Chanah Haigh is an English Teaching 
Assistant. She teaches English to 250 students at Gymnázium Kolín in close cooperation with six Czech colleagues. In her free time, she hosts an English conversation club for students and one for teachers. Outside of school, Chanah has joined a local orchestra, which performs in Kolín and Prague. She takes regular yoga lessons in her host town and has fallen in love with the sport of jumping. As an enthusiastic observer of Czech culture and traditions, Chanah had been excited about May first, a holiday traditionally celebrated by kissing under a blossoming tree. This year, however, "May first rolled around and there were no cherry trees in blossom! They had all bloomed (beautifully) back in March." With a BA in Environmental Analysis from Scripps College, a passion for outdoors and a future plan to study environmental law, Chanah was nominated to represent American Student Fulbrighters from the Czech Republic at the EU US Young Leaders Seminar on Climate Change and Security that took place in March in Brussels.
This March I had the privilege of attending the EU US Young Leaders Seminar on Climate Change and Security in Brussels. I studied the environment and have worked in the field, so that side of the issue was nothing new to me. However, learning about the issue of global security and how it might interact with climate change was an eye opening experience.
Photo: A detail of a participant who presents at the seminar, March 2024, Brussels.
The conference was attended by an even split of Americans and Europeans: 25 each. We had guest speakers from both the EU and the US, from non-profits, the Department of Defense, and a representative of EU Parliament. The definition of ”security” was broad in our conversation. It covered topics from military bases and the possibility of war to public health, immigration, and climate refugees. We spoke of the intersectionality of climate change on race, gender and economic status; how it is marginalized groups who will bear the worst brunt of climate change and what we can do to introduce equity into our climate plans.
Photo: Our group breakout session, March 2024, Brussels. One of the most poignant moments for me was during a conversation on climate refugees. Climate refugees are people who have been forced out of their homes and countries by the effects of climate change: by terrible storms, drought, flooding, and other natural disasters. There are already millions of climate refugees around the world and with climate change intensifying, exponentially more people will be pushed from their homes. We were speaking of the challenges of this; of the question of where people will go, who will support them, when will they be able to return home.
One European participant broke into the conversation to warn us that we have to be wary of climate activists using the threat of migration as a way to push people into climate action. She said that she had heard of climate activists who would appeal to people’s fears around immigration in order to get them to care about climate issues, by telling them that worsening climate change would mean more refugees. Besides being quite upsetting, this was absolutely startling to me as an American and I saw that the other American participants were equally surprised. The idea of using fears of immigration to stir up action against climate change was not a thing we had ever heard of. In the US, climate change itself is denied by so many of our politicians and fellow citizens. Anti-immigration sentiment and the refusal to believe in climate change are too often held in tandem as part of the same political platform for this to be the rhetoric. I realized then that though we face the reality of climate change and its effects as an international community, our messaging and communications challenges are very different between continents.
Climate change conferences, like much else in the environmental world, run the risk of getting depressing, of miring people in our own panic and doubt and fear for the future. This conference did not lead me, at least, into those feelings. We had one day of conversation on these big issues and then the following day was entirely dedicated to solutions. We spoke about carbon capture techniques, adapting our cities and rural areas to hotter temperatures, and how to use clean energy production to increase jobs worldwide. We ended with a workshop on how to craft effective narratives and build grassroots support.
Photo: Me and my partner presenting a social media post for our fake campaign, March 2024, Brussels.
The conference finished in style: a reception jointly hosted by the US Ambassador to Belgium and the US Ambassador to the EU. The EU ambassador blew our minds with an old story about him, Henry Kissinger, and a young senator named Joe Biden. It was an incredible experience to be able to meet such experienced, well-travelled people and to be able to ask them questions about their work. The margaritas were also popular.
Photo: The swanky reception at the ambassador’s residence. At the podium are the two ambassadors and the head of the Fulbright Belgium Commission who organized the event, March 2024, Brussels.
