This doctoral research project was conceived and developed by Hannah Kujundzic, a PhD candidate in Social Sciences at University College London (UCL). Developed in collaboration with Lakeshore Arts, a community arts organization based in Toronto, the project investigates how youth climate activists act as caretakers—not only of the planet, but also of their specific communities and of themselves. The work is deeply rooted in feminist care ethics, a framework that understands care as a political and relational act involving the recognition of need, the assumption of responsibility, the taking of action, and the provision of support or healing.

The project focuses on practices of care and maintenance that sustain and heal, in both human and more-than-human relationships. Central to its inquiry is the idea that young people are already practicing these forms of care, often without them being recognized as such within their own traditional narratives of activism. The project seeks to better understand and give value to these practices, particularly those that are slow, relational, emotional, and embodied.

Workshops and Creative Practice

The workshops were designed around natural dyeing and textile-making, activities chosen for their ritual, relational, and land-based qualities. Kujundzic was trained in these methods during a 3-day intensive summer course hosted by NYCI at Maynooth University in Kildare, Ireland titled 'Climate Creativity: Using Stories and Art to Explore Climate Justice with Young People,' where she developed the ability to host natural dye workshops for climate-engaged youth.

The workshops were co-facilitated by Indigenous community caretaker, Courtney Wynne (Indigenous Climate Action), who shared Indigenous traditions, ceremony and knowledge throughout the workshops.

Key elements of the workshop included:

• Intentional land acknowledgement and collective reflection on connections to land and waters, belonging, and colonial histories.
• Establishing collective intentions and social contracts for the space, including boundaries and shared values.
• Foraging in a nearby park for dye materials (and including local vegetables: beets, cabbage, onion skins) after a discussion on respectful and relational gathering practices, led by Courtney.
• Discussions around why dyeing and slow, embodied practices matter for climate activism.
• Co-creation of textile artworks, incorporating plant fibers and meaningful objects, which were later exhibited publicly.
• Facilitated focus group discussions on topics related to social justice and climate action, the role of care in the climate crisis, and the role of art and creative practice in activism, opening space for debate and reflection.

Methodology

The research process was experimental and flexible, deliberately challenging dominant research formats that are often quantitative in psychology fields, particularly within institutional contexts like Canada. The methodological approach is qualitative and arts-based, drawing heavily on creative, participatory, and community-driven practices.

Participation was recruited through a four-stage process:

1. Community immersion and snowballing: attending climate group meetings (e.g. Fridays for Future Toronto, Climate Justice UofT), community events and connecting with youth networks.
2. A social media and poster campaign shared through climate activist networks, which included a survey to determine participant interest and eligibility. This survey recruited 100 young people (aged 16–25) engaged in climate action in Toronto.
3. Recruited from community immersion and the survey, 34 participants were invited for semi-structured interviews to explore personal narratives of care and climate engagement.
4. Finally, workshops with 30 final participants, shaped collaboratively and focused on creativity, land-based learning, and emotional processing.

Outcomes and Exhibition

An exhibition was held at the end of the workshop series, serving as both a space of public education and knowledge transfer. For example, the exhibition included a table dedicated to demonstrating the process, and free 'How To: Natural Dye at Home' zines available for the public to take home. It provided participants with a platform to reflect, share, and reimagine climate activism through care, craft, and emotion. The exhibition aimed not just to show products but to highlight processes of connection and transformation.

Participants expressed excitement and pride in sharing their work and engaged in ongoing dialogues about activism, colonialism, and ecological grief. Themes that emerged from their creations included: natural disasters and crises (e.g. wildfires in Canada); natural landscapes (e.g. sunsets, stalactites, fields of flowers); feelings of hope and inspiration (e.g. being held by nature); community care (e.g. friendships, family members, climate activism) and the balance of grief and hope.

Reflections & Imagined Futures

The project revealed both the power and the precarity of arts-based activism. While the workshops generated strong emotional bonds, Hannah Kujundzic also reflected on the challenge of legacy—how to sustain the momentum and relationships after the facilitator steps back.

Participants expressed a desire for:

• Free and accessible natural dye workshops for wider youth communities.
• Reconnection to artisanal and traditional practices as acts of care and resistance.
• Deeper questioning of systemic structures—moving beyond individual actions to broader social critique.
• Greater emphasis on slowness, rest, and emotional support as legitimate activist strategies.

Emotions played a central role throughout the project, with hope and grief surfacing as key motivators for action. The workshops became a space for emotional processing, community care, and empowerment—countering burnout and isolation through collective healing and shared ritual.