About Tensegrity Centre for Climate Resilience
Our Mission
Every day a new environmental crisis seems to emerge - from burning forests to flooding communities, evacuations, fears, and a lack of clear information. At Tensengrity Centre, this is the work we do. We support individuals across Canada who are looking for support/therapy related to environmental crises. We also work with communities to increase capacity in preparation for and response to environmental crises. And lastly, we disseminate research to provide accessible information and training opportunities for individuals, mental health practitioners, and community leaders alike.
At Tensegrity Centre, our mission is to strengthen the relationships between fractured people in/and a fractured world through therapy, education, community capacity-building, research, and advocacy. We aim to create a healthier planet for us and seven generations to come.
Why "Tensegrity"?
The term "tensegrity" represents a balance of compression and tension elements that would otherwise be unrelated, with an aim to maintain equilibrium between the forces that act upon it. These two unrelated structures (the mind and the climate) exist and are connected through tension (climate anxiety and resilience). This is the foundation of our Institute.
The Five Pillars of Climate Resilience
While typically reserved for environmental sciences, the five pillars are important to consider when we explore the impacts of climate change on individuals and communities.
1. Threshold capacity: the capability to prevent damage by constructing a threshold against environmental variation.
2. Coping capacity: the capability of a neighbourhood, city, or country to deal with extreme weather conditions and reduce damage during such conditions.
3. Recovery capacity: society’s capability to bounce back to a state equal to, or even better than, before the extreme event.
4. Adaptive capacity: society’s capability to anticipate uncertain future developments.
5. Transformative capacity: the capability to create an enabling environment, strengthen stakeholder capacities, and identify and implement catalysing interventions to transition proactively to a climate-resilient society.