what is a Climate Resilience Retreat?
Our Resilience Retreat is a weekend gathering designed to deepen resilience, integrate joy, and create opportunities for rest and connection that ultimately feed our climate work.
Resilience insulates us from stress and overwhelm. Joy grounds us in the values that inspire our climate work, fosters community, and protects us from distress and isolation.
When we are more resilient and joyful, our ability to take meaningful climate action is enhanced.
We modeled our Resilience Retreat after our successful Climate Camp programs, while shifting some of the focus from action and information to rest and renewal. Our Resilience Retreat will incorporate more time for connection, self-reflection, and ideas for integrating rest, space, and resilience into your life and climate work.
“Priceless weekend. Skills I will be using forever.”
The following video highlights our Climate Camp program - it can offer a sense of what’s possible at our upcoming Resilience Retreat on the River in the Columbia River Gorge.
“Inspiring, energizing, useful experience!”
The Program
Our next Resilience Retreat on the River will take place outside of Portland, Oregon in beautiful Columbia River Gorge:
Menucha Retreat & Conference Center
Corbett, Oregon
Sun Feb 23 - Tues Feb 25, 2025
This is a stand-alone and follow-on event to CCL’s Greater Pacific Regional Conference taking place the weekend prior in Vancouver, WA: Fri, Feb 21 - Sun, Feb 23, 2025.
Registration for each event will be sold separately, and links to register for each event will be posted here when available.
In the meantime, we’d love to know you’re interested and can contact you when registration opens - room-types will be limited and will be first-come, first-served. Our interest survey (to the right) also provides additional details. —>
Eastward view of the Columbia River Gorge
“I loved the content, the format and the pace. ”
the Who
Our Resilience Retreat might be for you if…
you recognize that climate change is a significant challenge that can be addressed with human initiative and commitment.
you recognize the value of rest but struggle to slow down and make space for it.
you work or volunteer in the climate space - or have interest in doing either or both.
you believe in personal responsibility and take personal actions to reduce your carbon footprint, also but believe we need to do more as a society.
you’re ready for a renewed approach and perspective to addressing climate change.
you’re up for more joy and sense of renewal - in your personal life and / or your climate work.
The Context
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
”
Climate Camp Closing Ceremony 2020
Climate change is a complex and inescapable challenge that impacts how we live, work, and play. It’s no wonder that we are prone to becoming overwhelmed by it all! While each of us reacts to this overwhelm differently, some common responses include avoidance, despair, and burnout. These feelings can impair our ability to address climate change and its many associated challenges.
We need to lean into the climate challenge with bravery, and balance the doom and gloom with the lighter side of the human experience: joy and playfulness. This isn’t to say Climate Camp isn’t serious about climate change. But serious doesn’t have to be heavy. Climate Camp provides an opportunity to feel renewed in our climate work, build community, and discover the pervasive power of joy.
“Thank you for teaching us how to hear something more real than our own fears.”
the benefits
By attending Climate Camp, you can expect to…
gain skills and understanding around deepening personal resilience
integrate more joy, rest & playfulness into your life and climate work
reflect on how resilience and joy can enhance meaningful action
laugh, giggle, chuckle, snicker, guffaw, or chortle
connect (with people!), and disconnect (from devices!)
be outside, in nature
smell like campfire
THE FACILITATORS
Tamara Staton
Tamara is the Education and Resilience Coordinator for the Citizens' Climate Lobby and the original founder of Climate Camp and our Resilience Retreat. As a passionate teacher, facilitator, consultant, and professional development coach, Tamara loves working with others in a way that helps them navigate the world, embody their passion, and create big impact. Climate Camp, for Tamara, is the realization of many of her dreams, and she’s excited to share it with you and the world. Playtime for Tamara includes off-grid camping in the high desert basalt canyons with her husband, daughter and German Shepherds.
Casey Meehan
Casey is a La Crosse, Wisconsin-based educator, sustainability professional, and SERIOUSWORK certified facilitator of LEGO Serious Play. He believes that joy and delight are our collective superpowers in responding to the world's biggest challenges. Casey is passionate about helping others tap into their sense of play/fulness in service to climate action. Playtime for Casey includes running, exploring the outdoors with his wife and two boys. And juggling. Not at the same time. Yet.
“Amazing work. You’re helping us all and you are made for this work. ”
“This is a truly life-changing experience. It compassionately invites you to find the joy in life, to engage your fear and pain not as enemies, but as friends, and to understand and trust in the humanity of others despite seemingly insurmountable differences. Climate Camp helped me understand that to understand and heal yourself is to understand and heal the divisions in our society. It felt like I was coming home to myself and discovering that the things and people I feared could actually be my allies in facing the challenge of climate change together.”
