Interpreting Climate Change

Draft -- this competency is under development -- watch this space for the new draft curriculum coming in 2013!

Competency Description (Draft)

Climate change interpretation can occur in many venues and formats of personal services and media and should be strategically integrated into the site’s overall interpretive programming. To be interpretive, these programs and products will move beyond presenting facts and information about climate change to facilitate opportunities for audience members to form their own intellectual and emotional connections with the meanings of this critical issue and its relationship to the site’s resources and stories, along with providing contextual awareness of the broader regional and global relationships and implications. To be fully effective, climate change interpretation will help audience members find personal aspects of relevance that encourage them to care about this issue. As appropriate, interpretive efforts will also prompt audience members to consider ways they can act and partner with the parks and their communities to make a positive difference. Through the lens of national parks, interpretation can help shape the national dialog about climate change.

Building on a solid grounding in the fundamentals of interpretive theory, interpreters will acquire and apply knowledge of climate science and the scientific process, along with thorough knowledge of audience beliefs and multiple perspectives. Interpreters will employ sophisticated interpretive techniques that facilitate opportunities for reflection, expression, dialogue, participation and interaction. Interpreters will proactively handle controversy in a professional and respectful manner, and embrace its interpretive potential. They will appropriately represent the National Park Service and avoid the introduction of personal or political bias.

Competency Standard (Draft)

To be successful interpreting climate change, interpreters will:

•  Understand and communicate the essential principles of climate science, based on an understanding of the scientific process
• Stay current on climate change science and social science through personal study and relationships with experts
• Synthesize current climate change science and communicate its intricacies to the public in an accurate and interpretive way
• Understand and effectively communicate the National Park Service’s climate change strategy and mitigation efforts
• Understand how climate change affects their site and/or how the climate change story can relate to their site’s significance
• Be able to connect their park’s climate change story to global climate change
• Use interactions with visitors to gain a greater knowledge of visitors’ interests, beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and perspectives about climate change and adapt interpretive opportunities accordingly
• Use advanced interpretive facilitation techniques to connect visitors to the significance and relevance of climate change
• Create opportunities for visitors to reflect on the impacts of climate change on park resources and their personal lives, safely express their beliefs and opinions, participate in climate change science and mitigation at the park, and take action
• Be able to effectively and tactfully talk about and handle a controversial topic with the public, and appropriately utilize the interpretive potential of controversy
• Represent the policies and position of the NPS while keeping personal biases and beliefs out of interpretive services