Why being a climate advocate is one of the best things for my mental health

(Courtesy of Elin Bandmann Photography)

17-year-old student Varsha Yajman writes about her journey joining the climate movement and how it has helped her learn self-care.

I was an 11th-grade student trying to get my head around my senior year of high school when I first joined the climate movement. 

I’ve always been interested in extracurricular activities, whether that be music or volunteering. When I saw that my school had sent an email with a link to apply for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition’s (AYCC) Student Climate Leadership Program, I thought, “Why not?” I learned briefly about climate change in school and I was keen to learn more about its effects on our lives. 

A month later, I found myself accepted into the programme. It initially felt like I was jumping into the unknown. I began attending sessions every two weeks held by the AYCC to learn about climate justice and the organisation’s work holding big businesses accountable and educating people about what they can do to help.

(Courtesy of Varsha Yajman)

Before this, I had always thought I couldn’t make much of a difference for climate change. After attending these sessions, climate change became more tangible and I understood ways I could take action. I could be part of campaigns calling on my school to install solar panels. I could have conversations with people about how much this issue was affecting us, with many animal species becoming extinct and health issues like asthma increasing because of bushfires and pollution. I was slowly starting to understand that my involvement in this movement could be bigger than just taking shorter showers or recycling (although those are important too!). 

After joining AYCC, I joined School Strike for Climate (SS4C), which is a climate movement for students of high school age and younger. SS4C was an amazing place to start organising actions, meeting like-minded people and mobilising thousands of people. 

Since then, my advocacy has taken many forms. I emceed a large town hall gathering to bring together people interested in starting climate action groups in their communities. I’ve spoken about climate change on a few panels, including on a nationally televised show in Australia where I shared a stage with my state premier and another politician. I participated in a strike ahead of the federal election to encourage voters to elect politicians who take climate action seriously — and our efforts resulted in replacing a conservative anti-climate politician with a woman who was campaigning on the policy of climate action.

One of the highlights of my work was helping to organise the September 20, 2019 Australian climate strike with over 350,000 participants. We asked Australian politicians to commit to policies to support renewable energy and limit coal, oil and gas projects. That amazing strike was the result of the months of organising with sometimes two to three meetings a day. We also attended multiple events and conducted interviews with radio stations, newspapers, magazines and TV shows to raise awareness for the strike. Every email, meeting and interview built up to this incredible moment with 350,000 people protesting for climate action across Australia. We could not be happier. 

Managing this advocacy with schoolwork was not too bad initially. Receiving support from AYCC volunteers made me feel that I was contributing to something bigger and not alone. At strikes, organising meetings and training sessions, I met students from urban, regional and rural areas and realised that climate change most affects the people who contribute to it the least, namely communities of colour and low-income communities. I realised the importance of teamwork in supporting each other as we all came from different positions with bigger and different obstacles. But as I entered my last year of high school and my climate fight expanded, managing everything became more difficult. As all my exams and assignments would determine which university I went to, the pressure was on. 

“Waking up in the morning and seeing the notifications on your phone about meeting minutes and answering phone calls during recess and lunch breaks at school while you’re trying to make sure that you’ve done your homework for class creates a strange sense of excitement and anxiety all at once.”

— Varsha Yajman

Waking up in the morning and seeing the notifications on your phone about meeting minutes and answering phone calls during recess and lunch breaks at school while you’re trying to make sure that you’ve done your homework for class creates a strange sense of excitement and anxiety all at once. Reading and talking about the climate crisis all the time can be overwhelming and sometimes depressing. There were times where my advocacy took a toll on my social life, having to leave birthday parties and other get-togethers early. I had to make sure to use my free periods and lunchtimes at school to get on top of schoolwork. But even though I may have not spent much time with school friends throughout 12th grade, I had an amazing and supportive community to go to during every single call that SS4C had. 

Being a youth climate advocate has also been one of the best things for my mental health because it has helped me learn when I need to take breaks and prioritize myself. I began to recognise symptoms of burnout: high anxiety levels mixed with fatigue and lack of motivation. I found that deleting social media off my phone for a bit, turning off my notifications, taking a walk and listening to some music and surrounding myself with people who build me up helps me stay grounded and motivated to continue my work.

Being part of this movement for change has also motivated me to work harder in school and helped me realise I wanted to study politics at university. While it sometimes takes a toll on my social life, it has also helped me connect with people who are also passionate about climate justice and trying to find a balance in their lives.

Although I’ve only been a part of the climate movement since 2018, it has felt like one of the longest and shortest periods of my life. It has allowed me to meet hundreds of like-minded people, build relationships, discover where my passions lie and support my mental health — all while fighting to save our planet.