Create your story of change to spark change

Throughout this week, you’ve learned about the climate crisis. You’ve explored the causes and the underlying issues, as well as the need for urgent action. You’ve imagined the possibility of a better future, and what you can do to contribute to make it happen.

In the previous step, you also learned about the crucial importance of stories for facilitating change.

Now you will put it all together by devising your own story of the climate crisis, how it may be tackled and how a positive future may be achieved. Your story should reflect your understanding of what the main issues are and how they could be overcome. In story terms: who are the villains, who are the heroes and how do they solve the issue?

We will use the structure of the restoration story that was introduced in the previous step, as it has been proven to be such a powerful type of story, and it provides a clear structure that is easy to follow.

To recap, the restoration story is a common pattern of a story that focuses on a cycle of crisis, struggle and restoration, where heroes overcome villains, thus bringing the world back into order and harmony.

Have a go: your restoration story 

Create your story of the climate crisis and how it will be tackled, leading to a much better future, based on what you have learnt during this week of the course. Use the structure of the restoration story, aiming to write around 100-150 words.  

You can use the bullet points below to structure your story or use the restoration story template PDF in the Downloads section. 

• Describe the climate crisis.  
• Describe who or what is causing the crisis. 
• Describe the forces at play or what the “villains” are doing. 
• Describe how the actions of the “villains” drive the climate crisis. 
• Describe the heroes, those mobilising against the villains.  
• Describe what the heroes do to tackle the villains/the problem. 
• Describe how the climate crisis is tackled, how harmony is restored, and how a better world emerges from it. 

Share your story 

Once you’ve created your short story using the restoration story structure, share it in the Comments section to inspire others. Remember, your story doesn’t have to be long; 100-150 words is fine. If you want, you can also share it on social media to spark conversation.

You can expand on your story as much as you like, but we recommend starting with this simple framework to keep it focused. If you prefer, you can also use other formats, such as poems or songs, but be sure to follow the same basic structure of crisis, action and restoration.