“There’s a power and an honour to grief, because it means that we have loved something, and we’ve had a connection to a place or to species of the planet. We need to find ways to mark our loss and share our loss, but also to remind ourselves that we only grieve what we love.”
Ashlee Cunsolo, quoted in: Vince, G. (2020, January). How scientists are coping with ‘ecological grief’. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jan/12/how-scientists-are-coping-with-environmental-grief
As a climate change researcher, witnessing the increasingly rapid transformations in our environments and ecosystems can lead to a profound sense of loss, or ecological grief.
Gaia Vince of The Guardian talked with Drs. Steve Simpson, Deanna Witman, and myself about how we are each coping with our respective experiences of ecological grief. We discussed the changes we have personally seen that have affected us, how we’ve been dealing with these changes, and advice we have for others dealing with their own ecological grief.
I used this opportunity to highlight the important, ongoing work of Inuit Elders and leaders across Canada to bring people together and share experiences, support each other, and drive collective action forward in response to climate change and other forms of degradation.
Ashlee Cunsolo, PhD 