Episode 1.1: Cultivating a Relationship with Ourselves

In the first episode, co-hosts Hannah and Tai reflect on what it means to build a relationship with yourself and how that relationship contributes to and grows from the other relationships in our lives.

Key Ideas from the Episode We Keep Thinking About

• Relationships are essential for sustainability work

• We have to take care of ourselves if we are going to address the heaviness of the world

• We have to be careful not to fall into the productivity trap

• We don’t need to have the answers

• Institutions and society can make self-care challenging

Something to Try

Tai.

I start every class with a check-in with the students. These take a variety of forms, from putting up pictures of different cats and asking, "Which cat are you?" to having students write themselves a permission slip for the day to connecting with course content and asking what structures they have in place to help them during stressful times of the semester. One that I particularly like is the Blob Tree. It’s a picture of a tree with humanoid-ish blobs in various positions, and showing different emotions. Some are sitting by themselves with their backs turned, some are supporting others, and one is even falling off the tree. Every semester, a student will indicate that they are the blob falling off the tree. I acknowledge that space and say that if this course is making them feel that way, then connect with me. I also let them know that they aren’t alone and that every semester someone feels the same way. I’ve had students reach out to me after that to say how much they appreciated just the acknowledgement that they aren’t alone.

A Question to Sit With

What would you like to nurture in yourself as you move forward from this moment?

Worth Exploring

You’ll find our full reference list and recommendations at the end, but we wanted to highlight two that came up during the episode.

Climate Action Venn Diagram by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.

While centred in climate action, I (Tai) have used the climate action Venn diagram with students in sustainability more generally. I find that their process of working through the different categories helps them feel empowered by identifying something they are interested in, where they can make a difference. This helps shift the conversation away from the idea that all action is about sacrifice and towards autonomy, empowerment, and cultivating hope.

References and Recommendations

This list includes all of the sources that we mentioned and our closing recommendations. Many of them are books; we recommend finding used copies or supporting locally owned independent bookstores where possible.

Hersey, T. (2022). Rest is resistance: A manifesto. Little, Brown and Company.

Hilton, C. A. (2020). Indigenomics: Taking a seat at the economic table. New Society Publishers.

Johnson, A. E. (n.d.). Climate Action Venn Diagram. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/climatevenn

Katłı̨̀à. (2026). Mother Earth is our elder: A northern Indigenous perspective on the climate crisis. McClelland & Stewart.

Kelton, S. (2020). The deficit myth: Modern monetary theory and the birth of the people’s economy. PublicAffairs.

Mazzucato, M. (2021). Mission economy: A moonshot guide to changing capitalism. Harper Business.

Munro, T., & Regis, S. (2026). Can assessment be kind? A conversation about a pedagogy of kindness and specifications grading. Pedagogical Inquiry and Practice, 2(1).https://doi.org/10.31542/a0nb4581

Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut Economics: 7 ways to think like a 21st century economist. Chelsea Green Publishing.

Redman, A., & Wiek, A. (2021). Competencies for Advancing Transformations Towards Sustainability. Frontiers in Education, 6, Article 785163.https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.785163

Rittel, H. W. J., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4(2), 155–169.

Sah, S. (2025). Defy: The power of no in a world that demans yes. One World.

Samimi, P. M., & Balser, T. C. (2026, July 23). How to Teach Hard Topics: What Students Say. Inside Higher Ed.https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/2026/07/23/how-teach-hard-topics-what-students-say-opinion

Weston, A. (2012). Mobilizing the green imagination: An exhuberant manifesto. New Society Publishers.

Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., & Redman, C. L. (2011). Key competencies in sustainability: A reference framework for academic program development. Sustainability Science, 6(2), Article 2.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-011-0132-6

Wray, B. (2022). Generation dread: Finding purpose in an age of climate crisis. Knopf Canada (imprint of Penguin Random House Canada).