Background: 

Older adults and people living with dementia are disproportionately affected by climate change, yet they remainlargely excluded from mainstream environmental action and policy development. In response, Climate Wisdom is an innovative initiative that empowers people living with dementia, their care partners, and communities to co-lead climate resilience and environmental justice efforts. The project builds on evidence from Healthy Ageing in a Changing Climate (Woolrych, Haq & Later, 2023), which emphasises that “climate responses will fail if they do not engage older people in a meaningful way.” By embedding climate action within dementia-inclusive settings, Climate Wisdom positions lived experience as central to environmental transformation. 

Methods: 

The initiative is embedded within Scotland’s Meeting Centres network and delivered across rural, urban, and coastal areas. It supports five interconnected strands: (1) participatory storytelling and environmental arts to surface lived experience, (2) ambassador training to support emerging leaders living with dementia, (3) intergenerational learning events to share climate knowledge and strengthen relationships, (4) community-led Climate Action and Resilience Plans, and (5) co-produced resources designed for national scaling. A mixed-methods evaluation approach is being implemented, incorporating pre/post engagement surveys, in-depth interviews, observational feedback, and community-level sustainability indicators. 

Results: 

 This paper presents preliminary findings from the early stages of the evaluation, focusing on how people living with dementia, alongside care partners, experience climate-related activities within Meeting Centres. Early insights suggest that participation in dementia-friendly, climate-focused activities may support aspects of wellbeing, while also shaping how participants relate to environmental issues. Findings also begin to identify how Meeting Centres function as community resilience spaces, with implications for social participation, everyday low-carbon practices and local preparedness across diverse geographical contexts. 

Conclusion: 

Climate Wisdom offers a rights-based, scalable model for inclusive climate action rooted in dementia-informed practice. By integrating environmental engagement within dementia care infrastructure, the initiative enhances individual agency, fosters social cohesion, and promotes sustainable behaviour change. It provides a replicable framework for other regions aiming to ensure that people living with dementia are not only protected from climate impacts but also empowered to shape a sustainable and just future.