Greenbelt Foundation reports highlight unexpected toll climate change
takes on youth mental health
By Michael Young, InsideOttawaValley, February 1, 2020
When we think about climate change, we might think about damage to property from flooding or high winds. Perhaps we consider the increased cost of running air conditioning through heat waves. Rarely, however, do we consider the impacts climate change could have on our family’s mental health. But new studies show that climate change is causing anxiety, depression and even forms of grief among our youth.
In November, the Greenbelt Foundation released a series of reports called “Mental Health in a Changing Climate” that explore these concerns. The reports highlight two ways that youth are affected: through lived experience of extreme weather events and fear of what a climate-ravaged future might mean for them.