SUMMARY
The paper deals with climate change and its impact on young people, with a particular focus on the phenomenon of eco-anxiety resulting from concern about the future of the planet. Art, as a means of expression and resistance, plays a key role in building young people’s resilience, enabling them to manage stress and imagine sustainable, positive futures through creativity and collaboration.
Keywords: climate change,eco-anxiety, art, expression, ecological consciousness, young people
We are living in an era of climate and environmental change.
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can occur naturally, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. However, since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.
People are experiencing climate change in diverse ways
Climate change can affect our health, food production, housing, safety, and work. Some communities are already more vulnerable to its impacts, such as people living in small island nations and other developing regions. Climate change also affects our mental health, causing what is known as eco-anxiety.
What is Eco-Anxiety?
Eco-anxiety refers to a profound, often overwhelming worry about the current and future state of our planet. It is an emotional state that arises from intense concern about the environmental crisis and the consequences of climate change.
Unlike other forms of anxiety, it does not originate from personal trauma but from a collective awareness of environmental degradation, climate collapse, and a sense of helplessness in the face of systemic inaction.
Although it is not officially recognized as a mental disorder, eco-anxiety is a real and growing condition, especially among young people and those with heightened ecological awareness. It stems from a deep sense of uncertainty about the future of the planet and the destruction of ecosystems caused by human activities. Many young people feel betrayed by older generations, burdened with a future they did not choose. They oscillate between grief and rage, hope and apathy.
But here’s the paradox: this anxiety also indicates care. It arises because they are connected—to the Earth, to each other, to life itself.
In the Face of an Uncertain Ecological Future.
How do we help young people not only cope but actively imagine new, resilient ways of being?
As a dance artist and yoga educator working closely with youth, I have often observed that when words fail, the body and creativity speak.
Art becomes a compass—a way for younger generations to navigate the emotional weight of our times. And in the era of eco-anxiety, this is more vital than ever.
What is Climate Resilience?
Climate resilience is the ability of an individual, community, system, or ecosystem to respond to, adapt to, and recover from the impacts of climate change—such as extreme weather events, droughts, floods, and rising temperatures.
Simply put:
It is how we cope with and adapt to a changing climate.
Climate Resilience Includes:
1. Emotional Resilience
· The ability of a person — especially a young person — to:
· Cope with anxiety, fear, or frustration about the climate crisis,
· Avoid being paralyzed by uncertainty,
· Find meaning, hope, and creativity through the darkness.
2. Community / Social Resilience
· The ability of a community (e.g., young artists or school groups) to:
· Collaborate and collectively respond to ecological challenges,
· Express their voices through art,
· Envision and create change.
3. Creative Resilience
· The ability to transform despair into:
· Inspiration
· Symbolic images
· Artistic acts that reconstruct our relationship with the environment.
The Role of Art in Emotional Processing
As a yoga and dance teacher, I embrace the role of art not merely as decoration. Art is process, protest, and presence. Artistic expression allows us to name the unnamable, to touch what logic cannot reach.
For young people living in eco-anxious times, engaging in creative practices can be a powerful form of resilience. Painting, movement, poetry, dance, storytelling—these are not escapist acts. They are radical, transformative tools. In a dance class, a child trembling with anxiety may suddenly feel rooted, alive, expressive. A teenager sketching a melting iceberg might end up envisioning a floating city full of sustainable dreams.
When youth are encouraged to express their ecological concerns through art, they shift from passive fear to active imagination. And imagination, as any artist knows, is where change begins.
Youth Art as Resistance and Resilience
Across the globe, we see young people using art to respond to climate chaos. From mural projects on coral reef conservation to spoken word performances about wildfires, they are voicing their grief, rage, and dreams.
This art is not always pretty.
It is raw.
It is real.
It is revolutionary.
Art gives them back agency. When a child paints a tree on fire, they are not only mourning loss—they are asserting their vision. When a group of teens choreographs a dance around drought and renewal, they embody cycles of despair and hope. These acts are emotional rehearsals for climate resilience.
