Cultivating Hope
Free three-part mini-course delivered direct to your inbox
When
Immediate Start
Where
Online
Level
Beginner
Time
1–2 hours
Money
£0
$0 or 0 €
Got questions?
When
Immediate start
Where
Online
Level
Beginner
Time
Work through at your own pace
Money
£0
$0 or 0 €
Got questions?
Cultivating Hope in the Face of the Climate Crisis
Move through feelings of helplessness, reconnect with nature and take aligned environmental action.
You care about the environment and you’ve got a hunch that craft might just be able to save world.
The problem is that the endless stream of bad news has got you feeling pretty helpless and like nothing you do could possibly make a difference.
Does this sound like you?
- You care deeply about the environment, but it’s getting harder and harder to engage because it all just feels so hopeless
- It breaks your heart / makes you furious that world leaders are making such bad decisions while you’re trying so hard to do the right thing
- Maybe you’ve even stopped watching or reading the news because it just gets you down (but it still finds you via Instgram – or is that just me?!)
- Perhaps you’re a little bit scared of the emotions that you might unleash if you really dig into some of this stuff
It doesn’t have to be this way…
I will share three simple steps to help you reconnect with your optimism so you can feel better AND make a difference
★★★★★
Ceramicist Read More
“I left the second session feeling lucky and grateful. Cultivating Hope was just what I needed – thank you”
Katie Treggiden in the press...
Forbes
Monocle 24
FT How to Spend It
The Observer
Dezeen
Hole & Corner
House & Garden
Design Milk
Crafts Magazine
ICON
Introducing: Cultivating Hope in the Face of the Climate Crisis
A free three-part mini-course delivered direct to your inbox that will help you to:
- Identify and name the difficult feelings – this is not about ‘toxic positivity’ but about acknowledging what’s really going on for you
- Work through those feelings and move them out of your body
- Move you out of ‘fight or flight’ mode and into a calm and connected state
- Reconnect with nature for its proven benefits for your mental health, because you need to feel better before you can do better
- Spend time really engaging with nature to fill your cup and inspire you to take action
- Find environmental actions that align with what you’re good and what you enjoy so that you’ll want to keep doing them
- Audit what comes into your world to protect your sense of hope moving forward
★★★★★
Tapestry weaver Read More
“I’m loving your ability to drive me forward and out of a rather dark hole”
Hey, I'm Katie Treggiden
I sign off every email with “stay curious, imperfect and defiantly hopeful” and I talk about hope and “stubborn optimism”* a LOT.
And yet, even I spend a fair bit of time feeling honestly quite hopeLESS.
I mean, I’m generally a pretty positive person, but jeez, does that get tested from time to time.
And that is a natural and human response to – let’s not beat around the bush here – a crisis that threatens the very survival of our species.
I have been a purpose-driven craft and design writer for more than a decade and specialising in sustainability work for at least half of that time – and yet the most important part of my job is staying hopeful and helping you to do the same.
I truly believe that craft can save the world (not on its own, but it sure has a big contribution to make) and I know that, on some level, you believe that too.
I want you to know it in your bones – and act accordingly.
Read more about Katie Treggiden
(*’Stubborn optimism’ is one of three mindsets recommended in the brilliant book The Future We Choose [affiliate link] by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett- Carnac.)
What we'll cover
Here’s what’s included in this *free* three-part mini-course:
- The first email you’ll receive when you sign up includes a PDF overview of the whole mini-course – if you do nothing more than download and work through the three stages outlined in that PDF, you’re golden!
- If you want to go deeper, you will receive three emails over the next three days, each with a video from me exploring the three stages in turn:
- Name, acknowledge and feel your feelings. Cultivating hope is not about ‘toxic positivity’ or bypassing what’s really going on – they say that ‘the only way out is through’ and that’s definitely the case here. It’s important to make space for whatever emotions brought you here, and the first video includes a number of exercises to help you do that
- Rebuild your connection with the natural world. The research is clear – spending time in nature will not only make you feel better, but also make you more likely to behave positively towards the environment, wildlife and habitats, so I’ll be sharing tools and exercises to help you do just that
- Take aligned action. The best way to overcome feelings of hopelessness is to do something – it’s just a question identifying which actions are within your control, aligned with your values as well as your skills and resources, and will help you to build momentum, which is exactly what this video is here to help you do
- Finally, I will tell you a little bit about The Seed, which will help you define your unique contribution to environmentalism in just 4 x 90-minute sessions. There is no obligation to join, but it is my absolute favourite programme and I think you’re going to love it.
