About Us

Climate Recentered is made up of four youth members, who all had climate organizing experiences. As people of colour in the climate movement, we have been tokenized, received microaggressions and elitism in predominantly white environmental organizations. Climate Recentered was formed to recenter the voices in the climate movement to BIPOC folks and to bring accessible educational resources. Our main goals are to reshape the white narrative of climate organizing, create a community of care built around mutual aid, and to bring marginalized and racialized populations to the forefront of climate discussions.

Prioritizing place-based organizing, we work within our communities in Surrey that have been historically under-resourced and undervalued. As one of the fastest-growing, most diverse, youth-filled cities in Canada, we dedicate our organizing to creating and maintaining compassionate communities of care that are resilient to injustice in all of it’s forms.

  • Prioritizing accessible, engaging, and circular learning strategies, Climate Recentered offers a wide variety of community consultations to schools, clubs, organizations, and businesses of all sizes.
    We primarily focus on:

    • Working with young people to develop community initiatives to serve their schools and neighbourhoods.

    • Basic climate justice and community care frameworks for elementary school students, working to develop short or long-term projects with students that grow their critical problem solving, interpersonal communication, and creative thinking skills.

    • Consultations and curated resources for businesses looking to be more environmentally and locally friendly.

    • Workshops and discussion circles surrounding climate grief and anxiety where participants can collectively grieve, process, and heal.

    • Working with climate groups on how to tangibly incorporate intersectional and decolonial climate justice frameworks into their work.

    We’re dedicated to meeting people where they’re at and are happy to work with the specific needs and goals of a group that go beyond aforementioned work.

  • From our Community Fair Festivals initiative to our monthly potlucks, we know that some of the most important streets to take to in times of crisis are the ones we live, work, and learn on. Not just with signs and megaphones, but with a hot meal for your neighbour, a ride to the doctor’s office for a colleague, and offers of kindness that come from the same place of unity and solidarity that mass mobilizations do.

    An extra 5 dollars will always be best put towards people directly, and so do us a favour and buy someone (whether that be friend, family, or a complete stranger) a coffee today ;)

  • “If you could give/build anything at all for your community, with unlimited time and resources, what would it be?” is the question that guided months of research engaging with Surrey residents. Alongside this question, we looked in depth at how residents have coped with the pandemic, the rising cost of groceries and food, and recent extreme weather events.

    Our method of outreaching to participants primarily came from community engagement that also served as both the incubators and actualizations of the ideas of community members. For example, our youth basketball tournament was thought of by youth we had previously engaged with in high schools, who has expressed interest in converting parking lots into courts when they were not in use.

    We’re currently writing and illustrating at thorough report on our research for public availability— stay tuned!

Meet the Team

Dana Cachero is a 17-year-old first generation immigrant from the Philippines who attends Guildford Park Secondary School. She has been involved with the climate movement for almost two years in Sustainabiliteens; attending workshops and to assist with climate actions. Aside from climate organizing, she is involved in her school community - with co-leading the school’s Social Justice & Equity Club.

Arshia Uppal is a 21-year-old second generation settler. She entered the climate organizing space three years ago starting off with groups such as Sustainabiliteens and Climate Clock. Aside from Climate Recentered, she is currently organizing with Climate Justice UBC, Climate Hub, and the Social Justice Centre. Arshia’s work revolves around the idea of incorporating intersectionality and equity into community organizing.

Zoha Faisal is a 16-year-old, second generation Pakistani settler attending Princess Margaret Secondary. She started her journey in the climate movement a year ago when she joined her highschool’s Green Team. Since then, she’s become involved with other youth climate justice organizations and focuses on bringing community, hope, and joy into her work.

Naisha Khan is a 20-year-old second generation, Bangladeshi settler traditionally residing on occupied and traditional Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo land. She has been organizing within the climate justice movement for two years, starting off by writing environmental poetry. She has been involved with Sustainabiliteens, Climate Strike Canada, and Banking on a Better Future.