Climate Change and Wellbeing Education Grants provide support to faculty members to incorporate climate change and wellbeing course content and wellbeing supportive approaches into undergraduate and graduate courses at UBC. 

Funding opportunity

This grant program aims to improve the depth and delivery of climate change and wellbeing content in existing courses, bolstering topics such as climate adaptation and resilience, climate justice, climate science, climate economics, climate law, planning and policy, complex systems thinking, and the nexus between climate and human health and wellbeing. 

Grants provide support to faculty members to incorporate climate change and wellbeing course content and& wellbeing supportive approaches into undergraduate and graduate courses at UBC. All areas of inquiry related to climate change and teaching are eligible. 

The program is offered jointly by the Office of Wellbeing Strategy and the Sustainability Hub. It encourages faculty to include course content and pedagogy connections between climate change and human health and wellbeing given that "climate change is the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century, but it is also the greatest opportunity to redefine the social and environmental determinants of health” (The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change).

Wellbeing in learning environments is foundational to achieving deeper learning and academic success. The need to highlight health and wellbeing in teaching and learning about climate change has been identified by UBC faculty, support units, and the Climate Emergency Task Force report. This program offers support for faculty to promote wellbeing in the classroom, particularly while engaging with challenging topics such as climate change.

Details

A grant of up to $6,000 (one-time funding) is available per instructor to revise and deliver materials, activities and/or resources for a course they teach that is offered between September 2026 and April 2028. 

The focus of the program is to support: 

  • The integration of climate change and wellbeing content in courses from across disciplines,
  • The integration of wellbeing approaches that support healthy and effective student learning when engaging with challenging content such as climate change. 

Community of Practice:

  • Grant recipients will participate in 5 meetings between September 2026 and April 2027 (dates and times to be agreed on by the group). This will be an opportunity to share progress on their curriculum project, discuss and learn about tools that support wellbeing in teaching and learning environments, and engage with climate change topics. Building a network of faculty with similar interests in teaching climate and sustainability content is one of the key goals and benefits of the program.
  • We are looking for a diversity of disciplines represented in the community of practice and encourage applicants from underrepresented disciplines in the climate change and wellbeing space to apply.

 

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be current UBC faculty members (Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors, Clinical Faculty and Lecturers) with a demonstrated ongoing role in teaching the revised course.
  • The course revisions must be offered between September 2026 and April 2028 and there must be a commitment to continue to include them in subsequent years. This commitment should be confirmed by the Department Head with a signature on this form.
  • Proposals must include a detailed budget. Funds can be used for a wide range of curriculum development work (e.g., developing new course materials, hosting workshops to consult on course changes, developing resources for online delivery etc.). Funds are non-recurring and non-renewable.
  • Applicants must be generally available to meet five times in person (on Zoom for UBC Okanagan faculty) with all other grant recipients between September 2026 and May 2027 (exact dates to be determined with the group).

 

Timeline

  • Applications close on June 5, 2026. Applicants will be notified about the outcome of the selection process by late June 2026. 
  • Funds will be disbursed in early July 2026 and must be used by December 2027.
  • Successful applicants are required to report back detailing their course modifications and evaluation of impact within one month of delivering their modified course. This will be either through a written report or a 45 minute-interview/conversation with the program coordinators, TBD. 
  • The cohort meetings will be scheduled before the Fall term begins. 

 

How to Apply

  • Complete the application form.
  • Provide your CV (short CV form - maximum five pages).
  • Obtain a letter of support from your Department Head.
  • Submit your application to oliver.lane@ubc.ca.

Application form

 

*The Selection Committee includes members of the Sustainability Hub and the Office of the Wellbeing Strategy.

Testimonials

"I’m hoping to present new content to students in a way that they feel they can do something about it, that change is possible. It’s not always how my field works. It usually says, 'What is the problem? Why does it exist?' and 'What are the harms that come from it?' That’s usually it. But I’m now trying to think about how to frame these problems in action-oriented ways that make students feel empowered while continuing to build classroom wellbeing aspects out."

"I felt really inspired participating in the cohort and learning what others were doing, and engaged in creating more content that is related to my field but addresses more sensitive topics".