When I think about glaciers receding up mountainsides, losing ground slowly and yet much too fast, I feel a visceral sense of panic (Sander-Green, 2021). I worry that the water supply will suddenly dry up in the small town where I live, our aquifer dwindling alongside the glaciers. I dwell on the fish in nearby streams, deprived of the cool flush of glacier water. I envision the view changing dramatically, new rocky outcrops exposed, as I leave my home and head east through the mountains of Glacier National Park. After all, glaciers are an intensely local phenomenon here in Golden, British Columbia – they sit atop the Purcell Mountains to the west and blanket much of the Rocky Mountains to the east. And, yes, they are melting (in fact, under a medium emissions pathway, the glaciers of Western Canada are predicted to lose 74% – 96% of their volume by the end of this century; Bush et al., 2019, p. 12).
In our Masters of Arts in Climate Action Leadership program (MACAL), we recently completed a course titled Communication for Climate Action (CALS 502). In CALS 502, we learned about tailoring climate communications to specific audiences or segments of the population (Hine et al., 2016). One way we can do this is to bring up specific, local examples of climate change (Maibach et al., 2011). To put this another way, we should talk about rising seas in coastal regions, droughts in agricultural areas, and – indeed – melting glaciers where they exist (Sander-Green, 2021). It may seem like an obvious idea, but sometimes seemingly obvious ideas can remain hidden until they are explicitly introduced. It is a learning that I will bring forward with me into coursework and beyond.
Specifically, this learning is helpful in informing my thinking about our team’s design challenge project. The design challenge project is a year-long project in which MACAL teams come up with a concept for a climate action project that is based on principles of open learning. Our team is working through a project that would see the creation of a piece of software that connects students on the topic of climate change. Using the software, students would be able to read about local impacts of climate change. They would also be prompted to undertake a climate action project of their own and then upload a summary of the project to share. Learning about the importance of local framing for climate change communication in CALS 502, I feel confidence in the direction of our team’s design challenge project.
Additionally, through readings in the MACAL program, I have deepened my appreciation for the role Indigenous knowledge has to play in addressing climate change. As an example, Menzies and Butler (2006) wrote about how the site-specific ecological knowledge that many Indigenous people hold can be a critical aspect in seeking long-term sustainability in an ecosystem (p. 1). Although the authors were writing about resource conservation, I believe the concept can be applied to climate change, as well. With this in mind, our team has decided to incorporate Indigenous knowledge directly into our prototype. Local examples of Indigenous knowledge and storytelling will be made available alongside climate science. Our hope is that this will give students access to information across disciplines and world views, providing them with more tools and ideas to help address climate change.
References
Bush, E, Gilett, N., Bonsal, B., Cohen, S., Derksen, C., Flato, G., Greenan, B., Shepherd, M., & Zhang, X. (2019). Canada’s changing climate report – executive summary. Environment and Climate Change Canada. https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/energy/Climate-change/pdf/CCCR_ExecSumm-EN-040419-FINAL.pdf
Hine, D. W., Phillips, W. J., Cooksey, R., Reser, J. P., Nunn, P., Marks, A. D., Loi, N., & Watt, S. E. (2016). Preaching to different choirs: How to motivate dismissive, uncommitted, and alarmed audiences to adapt to climate change?. Global Environmental Change, 36, 1-11. ttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.11.002
Maibach, E., Nisbet, M., & Weathers, M. (2011). Conveying the human implications of climate change: A climate change communication primer for public health professionals. George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Climate-Communication-Primer-for-Public-Health-Professionals-1.pdf
Menzies, C. & Butler, C. (2006). Introduction: Understanding ecological knowledge. In Butler, C. (Ed.), Traditional Ecological Knowledge and natural resource management (pp 1-17). University of Nebraska Press.
Sander-Green, H. (2021). Glaciers in my backyard, the ocean in yours [Unmarked reflection for CALS 502]. Royal Roads University. https://moodle.royalroads.ca/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=822213