Climate conversations to encourage action

These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity.

Smiely Khurana’s online platform, The Sustainable Act, showcases thoughtful storytelling about the climate crisis, and encourages us to appreciate each other and take action to protect what we love. With her team of volunteers, this 26-year-old Vancouverite hosts a podcast with a global audience, publishes a blog, Instagram posts and reels, and invites us to face-to-face conversations at climate cafes.

Tell us about your project. 

Each offering is different. On the podcast, I host inspirational climate leaders. My background is in sustainable film production, so I have chatted with groups intent on greening that industry like Earth Angel and the Entertainment and Culture Pavilion. I have interviewed the convenor of The Music of Junk who composes, conducts and convenes an orchestra playing instruments made from objects that would otherwise be in the landfill. I hosted the founder of Alberta’s  The Earth Group, which markets aluminium water bottles and uses the profits to buy school meals in the Global South. 

We have recently started publishing the podcast in video. 

The blog lifts up stories of sustainable leaders in the arts of various kinds, such as Gunjan Nanda, co-founder of the Dubai Climate Collective. Our columnists also publish tips for making every-day life sustainable. It is a platform that invites others to contribute.

Our social media posts like this, and this, invite engagement by making it fun to talk about these issues. 

In May 2024, we began running climate cafes. These are small, intimate gatherings of a few people who are experiencing eco-anxiety or climate grief and want a safe place to share with others. I am excited that we have now attracted sufficient funding from the Lawson Foundation to allow us to take this national. 

How did you get into this work?

I love film and the arts. I worked at Reel Green™ - Creative BC leading efforts to lower the carbon and environmental impacts of the film industry. I wanted to use my knowledge of the industry and arts production to reach a more diverse audience. To this point, I have been doing it as a volunteer but now we are well-enough established that it has become my full time gig.

What makes it hard?

Funding is always a challenge. But having a diversity of offerings allows others to contribute as volunteers, and funders can choose which projects to support. This makes funding for the whole more sustainable.

What gives you hope?

The people I meet and work with. In March 2024, I had the good fortune to attend the Youth Environmental Changemakers Summit organized by The Starfish Canada. I was so inspired. Sometimes, it can feel as if the world’s burdens are on our shoulders but spending time with the courageous leaders there and at other groups, like CityHive Vancouver, reminds me that we are all working together. 

What do you see if we get this right? 

I have to ask who is “we.” My vision is a world where all voices and experience count. I see a world where the young people who are currently changing the world move into leadership, while staying true to their values. If that happens, we will have a beautiful sustainable equitable world.

Do you think the way you were raised affects where you are now?

I grew up in Abbotsford, B.C. As far back as I can remember, I have been acting to protect the environment and our climate, but it was the floods in 2021 that really galvanized me. Half our town was under water. I moved from feeling as if I was able to quietly do my best and that was enough, to having a sense of urgency and asking how we can collectively influence decision-makers fast enough. 

Do you have any advice for other young people?

Don't feel you must be bound to a traditional career path. If you see a problem, speak up. Yes, you are young and perhaps, you are feeling like you might not matter for that or other reasons. But your voice does count. Young people who refuse to remain silent have created movements that are changing the world. 

What about older people?

Support young people. Use your wisdom, money, time and access to lift us up.