Community Climate Action
The Communities Climate Action Grants Program supports the ACT Government’s commitment to working collaboratively with the ACT community to achieve climate change goals and become a climate-ready city.
As a recipient of this grant, we offer a broad program of accessible community learning opportunities, supporting Canberrans to build knowledge, connection and confidence to respond to environmental change.
Climate Cafe is Supported by the ACT Government through the Communities Climate Action Grants Program
Climate Cafe
Climate change and the polycrisis can bring up many feelings of grief, fear, anger, hope, overwhelm and care for the places and people we love. Canberra Climate Café is a warm, facilitated space to pause, reflect and share what is real for you.
Built on the Climate Café model developed by Psychology for a Safe Climate, this is not a therapy session, but a respectful community space grounded in care, curiosity and connection. All feelings are welcome, and no prior knowledge or experience is needed.
Event attendance is by donation
There is no guest speaker, lecture, debate or pressure to find solutions. Instead, we will gather in a supportive circle to listen and be listened to. Here, you can voice concerns that may not be welcomed or echoed elsewhere in your daily life. You’re invited to share with interested others how you’re really feeling at this challenging time.
There may be laughter, there may be tears. There may be fear, there may be anger. Whatever you’re feeling is okay and valued. And it’s fine just to listen. Sharing, listening and being quiet together are all part of our Café.
Our Facilitators
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Dr Jennifer Pinkerton
CEC Executive Director & journalist/author
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Jenny Cahill
Health & environment expert
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Annalisa Dietrich
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Kate Nairn
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Barbara Walsh
Environment & Climate Book Club
Climate change and the polycrisis can bring up many feelings of grief, fear, anger, hope, overwhelm and care for the places and people we love. Canberra Climate Café is a warm, facilitated space to pause, reflect and share what is real for you.
Event attendance is by donation
Join Canberra Environment Centre for a relaxed and thoughtful book-club conversation exploring climate, nature and the stories that help us make sense of a changing world.
This session is an opportunity to share reflections, hear different perspectives & consider how storytelling can build understanding, connection & hope in the face of complex environmental challenges. No expertise is needed, just curiosity & a willingness to join the conversation.
You are welcome to attend whether you have read one book, both books, or simply want to listen and take part in the discussion.
What we will be reading
Once We Were Wildlife
A tender, luminous collection of interconnected tales that explore love, longing and the wilderness - both within and around us.
In this compulsive compilation of eleven stories and one poem - set against scorched landscapes, wild oceans, and rocky terrain - Simpson follows people on the edge of desire, heartbreak and change.
By Inga Simpson
Department of the Vanishing
Set in a time of mass extinction, Department of the Vanishing blends documentary poetry, archival image, and narrative verse to explore the vital questions: Can we live in a world without birdsong, and is it possible to create a new opus with the fragments left over?
By Johanna Bell