Communicating Climate Change

Climate change communication is an emerging field that requires a multidisciplinary understanding of both climate and social science. Communicating with underrepresented woodland owners about climate change, specifically climate change adaptation in forestry applications, necessitates appropriately adjusted approaches. In Central Appalachian Kentucky, outreach with underrepresented woodland owners on forest adaptation topics has not been examined in depth. The recent establishment of an Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change research site in the University of Kentucky’s Robinson Forest has created an opportunity to generate regionally specific climate adaptation information for Appalachian Kentucky forests. It is imperative to investigate how best to approach communicating these climate adaptive silviculture concepts to private woodland owners in Central Appalachian Kentucky, especially for woodland owners belonging to underrepresented groups. An exploratory focus group was conducted in Breathitt County with underrepresented woodland owners, and included questions on adaptive silviculture and active forest management. Findings from this focus group included hesitancy around climate adaptive practices, enthusiasm for active forest management, and the identification of major barriers to implementing active management practices. The implications of these findings suggest that community-informed information sharing and outreach could be beneficial to communicating climate-focused forest management practices with underrepresented woodland owners in Central Appalachian Kentucky.