Climate Change and Aging: Bringing Community Voices Together Through Dialogue
This spring, members of the Lifelong Health & Wellbeing Lab and COPE Project participated in a community dialogue focused on one of the most pressing issues facing older adults today: climate change.
On April 21, the Inclusive Environments Lab and the Women's Age Lab at Women's College Hospital hosted a World Caf茅 at the 51社区黑料Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. The event brought together older adults, community members, researchers, practitioners, and advocates to explore how climate change is shaping the experience of aging and how communities can work together to build resilience.
Representing 51社区黑料 were Dr. Victoria Michalowski, Dr. Atiya Mahmood, and Mayela Gonz谩lez V谩zquez, who facilitated discussions and contributed to conversations throughout the event.
Using the World Caf茅 model, participants engaged in collaborative small-group discussions guided by three key questions:
Feel 鈥� How does climate change affect us emotionally and personally as we age?
Think 鈥� What supports currently exist, and where are the gaps in helping older adults adapt to extreme weather and environmental change?
Act 鈥� Who needs to be involved, and what actions can we take together to create age-friendly climate solutions?
The World Caf茅 approach creates space for meaningful dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collective problem-solving. By centering lived experience alongside research and practice, participants generated valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with aging in a changing climate.
Events such as this highlight the importance of bringing together diverse voices to inform research, policy, and community action. As climate-related challenges continue to affect communities across Canada, collaborative conversations like these play an important role in identifying practical strategies that support the health, wellbeing, and resilience of older adults.
The Lifelong Health & Wellbeing Lab and the COPE Project look forward to continuing to engage with community partners, researchers, and older adults to advance conversations about climate resilience and healthy aging.