Climate change and global warming issues are quickly reaching a critical level affecting each of us as well as the world every day. From enabling extreme weather, sea level increases from glacial melting and flooding, affecting farming and food production, and the increasing health risks such as asthma in children, we, as interpreters, interpretive organizations and agencies, museums and zoo educators have to do a better job in interpreting climate issues to our visitors. We need to do this particularly at the grass root level, for our own visitors raising awareness of problems and de-bunking myths.

Course Goals
It is the focus of this course to help empower you to be an effective climate change educator, community interpretive resource, and developer/presenter of interpretive programs, media, and services to inspire your visitors to learn more about how climate change will, or currently does, affect them and their families personally, and inspire them to take active steps at home to help reduce the affects of climate change.

Participant Outcomes
Participants will:

• Better understand the science and research into climate change and global warming.
• Review interpretive principles and techniques you can use to interpret climate change issues.
• Review studies and resources in how climate change affects fires and extreme weather.
• Review studies and resources in how international rain forest and forest clearing and burning to create agricultural fields can affect our climate today and into the future.
• Understand how glacial melting is and will continue to affect sea level rise, and that affect (currently and in the future) on coastal cities and communities.
• Review how climate change may be affecting your local parks, farmland, natural habitats, and weather issues today and possibly into the future (Your personal focus on developing interpretation address local issues).
• Developing your theme(s) and interpretive objectives you would like to climate change interpretation to address and illustrate.
• Understand your audience (market groups – local, tourists, school groups, etc.).
• Develop planning for the kinds of interpretive media you would like to use to illustrate your interpretive theme and accomplish your objectives (live walks or hikes, self-guiding media, museum or interpretive center exhibits, interpretive panels, web site with on –line library, outdoor demonstration areas, and other interpretive services).
• Use and review interpretive writing techniques to interpret “the rest of the stories” for copy/text for climate change interpretive media.
• Develop your personal, agency or organizations climate change interpretation implementation strategy and phasing priorities.
• Do it – be prepared with the FACTS and teaching aides – get feedback – are your objectives being accomplished?
• Keeping current and support organizations to help you keep improving and updating your work and media development.