Climate Resilience for the Professional Workplace

Are you feeling the weight of mounting environmental and social challenges in your personal or professional life? Sensing the need for a different approach to workplace conversations about the climate crisis, dilemmic social issues, American politics, or the Metacrisis? Looking for a community of professionals who share your concerns and / or modern language and techniques to actually grapple with these seemingly insurmountable issues? This is a Call-to-Action for Local: Engineers, Technical Designers, Data Scientists, Urban Planners, Architects, Science Educators, Researchers & Academics, Environmental & Sustainability Consultants, Management Consultants, Project Managers, Economists, Finance Professionals, HR Professionals, Executive Leadership, Procurement Specialists, Customer Service Agents, Sales Representatives, etc. What Makes This Workshop Different? This workshop isn't just about climate change, sustainability, ESGs, and professional development—it's about finding our footing, finding community, and finding empowerment in a within the throws of modern culture. It is an invitation towards a new way of perceiving your place, your identity, and your work with respect to an ever complexifying and uncertain world. We will seek to answer the questions: · How do we face mounting environmental and social challenges without burning out? · What's our role in shaping a more regenerative professional culture? · How do we bridge increasingly polarized workplace conversations about our collective future? Respecting that as professionals we genuinely need our weekends to rest and reset – I am inviting you to take time to be with the discomfort of these topics, if only for a day, before returning to a safe and familiar way of working. The first step in managing our climate (existential) grief is often to gently allow it in with compassion for the rainbow of ways humans process these heavy emotions. When we allow ourselves to witness to what emerges from this depth process, we may finally find our place in all of it. Pragmatic Description & Professional Value This intimate, day-long professional workshop intensive weaves together climate psychology, systems thinking, environmental ethics and deep ecology (interconnection of life on earth) in an innovative flow that will leave participants with: Professional continuing education hours relevant to design, ethics, and mental health. Tools for managing eco-anxiety while maintaining professional effectiveness. Ways to bridge polarized workplace conversations through deep listening. Practices for integrating intuitive wisdom into technical decision-making. Methods for moving from individual overwhelm to collective action. Earth-centered approaches to professional practice. Workshop Details 9:30 AM - Opening & Grounding Meet fellow participants and set the container for the day. Short creative warm-up to shift from thinking mode to embodied presence. Establish group agreements for curiosity, respect, and deep listening. Morning 1: Climate Psychology in Professional Life Understanding eco-anxiety, existential paralysis, and burnout in the workplace Why do so many professionals feel stuck when facing the climate crisis? Learn practical tools to manage eco-anxiety and shift from overwhelm to action. Explore how emotional resilience supports ethical decision-making in your field. Morning 2: Navigating Polarization & Tough Conversations Bridging divides in workplace discussions through compassion and curiosity Why do climate conversations so often lead to conflict or avoidance? Practice sitting with harsh socio-environmental dilemmas by learning tools for deeper relating on these topics Learn how to hold complexity without shutting down or escalating. 12:00 - 1:00 PM: Lunch Break (Snacks, tea, and coffee provided. Feel free to explore nearby cafés.) Afternoon 1: Earth Listening as a Professional Skill Integrating our intuition into rational decision-making workflows What if we designed solutions in dialogue with nature, rather than against it? Experience a guided exercise in Earth Listening—no prior experience required. Learn how to apply this practice to business, leadership, and innovation. Afternoon 2: Mapping Your Climate Resilience Plan Turning insights from the day into tangible day-to-day actions as an act of self-care Identify your unique role in shaping climate resilience at work. Create a Climate Resilience Map to clarify your next steps and reduce decision fatigue / activation energy typically required to ‘do something’ about the crisis. Share insights and commitments with the group for collective momentum. 3:30 PM - Closing Reflections & Next Steps Closing circle to integrate learnings and set personal intentions. Resources and follow-up support to continue the work beyond the session. Invitation to engage in a deeper community of practice for professionals interested in this work. Personal Bio About Nick Couture is a registered professional engineer and founder of Climate Paradigm Collaborative. He holds a collective 7 years of experience distributed across systems engineering, climate change facilitation, grief work, product management, sales engineering, marine data collection, industrial construction, wind energy design, and transformational coaching. He holds certificates in climate psychology, truth and reconciliation action, and business strategies for a better world. Additionally, he has been a life-long student of environmental philosophy, regenerative economics, social enterprise development, earth listening, world religion / spirituality, and improvisational creative practice (dance, music, comedy). Positionality "I am a white cisgender male settler living on and working from the unceded traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) speaking peoples, also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations. I grew up in Winnipeg Manitoba on Treaty One Territory and went through post secondary education under a westernized system at the University of Manitoba. I acknowledge potential gaps in my understanding of systems change work as a result of the highly privileged position that I come from and am actively learning, growing, and porous to feedback related to my work and how it is being carried out." Container Notes Doors will close at 9:45 AM out of respect for the container that will be held unless advanced notice of a late arrival is given. Feel free to bring any tokens / items that are personal to you to place in the center of the room for the purpose of invoking a sense of connection to nature (i.e. rocks, acorns, leaves, trinkets) Note - There is potential to un-earth challenging emotions during these sessions. We ask that participants show up with an open heart/mind holding compassion and curiosity for the personal expressions of others as paramount. We also ask that participants manage their own anxiety / stress / sense of overwhelm and take space from the group if needed. There are plenty of comfortable spaces in the common areas of The Dock to re-ground. Logistics General Date: Saturday, February 22nd from 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM Location: 722 Cormorant Street - Fathom Board Room Attendees: Maximum 8 participants Cost Sliding scale $30 - 200. The $30 base fee will cover the room cost, simple snacks, coffee, and tea. A donation of up to $170 is invited in addition to the base fee. If it is more comfortable, participants may donate after the session based on the value they feel they have received. Donations will go towards maintaining accessibility for low-income participants in future events. Future Dates This session will run between 4-6 times in 2025, the next available session being in late April 2025 (Date TBD). Climate Paradigm Collaborative is available to run tailored versions of this series for closed groups upon request.