Institute will show how to craft talk on climate change

There’s a strange dichotomy regarding climate change that an upcoming institute at Saint John’s University hopes to change.

When polled, most Americans believe that climate change is happening and that it will cause harm to future generations. Yet, most Americans say they never talk about the issue.

Enter the Talk Climate Institute, which will be held Feb. 7-8 at Saint John’s University. The institute runs from 5-9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, and from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 8 in the Centenary Room (room 264), Quadrangle Building, SJU.

Most of the institute will be workshop based, led by the nonprofit Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy. Participants will be able to engage each other to discover and then craft their stories about climate change.

Those stories might include someone noticing changing precipitation patterns; a family that can’t go ice fishing as late in winter as they used to; or even a student worried about how climate change might affect their future.

The goal of the institute is to inspire and equip people to have conversations within their communities or with elected officials to spark climate action.

Abbot John Klassen, OSB, of Saint John’s Abbey will be opening the institute. Kyhl Lyndgaard, director of First-Year Seminar and the Writing Center at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University will introduce storytelling. Corrie Grosse, assistant professor of environmental studies at CSB and SJU, will present on social science and the social justice dimensions of climate change.

A panel of CSB/SJU students will also be presenting on climate action, and CSB student Faith Gronda will be giving a land acknowledgment as well. A land acknowledgement is a way to show respect to indigenous peoples and briefly note their historical and ongoing connection to the land we are located on.

There is no cost for CSB and SJU students to attend the conference. Registration is $20 for CSB/SJU faculty, staff and the general public, and $5 for monastic members. Scholarships are available to offset the cost.

The institute includes a light pizza dinner on Feb. 7 and a midmorning snack on Feb. 8.

The registration deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 5.