Vermont Students Transform Climate Anxiety into Community Action Through Collaborative River Art

When floods reached the doorstep of Woodstock Union High School for the second time in recent years, art teacher Brooke Piana noticed her students growing anxious every time storm clouds gathered. Instead of accepting that fear as inevitable, she decided to channel it into something productive.

The result? An eight-week collaborative art project that transformed fourteen high schoolers from worried observers into confident community advocates for river health.

"I wanted to see if we could use story and community to build resilience," explains Brooke, who partnered with local naturalists and river restoration experts to give students real-world context for their artistic exploration.

The project challenged students to research how their local Ottauquechee River has changed over time—from its natural meandering state through human modification to their vision for a sustainable future. Working with community experts like naturalist Susan Sawyer, restoration specialist Kevin Geiger, Pete Fellows, and watershed scientist Dan “Rudi” Ruddell, students discovered eye-opening facts about ecosystem health and human impact.

"At the start, I really didn't know much about flooding impacts," admits one participating student. "But as we met with people and learned more, I realized how much impact we as humans have on rivers." He discovered that North America's beaver population has dropped from 400 million to just 30 million—knowledge that directly informed his artistic contribution.

The collaborative artwork depicts the river's journey through time using diverse materials from watercolor and crochet to denim and modeling paste. Each student created their own section while contributing to a unified vision of hope and restoration.

But the real transformation happened in the students themselves. What began as climate anxiety evolved into climate agency as students presented their work to elementary children at the school's science fair and displayed it at community venues.

"I think it's especially important for our community to see it," reflects one student, "because we don't educate ourselves very well on our rivers and how much of a role they play in our lives."

The project demonstrates how educators can address climate anxiety by focusing on local solutions and community connections rather than global despair. By bringing together art, science, and civic engagement, Brooke created space for students to process their fears while building practical knowledge and social connections.

"The more we build community and connection, the more resilience we have," Brooke notes. While the project didn't eliminate climate anxiety entirely, it gave students tools, knowledge, and relationships that help them feel empowered rather than helpless.

For educators considering similar projects, the key ingredients appear deceptively simple: find passionate community partners, give students time to research topics that affect their lives, and create opportunities for them to share their learning with others.

The floods may return to Woodstock, but these students now see themselves as part of the community working toward solutions—a perspective shift that promises to ripple far beyond their art classroom walls.

For additional information, contact Brooke Piana, Art Teacher, Woodstock Union Middle High School, or visit the Equitable Climate Action Partnership at bit.ly/hopefulstories.

Click to watch a video to hear Brooke and her students share project highlights.