STORIES OF INSPIRATION
The growing threat of Climate Change and its impact on health becomes more real for health professionals with every passing year. Back in 2022, in partnership with Health Care Without Harm, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments launched the Nurses Climate Challenge, an international effort to educate 50,000 health professionals on climate and health. Below, you can read about how some of the participating nurses were inspired to take action and make addressing environmental health a core component of their medical practice. Click on each image to read the story of nurses from all across the world!
Nurse and educator Floro Cubelo turned personal insight into international impact—mobilizing healthcare professionals across Europe to take climate action. Drawing from his lived experience in the Philippines and Finland, Cubelo has led efforts to integrate planetary health into nursing education, reduce carbon footprints, and advocate for climate-resilient healthcare systems. His journey shows how nurses everywhere can lead on climate—starting with their own story.
At Jackson Memorial Hospital, transplant nurse Caitlin MacLaren turned concern into action—forming a cross-disciplinary climate committee, educating peers on health and climate connections, and driving system-wide sustainability efforts. Backed by Practice Greenhealth and Health Care Without Harm, her work shows how frontline clinicians can lead bold climate solutions from the inside out.
Claudia Zúñiga’s journey from NICU nurse manager to climate health advocate shows how one nurse can drive system-wide change. Based in Santiago, Chile, she mobilized 1,400+ health professionals to take climate action—starting with hospitals and reaching into homes. Her story is a powerful reminder that healing people and healing the planet go hand in hand.
For Robbi Hagelberg, nursing is more than a career—it’s a legacy rooted in care and community. From rural Iowa to the halls of Lakeview Hospital, she’s transformed personal encounters with climate change into powerful, system-wide advocacy. By educating nurses, influencing hospital practices, and connecting environmental threats to patient health, Hagelberg is proving that climate action is a vital part of nursing’s healing mission.
Colleen Groll’s journey from ICU nurse to sustainability leader at Seattle Children’s Hospital shows what’s possible when clinical care and environmental stewardship unite. With a nurse’s intuition and a builder’s eye, she’s transforming hospital systems—from reducing waste to rethinking supply chains—all in service of protecting patient and planetary health. Her story is a testament to the power of prevention, innovation, and care that extends far beyond the bedside.
Nurses can visit nursesclimatechallenge.org and register to become a Nurse Climate Champion. Nurse Climate Champions receive access to a free, comprehensive set of easy-to-use resources that make educating their colleagues on climate and health simple.
- Outline and suggested steps for planning educational events (e.g. grand rounds, lunch and learn programs, staff meetings)
- Sample emails to engage hospital leadership
- Resources for educational events, including promotional posters, sample slides for presentations, regional data, and tips and strategies for talking about climate change
- Easy to use guide for taking climate action in practice and home settings
- Guidance on how to take action personally and professionally
Nurse Climate Champions across the country will use these materials to host small or large educational events (e.g. at a staff meeting) and then report the number of health professionals they have educated. Together, as more nurses sign up and host events, we will get closer and closer to our goal of 50,000 health professionals who are prepared to take action. By acting to address climate change, nurses have an opportunity to improve health on a global scale. Join us in the Nurses Climate Challenge!