Canadian youth are helping others understand how climate change affects the brain

Welcome to our weekly newsletter where we highlight environmental trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world. Hey, it’s Bridget! When I heard there was an internship where Canadian youth were learning about how climate change and brain health are connected, while also creating accessible resources to teach others, I knew I had to find out more. This week: Canadian youth are helping others understand how climate change affects the brain Doctors know that climate impacts such as wildfire smoke and extreme heat lead to physical ailments like asthma and heat exhaustion.

But more research has been coming out about how climate-related events are also harming the brain , and are linked to anxiety and higher rates of dementia and cognitive functioning issues. Neuroscience graduate student Muskaan Laroyia researches how climate change affects neurological conditions — something she has discussed at length with others in the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. “There was a huge gap between how we perceive brain health, and the impact that the climate crisis is having on brain health,” said Laroyia.

Laroyia co-founded the Brain Climate Equity Collaborative to empower young people to do something about it, as they are most affected by eco-anxiety . “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. One of the ways Laroyia and her colleagues are addressing this is through their NeuroClimate Youth Internship , launched this year with the University of Calgary’s O'Brien Institute for Public Health.

The goal is to help youth learn more about the link between climate change and brain health, and then help them turn that knowledge into action. From July to October, 30 high school students from across the country worked with researchers and clinicians to explore the intersections of climate change, brain health and health equity. The students attended expert lectures, including a talk from a neuroscientist from Stanford, and a panel with the creators of the University of Toronto’s MedComic Con talking about different ways to disseminate information creatively.

By the end of the internship, the students had produced accessible digital resources for health-care professionals and the public highlighting climate impacts on the brain and what to do about them. They created websites, presentations and short stories covering everything from how wildfire smoke and air quality affect the brain to how to recognize eco-anxiety and respond to it in healthy ways. The internship culminated in a virtual international showcase on Oct. 18, where the students presented their research projects and answered questions from researchers, clinicians and other attendees.

Coincidentally, Laroyia's younger sister, Khushi Laroyia, was among the students chosen by an independent committee to participate in the program. Khushi Laroyia says she learned a lot about how much climate change can impact health equity in vulnerable communities, such as older adults, people with mental health conditions, and those without access to air conditioning and cool spaces. “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 figure out how to take action. Making information accessible Samarth Yandhe, 15, participated in the internship from Mississauga. Yandhe interviewed people in his community to find real-life examples of how people are struggling with smoke and was surprised to learn that people were not very informed about microscopic particles called PM2.5 that can affect brain function.

He turned research and statistics into short text blurbs that anyone could understand with no prior knowledge of the science. “Learning about this in more detail made me think about how I spend my day,” said Yandhe, who says the project has made him think differently about things like water usage and littering. He now realizes that all environmental degradation can harm human health, including the brain, whereas actions to improve the environment, such as conserving water and picking up trash, can improve people's health.

“If I want to help our community and others, I have to start being the type of person who would change for others.” This is exactly what the Brain Climate Equity Collaborative is meant to inspire — a new understanding of how climate and the brain are interconnected. “Research is very siloed, it remains in journals, and what we're trying to do is bring that information out to the public,” said Daniela Oboh, the co-executive director of the Collaborative.

There are also plans underway for another internship cohort next year, and Laroyia and Oboh have already received interest from medical schools and community organizations. And the students haven’t stopped at the presentations. They 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.” — Bridget Stringer-Holden Old issues of What on Earth? are here .

The CBC News climate page is here . Check our podcast and radio show. In our latest episode : Sixty-five bats dropped dead inside a home custom-built to protect them. What went wrong? For bat moms looking for a place to raise their pups, it’s not the rent that’s through the roof, it’s the temperature. But bat people are busy building them safer homes, from tiny condos with emergency exits to mini bark roosts stuck to trees. What On Earth? drops new podcast episodes every Wednesday and Saturday.

You can find them on your favourite podcast app or on demand at CBC Listen . The radio show airs Sundays at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador. Check the CBC News Climate Dashboard for live updates on record-breaking weather and current conditions across the country. Set your location to find out how today's temperatures compare to historical trends. Reader feedback Last week, Emily Chung wrote about ways to make wind turbines less deadly to migratory bats.

The article included an error: It said wind turbine curtailment happens between sunrise and sunset. In fact, it happens between sunset and sunrise. That has been corrected in the web version of the story. Virginia Call wrote that regulations to protect bats from wind turbines are lacking in Manitoba compared to other provinces: "According to Craig Willis at U of Winnipeg , Alberta's guidelines should easily be adopted here in Manitoba.

