Communicating Climate Change and the Ocean 2009-2012 Final Report

In December 2008, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, in partnership with the New England Aquarium and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, hosted a summit of leaders from aquariums across North America and beyond. The intent was to empower aquarium professionals to elevate their collective focus on the relationship between climate change and the ocean, and to develop collaborative strategies for communicating climate change and inspiring solution-­‐oriented actions among our institutions and audiences. The summit represented the birth of a community. The three‐day event succeeded in mobilizing 34 institutions to make more than 100 specific pledges to engage their internal and external audiences with climate change and ocean issues. Four years later, the majority (29 of 34) of these institutions remain actively engaged with climate change communications. They have tripled the number of pledges they have executed and the community has expanded to include zoos, national parks and a wide-­‐range of visitor centers. This report charts key findings this innovative coalition has to offer about communicating impact of climate change on the ocean.