● “I’m a data nerd and what really motivates me is I want every person who is interested in and wants access to climate information, I want them to have access to that in the most meaningful way and I want it to be synthesized in a way that meets their needs. I like that we [Extension] provide that fundamental kind of climate service.” (R04) ● “And so trying to make the climate conversation relevant and urgent and meaningful, but also make it integrated . So it's not something that’s out there that you do your plan and then nothing ever happens. It has to be really integrated with municipal operations and decision making .” (R01) ● “ What farmers want and what we have not been able to really provide is specific solutions for particular crops for particular climate challenges. They want the nuts and bolts of ‘what do I do for tomatoes when I have, you know, ‘X’ happening that is linked to climate change?’ We just don't have the research…” (R09) ● “I think part of the big need both for landowners and for managers...so much that’s talked about with respect to climate change, for understandable reasons, is very regional level. And when people are taking action they need to know on a local level, what is that going to look like here, what do we need to do in my zip code and on my land? And that’s super challenging because we can’t always answer those questions. But I think that’s probably the biggest challenge and part of the big reason it doesn’t get directly talked about as much. Because I can’t tell someone with that level of specificity. Or we can say ‘planting this species will probably give you a better chance but also it’s going to be more expensive.’ It probably doesn’t cut it when you’re making those types of tradeoffs.” (R03) ● “I had people do this participatory timeline of good and bad years and then we [the climatologist and Extension professional] overlaid the El Niño/ La Niña over them.” (R13) Embracing Varied Technology & Modes of Delivery Several respondents have been able to increase accessibility and reach thousands and even tens of thousands of individuals with their C/EW programs by embracing digital technology. Where funding is provided from the institution or college, they have also been able to add value and increase accessibility to these programs by offering them at no cost to participants. ● “Developing short or even maybe longer YouTube videos that could reach a wide audience. ” (R08) ● One respondent has created websites “for students in the Kindergarten through 8 th grade range… The [PROGRAM 1] has done really well, particularly during the school year, some months it may get 200-300 thousand views a month . [PROGRAM 2] doesn’t get quite as many hits but it still seems to be of interest to teachers and students and it is something that can be used either in the classroom or outside of the classroom. So it’s something that I think in today’s current environment, that hopefully students and teachers are able to use these in place of personal teaching .” (R08)
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