| "Many communities are struggling with how to effectively get the message out about climate change." | |
| Missy Stults, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability |
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Coastal resource managers often joke that it is the same 20 to 30 people who are engaged in environmental issues in their communities. As more and more coastal areas feel the effects of climate change, reaching a broader audience with information and inspiring action is becoming even more important.
"Many communities are struggling with how to effectively get the message out about climate change," says Missy Stults, senior program officer for ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. "They are unsure of how to convey the facts or inspire the action that needs to be taken. A lot of people don't know what's going on."
To help communities engage the public in their climate protection efforts, ICLEI has created an "Outreach and Communications Guide." The guide, Stults says, can support coastal management efforts to "create successful community outreach campaigns, reach out to local media, host climate action events, and develop materials that reflect local circumstances and inspire local climate action."
Published on-line in January, the 39-page guide contains an array of steps and methodologies for communication and outreach efforts. The guide provides information on general communications strategies, communications myths and facts, ways to identify audiences, and climate-specific communication.
The guidebook also features examples of communications strategies that have been successfully implemented in communities around the country. "That's really the heart of the guidebook," Stults says. "We looked to our members to find examples of what has worked."
In addition, ten communities worked with ICLEI to help develop the guide by selecting the content focus and providing guidance and feedback. Futerra, a London-based communications company focused on sustainability and corporate responsibility, also vetted the guide.
Stults cautions that because the topic of communications is so broad, the guide focuses on ways to distribute a message but does not include information on gathering feedback from constituents.
She also notes that examples provided in the guide thus far focus on climate change mitigation efforts, where communities are working to reduce sources of greenhouse gases, but that the communications methodologies presented would also apply to actions that managers are taking to help communities and ecosystems adapt to changing climate conditions.
"What's nice about the guide," Stults says, "is that it's a living document, and we will continue putting examples on-line as our members use the guide and e-mail us stories. The guide will evolve over time."
She adds, "The challenge is that we could spend years developing a guide on such an important topic. We had to stop and say ‘this is good enough for now,' and I think the result is a pretty solid launching pad for engaging your community in climate protection."
To download ICLEI's "Outreach and Communications Guide," point your browser to www.icleiusa.org/action-center/engaging-your-community/outreach-and-communications-guide. For more information, you may contact Missy Stults at (617) 960-3420, ext. 203, or melissa.stults@iclei.org.
