A multiplying number of children are experiencing and displaying anxiety about damage to the environment, flora and fauna, and adverse effects of climate change writes Ranjini Rao When seven-year-old Kyra Kumar exclaimed to her mother, “Mama, I’m a nature-an!” she not only meant she loved nature, but that she also wanted to care for it and protect everything in it — the plants and trees, lady bugs and butterflies, rain clouds and water lilies. Kyra is one among a small but fast-multiplying number of children who are exhibiting eco-anxiety — defined as persistent worry about present and future harm to the environment, due to climate change and unrestrained exploitation of nature. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines it as “chronic fear of environmental doom.” Eco-anxiety in its mild form manifests as worry about damage to ecology, stemming from a deep love of nature. In extreme cases, ecological anxiety tends to cause emotional distress, panic attacks, and feelings of hopelessness. Greta Thunberg (20), the world-famous Swedish environmental activist, traces the roots of her international activism to extreme eco-anxiety as a child. “It’s common in our home to see Kyra reprimanding her grandmother for swatting a mosquito or her grandfather, for smacking an ant dead. In school too she hates being tied down to her classroom and wants to spend time chasing butterflies and centipedes on the campus,” says Rajathi Subramaniam, a Bengaluru-based homemaker and Kyra’s mother. Gopa Bose, founder teacher at the Bangalore Steiner School, Kanakapura Road, also reports a rising number of children experiencing and displaying anxiety about damage to flora and fauna. “As the adverse impact of climate change and human exploitation of nature becomes more evident, our students have become more sensitive and caring towards the environment. They want to do all they can to protect it. In our school we encourage this eco-sensitivity and provide all opportunities for our children to develop a meaningful relationship with nature. Our children tend the school’s flower garden, vegetable patch, compost waste facility and care for insects, birds and animals on campus,” says Bose, also trustee of the Bangalore Steiner School (estb.2011) which follows the education philosophy of Rudolp Steiner (1861-1925), an Austrian scientist, educator and social reformer. Meanwhile, there’s is a growing body of research which shows that climate change is affecting the psychological development of children, and that children in the six-12 age bracket are particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors. Way back in 2018, the American Psychological Association issued a report about the impact of climate change on mental health. It said that “gradual, long-term changes in climate can also surface a number of different emotions, including fear, anger, feelings of powerlessness, or exhaustion”. Therefore, it’s become critically important for parents and teachers to enable children to cope with eco-anxiety. Prahlad Revankar, a Vizag-based scientist and father of 17-year-old Pravin, who recently participated in the Save Soil movement initiated by the Isha Foundation promoted by popular evangelist Sadhguru, believes that the role of parents is to fully support and…