Thanks for this piece in time for Halloween, when bat-migration has just ended." Kendyll Woodman wrote: "Thank you so much for the article on bats. I’ve loved bats since my childhood when my dad told me they eat mosquitoes. When I lived in Lesotho in Southern Africa my attic was filled with bats. Each evening around sunset I would watch as they flew away for their night time hunting. And speaking of extinction I highly recommend the novel Beasts of the Sea by Iida Turpeinen."

Gillian Arsenault and John Virag asked if vertical axis wind turbines, like some of the ones in our 2023 article on rooftop wind turbines (see animation below), might be safer for birds and bats. VAWT companies such as Freen and Wind Harvest and some researchers argue that they likely are, because the turbines spin more slowly, are more visible and cause less extreme pressure changes around them. However, Wind Harvest acknowledges that no large-scale studies have been done to verify this.

Got questions, comments or just want to share something? Write us at whatonearth@cbc.ca (and send photos there, too!) The Big Picture: The Super El Niño At the beginning of the year, no one could have predicted just how strong an El Niño would develop. But by June, it became clear that not only would we be getting an El Niño, but it could be one for the record books . In its June monthly update, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center said that there was a chance that the El Niño “would rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950.”

And boy were they right. Here’s what that really means: El Niño is part of a natural cycle where ocean temperatures in a particular region of the Pacific Ocean rise above average. Anything more than 2 C is considered a strong El Niño. Well, the temperature anomaly has risen to 3.5 C. That’s why some people are calling it a “super” El Niño. As you can see above, the ocean temperature is a sweltering 30 C in the part of the central Pacific near the equator used to monitor El Niño events.

And it hasn’t even peaked yet. That’s forecast to happen in either November or December. Why does this matter? It influences weather patterns around the world , with the largest impacts being droughts and heavy rainfall in regions mainly around the equator. For Canada, it means dry conditions in the already drought-stricken regions in the west and warmer temperatures across northern and central Canada. And an El Niño also helps to drive up the annual global temperature, which is already rising due to climate change. — Nicole Mortillaro Hot and bothered: Provocative ideas from around the web Hungry animals and local farmers want your leftover Halloween pumpkins Some southwestern Ontario farms and municipalities are encouraging residents to keep pumpkins out of the trash as the Halloween season comes to an end.

The Great Pumpkin Rescue is an Oxford County-based volunteer group that shares ways people can repurpose their pumpkins, including through recipes, donations and composting. “There are, quite frankly, benefits to the community when you find a locale [that's] going to take them,” said volunteer Bryan Smith. “Southwestern Ontario will grow as farmers grow more food and sell that locally, which is good for us more broadly … because it’s stimulating the local economy.”

The initiative to repurpose pumpkins started more than a decade ago at Northlane Farm in Thamesford, Ont., which to this day collects pumpkins for its farming operations. Now, the Great Pumpkin Rescue group compiles an annual list of area farms that will take pumpkins, squash and gourds during the first week of November. “There are quite a number of extremely happy goats, pigs and chickens who just love to eat them,” Smith said. “We want them to be turned into something that feeds farm animals.”

Beaumont Acres, a sanctuary in London, Ont., has been accepting pumpkins from community members every fall since it opened six years ago. Founder Justine Beaumont estimates the farm has already received close to 100 pumpkins and gourds this year. “Our animals love pumpkins and they’re also great for them. They are great for their gut health and great for their skin,” Beaumont said. Beaumont Acres is home to nearly 30 rescue and retired working animals, including horses, pigs, ducks and a cow.

“Our cow, Trixie, loves pumpkins. She’ll come running across the field for them,” she said. Beaumont said each animal likes a different part of the pumpkin: horses like the seeds, ducks and chickens like the gooey insides, and pigs will eat everything. “Our pigs also love to play with the pumpkins. They find it very stimulating. They’ll roll them around and play with them like they’re a ball,” Beaumont said. “It’s a lot of fun to watch.”

No paint, no candles allowed It’s important to assess the condition of pumpkins before deciding where to take them, Smith said, adding that any uncarved pumpkins can be used for homemade meals. For residents planning to take pumpkins to local animal farms, Smith said it’s important to ensure they are clean and in good condition. Pumpkins should not have any paint, metal, toothpicks, candles, wax or other unsafe-to-eat substances on — or in — them, he