Project 460868

This research respectfully involves and engages Indigenous and Latin American communities in improving public health education on climate change. The public health sector plays a key role in helping communities prevent the negative impacts of climate change and promoting healthier and more sustainable ways of living. Unfortunately, public health education has not prepared researchers and practitioners for this task. Many researchers say that a major opportunity to improve public health education is to learn from the contributions of Indigenous and Latin American communities as they have sustained the balance between the health of humans and the environment for hundreds of years. Following this lead, I seek to help improve public health education by learning from Indigenous and Latin American organizations that I have partnered with for years. Specifically, I will work with M'Wikwedong Indigenous Friendship Centre in Canada and Un Salto de Vida [A leap of life] in Mexico. Together, we will explore whether the land-based programming of these organizations can improve current understandings of public health education on climate change. My partners are eager to join this project because it may increase awareness about the value of their work and rally more supporters around their activities. Our research will identify key features of my partners' approach to land-based education. For example, my partners' approach might show how to weave deep interconnections between the health of people and the environment, and reveal activities that support both the vitality of community identities and natural environments. We will share research findings through a community event with land-based activities and three academic publications. This project may contribute vital ideas and practices for public health education to be better prepared for the life-threatening impacts of climate change.