An 8-week internship for young climate activists in the church.

The General Council Office, in partnership with The GO Project, is pleased to announce the 2026 Climate Motivator Program.

Now entering its fourth year, the program continues to nurture hope-filled, adaptive, and effective young leaders responding to the climate crisis. In 2026, we are shifting our focus to work more closely with communities of faith, fostering multigenerational engagement that inspires local climate action and strengthens community resilience.

We invite your community to apply to host a Climate Motivator this summer.

Motivators will work from May 18th – July 10th, and will be ages 18-25.

Project Ideas

Need ideas for a local project? Here are a few suggestions:

Host an event that educates your local community about climate/sustainable actions, and how it connects to our faith
Prepare and/or preform an energy audit or retrofit project(s) with your local community of faith
Plant a pollinator, veggie garden, or native trees on your local church property.
Establish a “green team” within your community (with adults and/or youth!)
Connect your faith community with key opportunities, groups and elected officials that exist locally, regionally and nationally for climate action, and take action
Organize a low-carbon creative initiative to boost attention and possibility
Campaign for low-carbon transportation and promote Mission & Serevice carbon offset https://united-church.ca/donate/climateimpact

Here are a few resources:

United Church Climate Justice: https://united-church.ca/social-action/justice-initiatives/climate-change
Faithful Footprints: https://www.faithfulfootprints.org
United Church of Canada Sustainability Report: https://united-church.ca/sites/default/files/2025-04/sustainabilityreport_2023-2024.pdf
Concerned for Climate Justice Newsletter: https://us3.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=ff2087d5fde243a770ed893a8&id=0d61dbd548
Youth Climate Corps: https://www.climateemergencyunit.ca/climatecorps
Canada’s Climate Fair Share: https://350.org/canada/fairshare

MORE INFORMATION

The Four Pillars



Getting our House in Order: reducing our carbon emissions



Raising our Spirited Voices: advocacy and education



Connecting with Creation: individually and collectively reconnecting witht the earth



Responding to Climate Impact: emergency and disaster relief

Role of

the Mentor

Check in with Motivator for a minimum of a 30-minute period every two weeks
Contact coordinators with any concerns about Motivator
Offer space as possible to Motivator (working from church…)
Plan with Motivator a way to present their project with their sponsoring COF at the end of the project
Support Motivator in connecting with local communities
Promote and share news of the program on local social and web accounts

Role of the Community of Faith Sponsor

Provide a project for the Motivator to work on that fit into one of the four climate response buckets named above
Provide space for the Motivator to work (if there is space and it is accessible)
Promote Motivator’s work and events
Provide time for Motivator to present their work in worship, a lunch and learn, or other public event

Role of The General Council Office

Assist in securing Canada Summer Jobs funding for the position
Provide national programming, supervision, and training for all Climate Motivators
Connect communities to the Vision Fund for additional project funding (applications up to $5,000 due January 15 or April 15, 2026)
Provide support to mentors and local project development for communities of faith