How We Build Resilience Through Art and Education:
1. Through Physical Practice (Yoga & Movement)
Yoga and dance teach the body to listen, breathe, and respond with awareness.
This is the foundation of resilience:
Body awareness: By learning to manage stress in the body (e.g., through diaphragmatic breathing), we can respond more calmly to external crises.
Grounding: Practices that “ground” our bodies reconnect us to the Earth—literally and figuratively.
Reconnecting with nature: Moving outdoors, in contact with sun, air, and soil, builds an ecological consciousness that is not just intellectual but experiential.
2. Through Art (Performance, Improvisation, Composition)
Art becomes a space for expressing ecological anxiety — and transforming it:
Artistic metaphor: Pain and concern for the planet can be expressed through solo performance, visual installations, text, or movement.
Narrative of hope: Art can narrate a future that is not only catastrophic but also sustainable and visionary.
Collective creation: Through collaborative practices (such as residencies or group improvisations), communities learn to support and inspire each other, even in uncertainty.
3. Through Education (as a Teacher)
As a teacher, I aim not only to convey information but also to cultivate an attitude toward life:
Mindfulness exercises with ecological intention: For example, guiding students to imagine “your spine as a flowing river” connects their bodies to the Earth.
Discussions about the environment and emotions: Creating safe spaces for dialogue and expression.
Experiential actions: Collective care of spaces, artistic creations from recyclable materials, physical meditations on the elements (earth, water, fire, air).
4. Through Example (Living as Practice)
How we live becomes part of the message:
Meaningful actions: Choosing slow travel, recycled materials, teaching in open spaces.
Authenticity: Speaking openly about personal eco-anxiety and strategies for balance.
Spiritual dimension: Letting yoga and performance become rituals of care for the Earth, not only for ourselves.
Example: Students Transformed beehives into pieces of Art
As part of a social innovation initiative, students of the 2nd Primary School of Karystos, inspired by the cultural action «SWEETEN YOUR HERITAGE KARYSTOS» by the non-profit organization BEELOSOPHY, painted four beehives, generously donated by MELISOKOMIKI ATHINON S.A.
Through their art, the students express their concerns about environmental destruction, the decline of pollinators, and climate change, while maintaining a positive outlook. Their message is clear: “Earth is our home. We care for nature and animals. We stand against the destruction of forests, mountains, and seas. We want to enjoy and protect them, respecting future generations. We especially care for endangered animals, like bees. Protecting the environment is essential for a better future.”
Creating Spaces for Eco-Creativity
To support youth on this journey, educators and cultural workers must create safe, nourishing spaces. This is not about teaching children to “solve” climate change, but about giving them tools to process, reflect, and express.
Some ideas:
· Art as Listening: Encourage drawing or movement in response to natural sounds or climate news. What does the wind say? How does the body respond to the rhythm of rain?
· Collaborative Creation: Invite youth to co-create murals, songs, or performances based on their ecological visions.
· Storytelling from the Future: Ask them to imagine life in 2100. What does their city look like? What food do they eat? What animals are around?
· Eco-Art Journals: Provide recycled notebooks where youth can collage, sketch, write, and reflect on their environmental feelings.
From Grief to Action
One of the most beautiful things about art is its ability to hold paradox. Youth can feel sorrow and hope, fear and courage—all at once—and still move forward. Creative acts metabolize grief and allow for new meaning.
In my workshops, I have witnessed young people transform. After watching a documentary about deforestation, a group of 12-year-olds entered a movement session exhausted and withdrawn. By the end, they had invented a dance sequence called “Forest Rising,” where every gesture mirrored a tree regrowing after fire.
They left smiling—not because the problem had disappeared, but because they had reclaimed a sense of agency.
Art as a Seed
Art is not only a mirror—it is also a seed. When we give young people the chance to color the future, they begin to believe that a future exists. They may not have the tools to fix everything, but they have stories, images, and gestures. And sometimes, that is enough to begin.
In these anxious times, may we listen to the children. May we trust their brushes, dances, and poems. Through their art, the Earth speaks—and hopes.
By Martina Kosta Diankova.
