The world faces serious environmental and social challenges, like climate change, that require us to rethink how our societies and economies work. Existing solutions have not brought about the profound changes needed to tackle the crises because they do not engage and transform values like economic growth or human-nature separation at the root of these crises. My research focuses on how people working towards sustainability transformations—often called advocates—can use contemplative practices like mindfulness, embodiment, and storytelling to create lasting change within themselves and in their organizations. The goal is to explore how these practices can help advocates become more resilient, challenge norms maintaining unsustainability, and develop new strategies for addressing environmental crises. I will work with a group of these advocates to learn from their experiences, share knowledge, and create practical tools they can use in their work. This research is important because it offers a new way of tackling significant problems like climate change—not just by changing policies or technologies but by transforming the people and organizations at the heart of these efforts. The insights and tools we develop could help advocates at the forefront of sustainability efforts become more effective in their fight for a liveable future.
Varela Grant
