Climate Wayfinding 🧭 with Dr. Katharine Wilkinson

May 4, 2026

Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson, climate author and strategist who co-founded All We Can Save, discusses her new book Climate Wayfinding. She talks about moving from anxiety to purpose, a framework for inward–outward–forward orientation, and designing leadership and circles to turn concern into sustained climate action. The conversation highlights systems accelerators, participant transformations, and how to gather for collective change.

59:38

forum

Ask episode

web_stories

AI Snips

view_agenda

Chapters

menu_book

Books

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

insights

INSIGHT

Wayfinding Reframes The Question Of "What Can I Do"

Climate wayfinding answers deeper questions beyond "what can I do?" by helping people locate belonging, meaning, and long-term roles in climate work.
Katharine Wilkinson designed it because punch lists fail; people need orientation, emotional support, and sense of purpose to stay engaged.

insights

INSIGHT

Maps Are Failing So Navigation Must Improve

Maps and institutions are failing as the world shifts, so we must increase individual and collective navigational capacities.
Wilkinson frames modern change as literal (coastlines, glaciers) and social, requiring iterative sense-making.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Drawdown Deepened Her Practical Solutions View

Katharine joined Project Drawdown in 2016 to translate 100 solutions into a readable book and learned about many overlooked impacts like food waste.
That work reinforced that many climate solutions already exist and can be scaled now.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Launching Climate Wayfinding

02:42 • 2min

chevron_right

Why Wayfinding Is Needed

04:28 • 3min

chevron_right

Wayfinding as Leadership Development

07:21 • 4min

chevron_right

Katharine's Climate Journey

11:03 • 11min

chevron_right

Project Drawdown and Solutions

22:24 • 4min

chevron_right

Accelerators for Systems Change

26:08 • 3min

chevron_right

The Inward–Outward–Forward Framework

28:48 • 3min

chevron_right

From Program to Book: Circles and Facilitation

31:24 • 4min

chevron_right

Training Facilitators and Classroom Pilots

35:48 • 4min

chevron_right

Examples of Participant Transformations

39:19 • 6min

chevron_right

Meeting This Moment with Deep Orientation

45:06 • 5min

chevron_right

What a Billion Would Fund

50:00 • 2min

chevron_right

Three Things Everyone Should Know

52:05 • 2min

chevron_right

Call to Action: Read and Gather

54:24 • 42sec

chevron_right

Music, Playlists, and Tone

55:07 • 2min

chevron_right

Final Reflections and Resources

Between God and Green

Katharine K. Wilkinson

Between God and Green is Katharine K. Wilkinson's book derived from her doctoral research exploring the emergence of environmental concern within American evangelicalism. The book examines how faith, political identity, and environmental values intersected, including initiatives like the Evangelical Climate Initiative. Wilkinson traces cultural and organizational factors that shaped evangelical environmental engagement and assesses implications for broader climate politics. Her analysis offers insights into building diverse coalitions and communicating climate solutions across value systems. The work blends scholarly rigor with accessible narrative to inform both academic and practical climate engagement efforts.

Climate Wayfinding

Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home

Katharine Wilkinson

Katharine K. Wilkinson’s Climate Wayfinding is an experiential guide for people seeking meaningful climate engagement, blending personal essays, poetry, meditations, and practical exercises. Drawing from a tested leadership program, the book supports readers in looking inward with care, outward with curiosity, and forward with courage to identify sustainable paths for contribution. It includes curated stories of climate leaders, trauma-informed reflective practices, and resources for groups and facilitators to build community-based climate work. The book emphasizes human infrastructure—emotional support, community, and orientation—to sustain long-term climate action beyond technical solutions. Designed for both individuals and groups, it links to multimedia resources on climatewayfinding. earth to extend the experiential elements.

#12079

• Mentioned in 5 episodes

All We Can Save

Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis

Katharine Wilkinson

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Edited by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson, 'All We Can Save' is an anthology that highlights the diverse voices of women in the environmental movement. The book is divided into eight sections: Root, Advocate, Reframe, Reshape, Persist, Feel, Nourish, and Rise. It features contributions from scientists, journalists, farmers, lawyers, teachers, activists, and innovators, all of whom are working to address the climate crisis. The collection emphasizes the importance of a feminine and feminist approach to climate leadership, stressing the need for compassion, connection, creativity, and collaboration. It serves as both a balm and a guide, providing hope and practical solutions for navigating the climate emergency.

#4479

• Mentioned in 12 episodes

Drawdown

The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming

Blaffert & Wamhof (Artist group)

Drawdown is a seminal text on climate solutions, compiled by an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists. The book presents 100 substantive, existing solutions to address climate change, ranging from clean energy and educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. It provides a roadmap to drawing down greenhouse gas emissions and emphasizes the importance of sustainable development and collective action to combat climate change.

#3025

• Mentioned in 16 episodes

ISHMAEL

AN ADVENTURE OF THE MIND AND SPIRIT ]

DANIEL QUINN

In 'Ishmael', Daniel Quinn presents a unique narrative where a gorilla named Ishmael teaches a human student about the flaws in modern society's cultural myths. The book delves into themes such as human supremacy, sustainability, and global catastrophe. Ishmael distinguishes between two groups: the Takers, who believe in exploiting the Earth for their benefit, and the Leavers, who live in harmony with nature. Through their conversations, Ishmael challenges the narrator and the reader to rethink their assumptions about the world and their place in it, emphasizing the need for a new vision to save humanity and the planet from destruction.

Today’s conversation is a special one. I’m joined by someone who’s been a collaborator and a dear friend in this work: Katharine K. Wilkinson.

And tomorrow, May 5th, is publication day for Katharine's new book that’s the culmination of the last 5 years of her work — or perhaps of her lifetime. It’s called Climate Wayfinding: Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home.

It’s such an important book because the vast majority of people are concerned about climate change. But a much smaller portion of people are actively engaged in pushing forward solutions. And so much of whether and how we step up and lean in is about our feelings. How do we move from anxiety and dread into something more like, as she puts it, a shimmering purpose?

If you have questions about your role in climate solutions — how to move from, as the back cover says “ache to action, from doubt to possibility” — Climate Wayfinding will help you navigate toward answers. Let’s be honest, we all have these questions! So, head on over to your local independent bookstore and and pick up Katherine’s book in all its periwinkle glory, or request it from your local library.

Notes:

Katharine’s article in TIME Magazine: The Climate Crisis Is a Call to Action. These 5 Steps Helped Me Figure Out How to Be of Use.

This podcast is ad-free thanks to the support of Future Being, a grant making and special project studio, which supports the healing of our planet and the safeguarding of biological and cultural diversity.This episode was produced by Remoy Philip and myself with support from Jenisha Shrestha.

Alright, earthlings. You know the motto: Take climate change seriously, but let’s not take ourselves too seriously.

Get full access to WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? at ayanaelizabeth.substack.com/subscribe

Home Top podcasts Popular guests Top books