Many AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums receive grant funding to work together to find effective ways to help visitors understand how climate change impacts wildlife and empower them to make informed choices and engage in sustainable practices.
The National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI)
The New England Aquarium, in partnership with the AZA, FrameWorks Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Institute for Learning Innovation, received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to develop the NNOCCI project as part of the Climate Change Education Partnership program. The overall goal of the project is to establish a national network of informal science interpreters who are devoted to increasing effective education about climate change that is informed by current science, visitor research and evidence-based communications strategies.
Participants in the NNOCCI project include professional and volunteer interpreters and educators that are placed in one of three long term facilitated learning groups. Each group participates in several multi-day training seminars which explore communication theory and it's application towards making climate change relevant, salient and meaningful for visitors. The groups also pilot test tools and support systems to help them in this endeavor.
During 2011-2012, seventeen AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums have allocated staff time to participating in the learning groups, joined by colleagues from four other informal science educators and five Ph.D. students from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. More information on this project is available by contacting John Anderson (Project Director) or William Spitzer (Principal Investigator).
Climate Literacy Zoo Education Network (CliZEN)
The CliZEN project is a network of zoos and aquariums, in partnership with climate change domain scientists, learning scientists, conservation psychologists, and other stakeholders received a $1.2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to investigate and implement strategies to foster changes in public attitudes, understandings, and behavior surrounding climate change. The overarching purpose of the CLiZEN project is to develop a new approach to climate change education that connects zoo visitors to animals currently endangered by climate change, leveraging affective appeal of charismatic animals to leverage behaviors that mitigate climate change.
The partnership brings together a strong multidisciplinary team led by the Chicago Zoological Society of Brookfield, IL, including a consortium of ten zoos, which include the Columbus Zoo, Como Zoo & Conservatory, Indianapolis Zoo, Louisville Zoological Garden, Oregon Zoo, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Roger Williams Park Zoo, Toledo Zoological Gardens, and Woodland Park Zoo as well as organizations such as the AZA, Polar Bears International, Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois, and the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University.
Audience survey results have been done in partnership with five aquariums in North America, including Shedd Aquarium, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Aquarium on the Bay, National Aquarium, and New England Aquarium as well as eight Latin American partner zoos belonging to the Latin America Association of Zoos and Aquariums. More information on this project is available by contacting Alejandro Grajal (Principal Investigator).
Climate Interpretation Coalition
This coalition, which evolved from the Aquariums and Climate Coalition, supports the growing numbers of practitioners at aquariums, zoos, science centers, national parks, and other informal science education institutions who are committed to helping their visitors understand the impact of climate change on the planet, especially our oceans. Through a generous grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the coalition developed the Climate Interpreter website, which features key climate change science and communication resources, distributes materials developed by AZA member institutions to train interpreters, and showcases efforts underway at partner institutions. The coalition supports regional workshops and hosts periodic webinars that feature well-known climate change scientists, communicators, and public opinion researchers, paired with colleagues who are putting the latest research into practice. Visit www.climateinterpreter.org to register and get involved.
The coalition also works collaboratively with like-minded groups, including the Climate Literacy Zoo Education Network and the Place-Based Climate Change Education Partnership, led by Colorado State University and involving the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Parks Conservation Association.
Northwest Zoo & Aquarium Alliance
The Northwest Zoo & Aquarium Alliance is a consortium of six zoos and aquariums from Washington and Oregon who work together to identify and implement effective regional conservation actions through ecosystem, green practices, and citizen conservation. The Alliance actively focuses on climate change messaging, volunteer training, and interpretive experiences that are specific to their Pacific Northwest Visitors. Surveys have focused on visitor awareness of threats posed by climate change and its impacts on local wildlife, willingness to take action, perceptions of zoo and aquarium roles in recommending specific actions or behaviors, and reactions to specific messaging. Results help us understand visitor knowledge gaps and what resonates most strongly with Northwest zoo/aquarium visitors when it comes to climate change and its impacts on wildlife. More information is available by contacting Kerry Carlin Morgan (committee chair) or Kathryn Owen (project evaluator).