I came to the Czech Republic to teach, though my passion is in environmental work. I’ll return to the US soon (sadly and happily) to continue working in the environmental field. It has been a wonderful gift to be able to keep learning and talking to people passionate about climate change while in Europe. Living in the Czech Republic, in a totally new environment, has made me more than ever aware of the fact that climate change is not a future issue but rather a current reality. The most recent case of this came in an unexpected way and through a very Czech tradition. I had learned that May first is a traditional holiday in the Czech Republic and that the appropriate way to celebrate it is to be kissed under a cherry tree (this is supposed to bring good luck and youth to women). The most startling thing, after hearing about this tradition from a few of my co-teachers; May first rolled around and there were no cherry trees in blossom! They had all bloomed (beautifully) back in March. While I admit to being no expert on the habits of European blossoming trees, I can only assume that the tradition was established because for centuries there were cherry trees to kiss under in May. This old tradition was being altered by climate change, as our unseasonably warm winters and early springs brought blossoms sooner and sooner. What an odd thing to realize, that climate change was being made obvious to me by relation to the cultural history I’ve been learning about all year.
Photo: The trees blossoming outside my apartment. March 14th, Kolín.
The conference was attended by an even split of Americans and Europeans: 25 each. We had guest speakers from both the EU and the US, from non-profits, the Department of Defense, and a representative of EU Parliament. The definition of ”security” was broad in our conversation. It covered topics from military bases and the possibility of war to public health, immigration, and climate refugees. We spoke of the intersectionality of climate change on race, gender and economic status; how it is marginalized groups who will bear the worst brunt of climate change and what we can do to introduce equity into our climate plans.
One European participant broke into the conversation to warn us that we have to be wary of climate activists using the threat of migration as a way to push people into climate action. She said that she had heard of climate activists who would appeal to people’s fears around immigration in order to get them to care about climate issues, by telling them that worsening climate change would mean more refugees. Besides being quite upsetting, this was absolutely startling to me as an American and I saw that the other American participants were equally surprised. The idea of using fears of immigration to stir up action against climate change was not a thing we had ever heard of. In the US, climate change itself is denied by so many of our politicians and fellow citizens. Anti-immigration sentiment and the refusal to believe in climate change are too often held in tandem as part of the same political platform for this to be the rhetoric. I realized then that though we face the reality of climate change and its effects as an international community, our messaging and communications challenges are very different between continents.
Climate change conferences, like much else in the environmental world, run the risk of getting depressing, of miring people in our own panic and doubt and fear for the future. This conference did not lead me, at least, into those feelings. We had one day of conversation on these big issues and then the following day was entirely dedicated to solutions. We spoke about carbon capture techniques, adapting our cities and rural areas to hotter temperatures, and how to use clean energy production to increase jobs worldwide. We ended with a workshop on how to craft effective narratives and build grassroots support.
The conference finished in style: a reception jointly hosted by the US Ambassador to Belgium and the US Ambassador to the EU. The EU ambassador blew our minds with an old story about him, Henry Kissinger, and a young senator named Joe Biden. It was an incredible experience to be able to meet such experienced, well-travelled people and to be able to ask them questions about their work. The margaritas were also popular.
I came to the Czech Republic to teach, though my passion is in environmental work. I’ll return to the US soon (sadly and happily) to continue working in the environmental field. It has been a wonderful gift to be able to keep learning and talking to people passionate about climate change while in Europe. Living in the Czech Republic, in a totally new environment, has made me more than ever aware of the fact that climate change is not a future issue but rather a current reality. The most recent case of this came in an unexpected way and through a very Czech tradition. I had learned that May first is a traditional holiday in the Czech Republic and that the appropriate way to celebrate it is to be kissed under a cherry tree (this is supposed to bring good luck and youth to women). The most startling thing, after hearing about this tradition from a few of my co-teachers; May first rolled around and there were no cherry trees in blossom! They had all bloomed (beautifully) back in March. While I admit to being no expert on the habits of European blossoming trees, I can only assume that the tradition was established because for centuries there were cherry trees to kiss under in May. This old tradition was being altered by climate change, as our unseasonably warm winters and early springs brought blossoms sooner and sooner. What an odd thing to realize, that climate change was being made obvious to me by relation to the cultural history I’ve been learning about all year.
