North Carolina Cooperative Extension Professionals\u27 Climate Change Perceptions, Willingness, and Perceived Barriers to Programming: An Educational Needs Assessment

The educational needs assessment reported here measured North Carolina Cooperative Extension (NCCE) professionals\u27 perceptions of global warming and identified barriers to climate change programming. Survey results from 400 NCCE professionals show 70% are cautious, concerned, or alarmed about global warming. Liberal and female Extension professionals were more likely to be alarmed and concerned than their conservative and male counterparts. Respondents indicated willingness to engage in programming, but need in-service training to address conflicts, gather information, and emphasize relevancy. NCCE professionals perceive lack of audience interest, conflicts within available information, and lack of applied information as the greatest barriers to climate change programming

Cooperative Extension and Climate Change: Successful Program Delivery

The politically charged debate surrounding climate change poses a challenge to outreach and education. A 2011 survey revealed that NC Extension professionals have approached climate change programming cautiously, citing lack of audience interest as the primary barrier—perhaps because the Southeast region has experienced relatively mild climate change impacts, to date. We propose a tiered approach to effectively communicate climate change adaptation strategies to agriculture and natural resource Extension clients: Extension should provide climate science information to early adopters and emphasize risk management of specific threats to clients not convinced about climate change, focusing on local solutions and familiar management tools