The Bayou Culture Collaborative offers workshops and presentations on the human dimension of environmental change that can be presented to various audiences, including arts and culture networks, planners, environmentalists, and the general public.  Workshops can vary in length from 1.5 to 3 hours. Shorter presentations are available.  

Cultural Strategies for Climate Adaptation and Migration

Presented by Maida Owens and Shana Walton

The Cultural Strategies workshop introduces the basics of climate adaptation and migration. It has several sections that can be included depending on the group’s needs and expertise.  The premise is that environmental planners should consider a group’s or region’s culture which provides a sense of well being and community connections when disruptions occur, whether people are staying in place or relocating.

Part One introduces climate adaptation with a special focus on climate migration within the United States. This workshop challenges you to start thinking like a future ancestor and asks:  What will future generations wish we had done? The workshops covers climate mitigation and adaptation, environmental economic and political changes predicted by 2030, migration and relocation issues including level of risk, economics, demographics and cultural issues.  

An earlier version of this section on migration was recorded and is available on the LFS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNLX4Rqm9fs 

Part Two focuses on how the arts can be an important tool for communities staying in place or relocating and provides cultural strategies that communities can use to welcome newcomers and foster a sense of place for both long-term residents and newcomers.  

An earlier version of this section, with an emphasis on the arts, was recorded as The Role of the Arts in Climate Adaptation and Migration. 

The full workshop is three-hours long with seven activities that help attendees discover not only their personal story, but their community’s story.  A workbook can be provided that includes sources of those covered in the workshop.   CEUs may be available. 

For more information about how this workshop can help your network, contact Maida Owens, maidaowens@gmail. 

Resources

Arts, Culture, and Climate Migration Resource List

BCC Plan to Plan Worksheet.docx

Maida Owens is a folklorist who directed the Louisiana Division of the Arts Folklife Program from 1988 to 2025.. Shana Walton, PhD, is an anthropologist and professor emeritus at Nicholls State University. They are founding members of the Bayou Culture Collaborative, an initiative of the Louisiana Folklore Society. Through monthly online gatherings and working groups, the BCC connects those interested in the intersection of traditional culture, the arts and science in the face of Louisiana’s land loss and environmental changes. Her focus is on the impact of migration upon our cultures in the face of coming disruption. 

Transforming Together: Collective Pathways for Climate & Well-Being

Presented by dix Moore-Broussard and the Neutral Ground Collective  

The Bayou Culture Collaborative partners with the Neutral Ground Collective (TN G Collective) to offer workshops about using a community-model approach to address trauma by leveraging the strengths and resources of the community. They provide holistic mental health care utilizing nature and the arts. Individual and group sessions incorporate a trauma-sensitive approach to allow individuals and communities to thrive.

Using a community-led model, this approach recognizes that trauma impacts not just the individual but entire communities, and that healing can be more effective when it involves a collective effort and support. Key elements are Collective Healing, Empowerment, Holistic Services, Cultural humility, Prevention and Education, Capacity Building, Resilience Building, and Collaborative Partnerships. TNG Collective’s community-model approach shifts from treating trauma in isolation to fostering a supportive environment where individuals can heal together, learn from each other and build a sense of safety and trust within the community.

The workshops can be adapted for therapists, planners, and the general public. The workshops can be a series of 1-2 hour sessions to meet the needs of the group. 

The Neutral Group Collective also offers various classes online for individuals and several  trauma community support groups, including Vicarious Trauma Workshops, Disaster Mental Health Support Groups, and professional development for schools and educators.

 CEUs available for art therapists and social workers.

For more information, visit their website. Contact dix Moore-Broussard here, 

dix Moore-Broussard is an art therapist, polyvagal-informed art psychotherapist, and disaster mental health professional and a certified specialist in traumatic stress studies, neurodivergent studies, and Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCSTY) with a Master of Art in Art Therapy at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana.