Help help help!!! The world is on fire!!! Pollution is everywhere!! Everything is awful!!! Do you feel like you’re helplessly screaming into the void, waiting for some sort of response from someone who has the power to bring about change? I feel like this quite often. Recent news like the Trump administration’s rollback of the EPA’s Endangerment Finding (which allowed the government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions) at the expense of the health of U.S. citizens, and their “Drill, Baby, Drill” mantra, can make people feel small and unheard. The people who have the power to change the world (for better or for worse) are making rash decisions that we, as citizens, have no power to make ourselves.

Personally, I’m upset and disappointed with the aforementioned policy reversals. Those decisions will be difficult to overturn, provided a future president even attempts to do so. By that point, significant damage will have already been done. As much as I wish I could walk into the Oval Office and demand that the Trump administration changes its ways, I would likely be arrested for trespassing. So, here I am: anxious about the future of the climate,biting my nails as I read news headlines, and feeling powerless, knowing that large-scale change will likely not be made. I keep screaming into the void, and no one answers! Maybe as you’ve been reading this, you’ve recognized similar emotions in yourself. As I sat paralyzed with fear for our future, I realized that it was unhealthy for me to sit idle and overthink. I realized that I had to find a way to soothe my climate anxiety — to turn that energy into action instead of reaction. 

One way I’ve taken action against climate anxiety has been working with Calvin University’s Plaster Creek Stewards (PCS). For over a year now, I’ve been PCS’ Student Relations Coordinator, which means I help connect Calvin students with PCS’ mission, vision, and programs. PCS’ community impact on-campus, as well as the impact we have on our local community off-campus, have been particularly meaningful to me. With my on-campus work as the Student Relations Coordinator, I’ve connected with many organizations and groups dedicated to sustainability and protecting nature, such as the Wildlife Society, the Sustainability Coordinators, Earthkeepers, and more! Working with these groups has shown me that there’s more to be hopeful about than I had previously thought. In terms of PCS’ off-campus work, the idea of local, small-scale work soothing climate anxiety may sound a bit backwards, considering the global scale of climate change, but I promise it makes more sense than you might think. While average citizens may not be able to solve the world’s problems at a global scale, we can make a difference with local projects in urban communities throughout the world. As PCS and similar organizations take action in their own communities, the overall impact of climate change will be lessened. The impact PCS has in our local community has also helped me see first-hand just how many people care about their environment. Over the summer, I worked at PCS’ greenhouse, and would often join the work crew in the city. Occasionally, the homeowners of the gardens we were installing would talk with us about how important our work is to them, how their neighbors were interested in getting a PCS garden, and how they were so glad to be involved in our mission. Seeing the impact PCS has on communities all across the watershed, especially communities that have suffered from environmental justice issues like redlining, has opened my eyes. As I’ve been spreading the mission and methods of PCS as far north as Manistee, it’s been wonderful to see various communities learning from our ideas and making them their own, just as we have learned from other organizations similar to ourselves. Working with PCS has taught me that, as cliche as it sounds, collaboration and education are some of the most effective tools to address climate anxiety.

Connecting my church with environmentalism and sustainability is another way I’ve taken action against climate anxiety. During my senior year of high school, my church’s parking lot was downsized, and a large portion was left as upturned gravel. Historically, that area of the parking lot had been used for shady activities: drugs, abandoned vehicles, and other nefarious behaviors of the like. We, as a church community, had an opportunity to turn what was once a place of uncertainty and suspicion into something beautiful that would benefit the community. After some brainstorming, we reached out to PCS to turn that piece of parking lot into a native garden that would be open for anyone to visit at any time of the day. We wanted to provide the community with a relaxing and peaceful place they could visit when life was stressful and hectic, while also doing some good work for our local environment. After over a year of planning, deliberating, and fundraising, the Fuller Avenue Church Community Centennial Native Gardens  opened in the summer of 2025, celebrating the church’s centennial anniversary. The most impactful element of this project to me was, once again, the community engagement. The garden team is made up of multiple church and community members, demonstrating that the Church and the local community can interact in harmony, even if there are differing opinions in faith. This is also shown in the demographics of who came to help install the garden: Many neighborhood and community members showed up to put in good work, and they still visit the garden every so often. I also invite you to visit this garden as well, if you ever need a moment of rest. You may have noticed that the official title includes the word “gardens,” as a plural. This is because the native garden is located next to our community garden, which will hopefully benefit from the pollinators visiting the native garden. This experience taught me that environmentalism isn’t just about making the world healthier —it also brings communities together. Seeing how so many people care so passionately about their world, nature, and neighbors gives me hope that people from all walks of life will come together and do great things for their shared home.

With all that being said, do I still feel climate anxiety? Absolutely. In a world where the most powerful people in the country are reversing scientifically-supported environmental legislation for the sake of saving money, blatantly lying to the public about harmful energy sources like coal being “clean,” and refusing to better understand and communicate climate science, it’s hard for me to feel like I have any power at all. However, every time I start to feel anxious, I recall the experiences I’ve had. I remember the smiling faces of rain garden owners throughout the city, the community that environmentalism builds, and the idea that small projects all across the world can become greater than the sum of their parts. As I remember these things, my anxiety transforms into perseverance and love for my home. I often think of 2nd Corinthians 5, when Paul writes about the ministry of reconciliation. The world is broken; it will never again be what it once was, but Christ is making it something new, and he invites us to join that work. We must reconcile with this broken world we’ve been given and make it the best it can be.

So, how will you reconcile? For me, reconciliation looks like my work at PCS and at my church. While PCS would love to see you at our Greenhouse Volunteer Days and our other events, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are many opportunities to get involved with environmentalism at Calvin! For example, you could attend the events hosted by the Ecosystem Preserve, Earthkeepers, or the Sustainability Coordinators. We at PCS also recognize that reconciliation needs to happen everywhere, not just in West Michigan. Perhaps you could bring these ideas to your home or local church, or volunteer at a similar organization in your home town. You could recycle at home, start composting, plant native gardens, etcetera, etcetera. The possibilities of reconciliation are endless! Whoever you are and wherever you’re from, I implore you to do something good for your local community in some way, shape, or form. While you might feel powerless against the raging machine that is our greed and ignorance-fueled federal government, you possess the power to bring people together and make a difference in the world-wide efforts of reconciliation.