Tools to Save Our Home Planet: A Changemaker's Guidebook

by Patagonia, edited by Nick Mucha, Jessica Flint, and Patrick Thomas, 2025. Paperback, 431 pages.

A Global Guidebook for Activism in the Age of Climate Chaos and Social Injustice

Safe and effective activism has always required smart strategic planning, clear goals and creative tactics, and careful and detailed preparation. Without these, activists can end up injured, penalized, or jailed. If anything, these risks are greater today as powerful forces in government and industry resist the big changes needed to slow the climate crisis and keep Earth livable for generations to come.

Tools to Save Our Home Planet: A Changemaker’s Guidebook reflects the wisdom and best advice from activists working in today’s volatile world. A go-to resource for driving change, it offers timely and relevant insights for purpose-aligned work. It is intended as a primer for those new to activism and a refresher for seasoned activists wanting to learn from their peers. The hope is that this book will be put to work, become dog-eared and scribbled in—a reassuring and inspirational companion to the environmental and justice movements that we desperately need as a society.

In 1994, Patagonia invited representatives from 75 grassroots nonprofit organizations to gather and learn from active experts how to be more effective at what they do. Through this ongoing conference as well as years of funding these organizations, Patagonia has helped thousands of activists make the changes they envision for the world.

In 2016, Patagonia published Tools for Grassroots Activists, a compilation of presentations from the Tools conferences, accompanied by case studies and inspiring essays from environmental leaders.

The world since then has changed in profound ways, and so a new set of tools is required for the world we now occupy. Tools to Save Our Home Planet: A Changemaker’s Guidebook captures the wisdom and best advice from activists in the field, creating a resource for any organization hoping to hone core skills. The lessons and examples it shares are as current, diverse, and global as the changemakers working around the world.

At a high level, the book’s structure echos an activist’s journey. It begins with self-reflection, essays prompting readers to identify their purpose and clarify their cause. The focus shifts to the inner workings of an organization or campaign—how to create a communications strategy; organize people, and fundraise—before taking an outward look at creating momentum through mobilizing and events, using political tools, collaborating with other people and organizations, and taking legal action. The book culminates with a chapter all about movements: How combining purpose, effective organizations, and momentum can create a tidal wave that can change the world.

A go-to resource for driving change, offering anyone who is passionate about environmental and social justice a timely and relevant resource to support their mission-aligned work, this book is intended for both those who are new to taking action and seasoned activists and community organizers who want to learn how others are finding success.The hope is that it will become dog-eared and scribbled in -- a reassuring and resourceful companion to the environmental and environmental justice movements.