Moms + Dads + Grandparents = Climate Change Group

Thanks to Katharine Hayhoe for this Great Idea!

This gap between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day (Grandparent’s Day is September 7, 2025 – but maybe this can be a lead-up!) is a great time to talk about parents, parent groups, and climate change.

Katharine’s May 10 Talking Climate blog post talks about the ‘visceral way’ parents feel about protecting children’s futures and how this ‘motivates so many… to act on climate’.

She offers some good news – including data about how many mothers are worried about climate change and consider environmental issues a ‘top voting priority’.

She offers some not-so-good news – including the extraordinary negative effects climate change has on everything from fertility – for both women and men – to pregnancy, birth, and at-risk mothers, infants and children.

But then she writes, ‘One of the most effective climate actions any of us can take is to join a group. Together, our voices are amplified and become even more powerful. That’s especially true when it comes to parents – because who has a louder voice than a parent?’ (Emphasis hers, throughout.)

Hayhoe lists a number of national and international climate care parent groups that already exist, including (in the US) Moms Clean Air Force, Mothers Out Front, and Science Moms (the post was on Mother’s Day!). You might also look into Climate Dads – it’s a growing phenomenon around the world!

Might your parents rally around climate change? Could this be a way to invite parents into the work of the congregation? A parent group that focuses on creation care would be a great way to engage concerned parents – whether they are currently members or not – and let kids struggling with eco-anxiety know that the congregation and their parents, care!

P.S. Katharine Hayhoe’s weekly newsletter/blog is a great resource for starting / supporting such a group – she’s always got data and action steps that are accessible for most.

She also includes short reads or listening that the group could use as fodder for discussion.

Find more to support a Climate Change Parent Group in our Climate & Sustainability and Creation Care lib guides.