Climate Haikus

A Communication Tool Created by the NPB Climate Conservation Corps

Three CCC members explaining the climate change haiku activity to a visitor.

NPS Photo

In October 2023, the Climate Conservation Corps (CCC) joined the National Day of Writing Pop-Up event hosted by the National Parks of Boston. This two-hour event engaged passersby to participate in park-related writing activities.

The CCC developed a haiku writing exercise, with two prompts: climate anxiety and climate hope.

The CCC’s climate hope after the writing event.

NPS Photo

To make the activity more engaging, the CCC created themes for each prompt. The climate hope prompt theme was an apple tree under the sun with participants having the option to write their haikus on leaves, apples, or flowers.

Participant Climate Hope Haiku

Tomorrow will bring
The seeds for new plants & trees
Hopeful one can be!

The CCC's climate anxiety poster after the writing event.

NPS Photo

The climate anxiety haiku prompt was themed as a storm event with an ominous rain cloud. For this prompt, participants wrote their haikus on rain drops. The group aimed to foster a safe space for visitors to express despairing feelings related to the impacts of climate change or optimism for future resiliency.

Participant Climate Anxiety Haiku

Climate change is real
We need a revolution
Help us; do your part

By the end of the event, the CCC received positive feedback for creating an environment for people to communicate complicated feelings related to climate change. The CCC is excited to continue to develop engaging communication activities and explore new ways to get people thinking about climate change.

How to Write a Haiku

A haiku is a short, three-line poem. Each line is restricted to a small number of syllables, the first line is five, the second line is seven, and the third line is five syllables. Let’s break one down:

Let me be hon-est (5)

The fu-ture has me wor-ried (7)

Cli-mate change is here (5)

The CCC chose to use haikus for this activity because of their short nature. However, it can be challenging to get a point across with limited syllables. Below are prompts and a word bank to help inspire your climate change haiku:

Prompts

• How has climate change affected you?
• What gives you hope for the future?
• How do you enjoy nature?
• What is important to you about the environment?

Word Bank

Hope, change, resilience, stress, restore,
transform, action, opportunity, fear, unsure,
overwhelmed, green, renew, sea level rise,
warming, storm, weather, power,
community, together, anxiety, fossil fuel,
energy, mitigation, adaptation,
understanding, communication, footprint,
justice, nature

The CCC encourages you to write a climate haiku or use this activity to engage with others! If you’d like to share a haiku, an example of how you used this exercise, or any additional comments please feel empowered to e-mail us.

Contributed by: Ellie Bychok, National Parks of Boston Climate Conservation Corps Crew Member