Abstract
The U.S. Land-Grant University Cooperative Extension Service (CES) funded jointly by the U.S. Federal Government in cooperation with each U.S. State and each state’s county governments began in 1914 and focused on outreach education for agricultural production. University CES programs have adapted to address other disciplines including climate change. This is a necessity given the need for individual and community responses to climate change, but also a challenge given the political polarization of the subject, which can be a concern as CES systems require funding support from state and county governments decided by elected officials. The political polarization also creates a challenge for the approach and delivery of outreach education. An outreach education program focusing on coastal climate resilience called P.L.A.C.E. (Program for Local Adaptation to Climate Effects) is hosted by the Mississippi State University CES. This program works to increase access to relevant research, enhance application of research, stimulate dialogue around vulnerabilities, and provide resources to facilitate resilience and mitigation actions. The scholarly aspect of P.L.A.C.E. is the method of approach and delivery of the often politically polarized subject of climate change with the objective of maximizing understanding and acceptance resulting in responses with impacts. All Extension faculty have academic home departments within an agricultural or natural resource college. The extension faculty member that leads the P.L.A.C.E. program has an academic home in the School of Human Sciences to better support and develop novel methods of teaching and information delivery to increase acceptance and reduce refusal to accept.
Presenters
James HendersonProfessor and Head, Coastal Research and Extension Center, Mississippi State University, Mississippi, United States Alison Rellinger
Extension Instructor, Coastal Research and Extension Center, Mississippi State University, Mississippi, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Technical, Political, and Social Responses
KEYWORDS
Outreach Education, Methods of Teaching, U.S. Cooperative Extension, Facilitate Resilience
