Canadian youth internship explores climate change's impact on brain health

A new national internship program is teaching Canadian youth about the links between climate change and brain health and empowering them to create accessible resources on the topic. The NeuroClimate Youth Internship, launched this year by the Brain Climate Equity Collaborative and the University of Calgary’s O'Brien Institute for Public Health, brought together 30 high school students from across the country. From July to October, the students worked with researchers and clinicians to explore the intersections of climate change, brain health and health equity. They produced digital resources for health-care professionals and the public, culminating in a virtual international show on Oct. 18. “There was a huge gap between how we perceive brain health, and the impact that the climate crisis is having on brain health,” said Muskaan Laroyia, a neuroscience graduate student and co-founder of the Brain Climate Equity Collaborative. Laroyia said the collaborative aims to empower young people, who are most affected by eco-anxiety, to be part of the solution. “Recent research has said that the best way to approach eco-anxiety, especially in youth, is not just to tell them all the negative things that are happening but to help them be a part of that change,” she said.

The students attended expert lectures, including a talk from a Stanford neuroscientist and a panel with creators from the University of Toronto’s MedComic Con on creative ways to disseminate information. Their final projects included websites, presentations and short stories covering topics such as how wildfire smoke and air quality affect the brain, and how to recognize and respond to eco-anxiety in healthy ways. Khushi Laroyia, Muskaan's younger sister, was among the participants and said the program changed her perspective. “Before this internship, I never thought about how climate change doesn't just affect the environment, it affects people, it affects their brain, it affects their mental health,” she said. “It really opened my eyes to things that I wouldn't ordinarily think about.”

Her group created a website with interactive guides, case studies and toolkits with resources to help people cope with eco-anxiety and take action. Samarth Yandhe, a 15-year-old participant from Mississauga, interviewed people in his community about struggles with wildfire smoke and was surprised to learn many were not informed about microscopic particles called PM2.5 that can affect brain function. He turned research and statistics into short, understandable text blurbs. “Learning about this in more detail made me think about how I spend my day,” said Yandhe, who now thinks differently about water usage and littering. He now realizes that environmental degradation harms human health, including the brain, while actions to improve the environment can improve health. “If I want to help our community and others, I have to start being the type of person who would change for others.”

Daniela Oboh, the co-executive director of the Brain Climate Equity Collaborative, said the goal is to move research out of academic journals and into the public sphere. “Research is very siloed, it remains in journals, and what we're trying to do is bring that information out to the public,” said Oboh. Plans are underway for another internship cohort next year, and the organizers have already received interest from medical schools and community organizations. The students continue to share their work through ongoing community activities, lectures and articles. “I'm so proud of these students,” said Oboh. “Our future is very, very bright.”

With files from CBC News