Gail Wright

Transforming Climate Distress into Collective Action:

The Experience of the University of California Climate Resilience Course

Thursday June 25, 2026

11am - 12pm EDT/ 5pm - 6pm CEDT/ 8am - 9am PDT

Gail Wright, MD

Certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, University of California Climate Resilience Course, University of California, Santa Cruz;Director of Program Development and Lead Mindfulness TeacherUniversity of California Climate Resilience Initiative.

Please join us on June 25th as Dr. Gail Wright, physician and certified mindfulness teacher, speaks about the University of California (UC) Climate Resilience course.

This UC system wide course aims to transform climate distress to collective action in university students.Using an emergent pedagogy approach, UC professors and meditation teachers co-lead the course.Together, they guide meditation practices, experiential exercises, and small group discussions, and then support the development of group climate action projects.Students develop inner resilience skills, shift perspective toward an interconnected ecological worldview, learn about drivers of social change and successful social movements, and engage in collaborative climate action.

Research on this contemplative based social resilience course shows the course lessens climate anxiety and grief, improves a sense of self agency and belief that positive change is possible for planetary health, and overall lessened depression, anxiety, and feelings of isolation.

Dr. Wright will share key takeaways which may be useful for MBSR/ MBI teachers to encourage belonging and resourcing within Nature and to help mitigate climate anxiety and eco-grief.

Your generous donations help us bring these speakers to MBSR/MBCT and MBI professionals interested in bringing Earth Awareness into their lives and teaching.

Make your donation here

About Gail Wright

Dr. Gail Wright is an outdoorswoman, mother, doctor, mindfulness teacher, and writer. Living wholeheartedly and helping people thrive have been unifying themes of her life.

As a pediatric cardiologist, caring for children in the liminal space of a pediatric intensive care unit and working with people living with serious health conditions, Gail has cultivated a healing presence to hold uncertainty, fear, and vulnerability.She also has gained a deep understanding of the preciousness of each moment and the importance of finding joy and expressing gratitude every day.

Mindfulness practices strengthen our heart’s capacities to hold both the suffering and the joy.Mindfulness practices in Nature attune us to our wholeness and to our interconnection with the Earth and all communities of life.Experiencing this interconnection is key to flourishing.For Gail, getting outside every day is as essential as breathing.She grew up on a farm surrounded by the tidal wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay, and wilderness has always been a source of renewal and healing.Gail is delighted to integrate all of these practices for opening the heart as an Awake in the Wild teacher and in the University of California Climate Resilience initiative.Her retreats and workshops focus on enhancing a sense of meaning, purpose, and well-being through mindfulness practices, reflective writing, yoga, hiking, and outdoor experiential exercises.

Gail expresses love in all her practices- medicine, meditation, and motherhood.Bringing a positive and holistic approach, she is both playful and reflective.Since her time as a collegiate athlete and team captain, she has been a connector and team builder.She has extensive experience teaching and mentoring diverse groups- including patients, clinicians, athletes, writers, parents, teenagers, and youth community leaders.She completed Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach followed by Nature Meditation Teacher Certification with Mark Coleman and then Earth Awareness Teacher Certification.Her life has been greatly influenced by pediatrician and wisdom teacher, Dr. Rachel Remen, and by the call to the sacred in wilderness in the writing of Terry Tempest Williams, Mary Oliver, and David Whyte.

Beyond that, Gail is in her groove at the ocean, bicycling, hiking among the redwoods, practicing yoga, and dancing and laughing anywhere with friends and family.

Learn more about Gail on her website: www.redwoodresilience.com

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