★★★★★
Ostrero Read More
“I just want to say a huge thanks for running Cultivating Hope - it's been a really lovely way to think through reasons for being hopeful over the past couple of weeks!”
How it works
- Cultivating Hope is a self-paced course and everything will be delivered directly to your inbox, so you don’t need to access any new platforms
- You will receive a PDF overview and then three videos to help you explore the themes in more depth – these will arrive daily for a little gentle accountability to encourage you to move through them
- The videos will remain accessible for as long as this course exists, so you can go at your own pace and come back to it as many times as you need to
- Having taken this course, you will become eligible for my *free* quarterly “Ask Me Anything” sessions via Zoom so can get clarification or dig deeper on any part of the course
- All videos are fully captioned and written transcripts and audio-only versions are provided to cater for different learning styles. If there is another way I can make this programme more accessible, just shoot me an email and I will always do my best to help
Your investment
£0
$0 or 0 €
Cultivating Hope is a really juicy, valuable course that I could definitely charge at least £50–£100 for, but I have decided to make it absolutely free.
I really believe that the most important part of my job is staying hopeful and helping you to do the same, so I wanted to put this out into the world for anybody who might benefit from it.
I acknowledge and am very grateful for the privilege that enables me to do this and, of course, I hope that you might engage with some of my paid offerings having taken Cultivating Hope and/or recommend my work to your friends and colleagues, but I also know that you might not – and that’s absolutely fine too.
Whatever you decide to do next, you are very welcome in this space and I’m grateful for you.
★★★★★
Furniture designer Read More
"I just signed up for Cultivating Hope. It feels ever so relevant as I was having a big discussion with my husband last night, where he was all “There is really no point in trying, what I do doesn't matter anyway." I don't agree. But for sure it's hard to keep believing. Thank you."
Cultivating Hope is for you if...
- You are a designer, maker, craftsperson or artist who is feeling hopeless in the face of the climate crisis
- You are frustrated with global leaders making bad decisions when you’re trying your best to do the right thing
- You would love to feel filled with hope and optimism so that you can take aligned action and feel like you’re making a difference with your creative practice
- You are already doing feminist, anti-racist, anti-ableist and LGBTQIA+ inclusion work or, at the very least, you firmly believe in equity and equality for all people and are open to learning more
- You have any specific learning needs that I can support by adapting the way materials are delivered – just let me know
- You are willing to make the time to watch three videos at your own pace and do the exercises
Cultivating Hope is not for you if...
- You don’t believe climate change is real and/or caused by human action
- You are committed to staying stuck in your feelings of helplessness – we all have bad days, but hope takes work and you must be willing to put in the work
- You are uncomfortable with traditionally marginalised voices being centred in conversations. My aim is always to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for everyone and that includes women, people of colour, disabled people, people in bigger bodies, those with neurodivergences and members of the LGBTQIA+ community
- You are not comfortable receiving a series of emails from me – everything is delivered direct to your inbox!
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything is delivered direct to your inbox so you can work through at your own pace and won’t have to access any new platforms or set up any new passwords.
A PDF overview, a series of videos diving deeper into each stage and a series of emails to provide gentle accountability.
Each video is no more than 10 minutes long and most of the exercises can be done as you watch. If you do all the optional extras, you’ll need no more than an hour or two.
For as long as the course exists, so you can work through at your own pace and revisit as many times as you need to.
It is an online self-paced course, but you will be invited to live quarterly Q&As via Zoom where you can bring any questions.
All videos are captioned and written transcripts and audio-only versions are provided. If there’s anything else I can do to make the course more accessible, please just ask and I will always do my best.
Email me and I’ll be happy to answer it!
Sign up
This will also sign you up for my “weekly(ish) musings for curious, imperfect and stubbornly optimistic environmentalists” newsletter too. I never take for granted what a privilege it is to be invited into your inbox, so if you don’t love it, there’s an unsubscribe button in every one.