Bike trip raising climate-change awareness
My family’s adventure started eight years ago, when we moved to Northern France. Who would have known back then that it would lead me to go home (back to the USA) to cycle more than 3,000 miles up the East Coast to raise awareness about the climate crisis?
It all started when we sold our second car. We started to walk and bike more often, buy local produce and reduce our waste. Then one summer two years later, we biked to Amsterdam for a family vacation.
That feeling of freedom we got from this bike trip was invigorating. We travelled with just a small bike pack for two weeks, had little to no phone access and stayed in people’s homes overnight through a nonprofit organization called Friends after Biking.
This was a transformative experience for all of us. It really made us think about what was important. I knew from that moment on that I had to change jobs. I wanted to do something that had meaning. I resigned a year later, in 2020.
When COVID hit, I had just participated in a workshop with Climate Fresk, a French nonprofit aiming to raise public awareness about climate change. I became a trainer for Climate Fresk, and after three years of facilitating workshops in companies, for cities, for nonprofits, in universities and in schools, I was hooked.
As a facilitator I saw that every workshop was unique. Every participant left the room motivated to contribute in some different and exciting way. I noticed that everyone left the workshop with three things in common:
● They understood the root causes and consequences of climate change.
● They understood that the work they need to do is for current and future generations.
● They understood that we all need to act together. Change is hard. When we feel comfortable in our day-to-day lives, it seems hard or undesirable to change. Yet change is often an opportunity and only those who take that road truly get to realize it.
The Climate Fresk initiative grew and grew, reaching its goal of 1 million participants in April 2023. That’s when I knew it was time to do something bold. We had to spread the Climate Fresk word and the other educational workshops, too. The seed of an idea for a tour took hold and quickly grew.
The mission would be to facilitate workshops and stay with local people to create meaningful encounters. We started in South Florida on March 1 with the plan of travelling through 58 cities up the East Coast through June 5. One of my sons is documenting the route with photos and videos while I facilitate workshops. The goal is to help as many people as possible to understand the climate crisis.
I invite you to join in the rising tide of Climate Fresk. No one wants to do it alone, so bring others with you. A strong social dynamic is key to a positive change in society. The unthinkable isn’t impossible.
Heather Noreen is the founder of Climate Tours, a nonprofit NGO that empowers experienced facilitators to offer free public workshops about climate change. This opinion piece was distributed by The Invading Sea website (www.theinvadingsea.com), which posts news and commentary on climate change and other environmental issues affecting Florida.