October 26–28, 2020 | Durham, NC

Abstracts for Session 3B: Tuesday 10:00–12:00

Session 3B
Communicating Climate: Translating Science for Practical Use
CAROLINA B

Sharing Lessons   Paper or Plastic? The Psychology of Paper vs. Digital Presentations for Resilience Information

Dave Michelson — UNC Asheville’s NEMAC
Caroline Dougherty — UNC Asheville’s NEMAC

The team at UNC Asheville’s NEMAC is working with multiple municipalities, counties, and regional councils of government in the Carolinas and beyond to facilitate the climate resilience planning process. In resilience workshops, we’ve noticed that people are reacting—and connecting—very differently to paper posters than to digital presentations. Participants are putting down their phones, closing their computers, and interacting with workshop materials when we facilitate using paper posters...much more so than when we use digital presentations.

Why is this happening? What could it mean for your work? NEMAC’s Applied Research Software Designer will discuss the psychology of paper versus digital in presenting resilience information.

What's Going On   NCEI Customer Engagement Initiatives to Guide Opportunities in Innovation

Jenny Dissen — NOAA Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites/ NC State University
Michael J. Brewer — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Center for Weather and Climate
Ellen Mecray — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Center for Weather and Climate
Tamara Houston — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Center for Weather and Climate
Annette Hollingshead — Global Science and Technology, Inc.
Najimah Jones — Global Science and Technology, Inc.

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is the authoritative source for environmental data and information that provides a tremendous benefit to the Nation’s society, economy and security. In recent years, NCEI’s engagement initiatives have led to an improved understanding of customers, uses of environmental data, and the documentation of the value of NCEI’s data. This framing of customers and value not only serves as an example of opportunities for organizations in the Carolinas, but the activities occurring in the Carolinas further support and identify opportunities at the National level. The exchange of information from national to regional scale assists in identifying gaps and opportunities in research and innovation in the Carolinas but existing case studies in the Carolinas can also demonstrate the value of environmental data in the regions. This presentation provides examples of the case studies, as well as lessons learned from NCEI’s customer engagement activities.

What's Going On   Climate-Smart Workforce: USDA Field Staff’s Readiness to Support Climate Adaptation

Sarah Wiener — USDA Southeast Climate Hub

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field staff are in a unique position to support agricultural land managers to adapt to climate change. However, there is substantial variation among field staff in knowledge and understanding about climate change, use of climate-related resources, and willingness to consider climate change in their service delivery. In order to provide professional development opportunities that support the capacity of diverse USDA field staff to respond to climate-related threats, a baseline of these factors must first be established. To this end, two surveys instruments were designed to capture information about NRCS and FSA field staff, specifically: (a) the level of knowledge about climate change that field staff possess, (b) use of and familiarity with various climate and weather resources and tools by field staff, and (c) the degree to which field staff are willing, comfortable, and confident supporting farmers to address climate-related risks. Over 8,000 NRCS and 10,000 FSA employees were targeted for the survey. In total, 4,621 FSA employees and 1,893 NRCS employees responded to the survey, resulting in response rates of 43% and 22%, respectively. While the survey was administered nationally, this presentation will include results from field staff in North and South Carolina (n=172), as well as a comparison of these two states to the national sample. Results can inform the Climate Hubs and other organizations that provide climate-related scientific support surrounding climate change by identifying gaps in knowledge and resource use, the receptiveness of USDA field staff to this kind of information, and opportunities to support professional development.

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