{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140017"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140017","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"U.S. National Park Service Climate Change Interpretation: A National Study","abstract":"Climate change has become an increasingly controversial topic in the United States. Because U.S. National Park Service (NPS) sites are both beloved and increasingly threatened by climate change, NPS interpretive programs are a unique context to study climate change communication. In this manuscript, we first characterize the key interpretive principles and climate change communication elements incorporated into NPS climate change interpretation training. Then, through observations and visitor surveys, we examined interpretive programs to explore (1) the relationship between the inclusion of climate change content and participants' quality assessment and (2) whether certain communication strategies were more or less related to participants' intentions to take climate-related action. We found that the incorporation of climate change content was not related to audiences' perceptions of program quality. We also identified six communications strategies related to audience members' climate-related behavioral intentions following interpretive programs: ensuring personal relevance to the audience, including a specific call-to-action, increasing perceptions of self- and collective efficacy, referencing the human role in causing climate change, referring to scientific climate research, and including hope. We expect that these findings may be specific to visitors who decide to attend interpretive programs at NPS sites in United States.","abstract_html":"Climate change has become an increasingly controversial topic in the United States. Because U.S. National Park Service (NPS) sites are both beloved and increasingly threatened by climate change, NPS interpretive programs are a unique context to study climate change communication. In this manuscript, we first characterize the key interpretive principles and climate change communication elements incorporated into NPS climate change interpretation training. Then, through observations and visitor surveys, we examined interpretive programs to explore (1) the relationship between the inclusion of climate change content and participants' quality assessment and (2) whether certain communication strategies were more or less related to participants' intentions to take climate-related action. We found that the incorporation of climate change content was not related to audiences' perceptions of program quality. We also identified six communications strategies related to audience members' climate-related behavioral intentions following interpretive programs: ensuring personal relevance to the audience, including a specific call-to-action, increasing perceptions of self- and collective efficacy, referencing the human role in causing climate change, referring to scientific climate research, and including hope. We expect that these findings may be specific to visitors who decide to attend interpretive programs at NPS sites in United States.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Larson, Mary Grace"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Forestry","degree_department":"Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Stern, Marc J.","Powell, Robert B."],"committee_members":["Schenk, Todd Edward William"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-17","date_published":"2025-12-17","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:31Z","subjects":["Climate change communication","interpretation","National Park Service","inspiring climate action","visitor outcomes","training"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:45439"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:45439","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/140017","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Stern, Marc J.","Powell, Robert B."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Schenk, Todd Edward William"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Larson, Mary Grace"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-12-18T09:00:14Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-12-18T09:00:14Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-12-17"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Forestry"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Climate change communication","interpretation","National Park Service","inspiring climate action","visitor outcomes","training"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:45439"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/140017"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Climate change has become an increasingly controversial topic in the United States. Because U.S. National Park Service (NPS) sites are both beloved and increasingly threatened by climate change, NPS interpretive programs are a unique context to study climate change communication. In this manuscript, we first characterize the key interpretive principles and climate change communication elements incorporated into NPS climate change interpretation training. Then, through observations and visitor surveys, we examined interpretive programs to explore (1) the relationship between the inclusion of climate change content and participants' quality assessment and (2) whether certain communication strategies were more or less related to participants' intentions to take climate-related action. We found that the incorporation of climate change content was not related to audiences' perceptions of program quality. We also identified six communications strategies related to audience members' climate-related behavioral intentions following interpretive programs: ensuring personal relevance to the audience, including a specific call-to-action, increasing perceptions of self- and collective efficacy, referencing the human role in causing climate change, referring to scientific climate research, and including hope. We expect that these findings may be specific to visitors who decide to attend interpretive programs at NPS sites in United States."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Climate change has become an increasingly controversial topic in the United States, and national parks are both deeply valued and increasingly affected by climate impacts—representing an important context to understand how people learn about this issue. This study examined how climate change is communicated in U.S. National Park Service (NPS) interpretive programs. We first identified principles from the fields of interpretation and climate change communication, and how they may underpin in NPS training. Then, through observations and visitor surveys, we explored 1) whether the inclusion of climate change content in interpretive programs influenced how people rated program quality or led to conflict between the audience and the interpreter and 2) which communication approaches were related visitors' reported intentions of taking climate action. We found that including climate change content in programs did not affect visitors' perceptions of program quality, nor did we observe any conflict in response to climate change content in our sample of observed interpretive programs. We also found that six strategies were related to a higher proportion of the audience reporting intentions to take climate action: ensuring personal relevance to the audience, including a specific call-to-action, increasing perceptions of self- and collective efficacy, referencing the human role in causing climate change, referring to scientific climate research, and including hope. These findings may reflect the views of visitors who choose to attend NPS programs."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["U.S. National Park Service Climate Change Interpretation: A National Study"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Stern, Marc J.","Powell, Robert B."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Schenk, Todd Edward William"],"dc:contributor.department":["Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation"],"dc:creator":["Larson, Mary Grace"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-12-18T09:00:14Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-12-18T09:00:14Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-12-17"],"dc:description.abstract":["Climate change has become an increasingly controversial topic in the United States. Because U.S. National Park Service (NPS) sites are both beloved and increasingly threatened by climate change, NPS interpretive programs are a unique context to study climate change communication. In this manuscript, we first characterize the key interpretive principles and climate change communication elements incorporated into NPS climate change interpretation training. Then, through observations and visitor surveys, we examined interpretive programs to explore (1) the relationship between the inclusion of climate change content and participants' quality assessment and (2) whether certain communication strategies were more or less related to participants' intentions to take climate-related action. We found that the incorporation of climate change content was not related to audiences' perceptions of program quality. We also identified six communications strategies related to audience members' climate-related behavioral intentions following interpretive programs: ensuring personal relevance to the audience, including a specific call-to-action, increasing perceptions of self- and collective efficacy, referencing the human role in causing climate change, referring to scientific climate research, and including hope. We expect that these findings may be specific to visitors who decide to attend interpretive programs at NPS sites in United States."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Climate change has become an increasingly controversial topic in the United States, and national parks are both deeply valued and increasingly affected by climate impacts—representing an important context to understand how people learn about this issue. This study examined how climate change is communicated in U.S. National Park Service (NPS) interpretive programs. We first identified principles from the fields of interpretation and climate change communication, and how they may underpin in NPS training. Then, through observations and visitor surveys, we explored 1) whether the inclusion of climate change content in interpretive programs influenced how people rated program quality or led to conflict between the audience and the interpreter and 2) which communication approaches were related visitors' reported intentions of taking climate action. We found that including climate change content in programs did not affect visitors' perceptions of program quality, nor did we observe any conflict in response to climate change content in our sample of observed interpretive programs. We also found that six strategies were related to a higher proportion of the audience reporting intentions to take climate action: ensuring personal relevance to the audience, including a specific call-to-action, increasing perceptions of self- and collective efficacy, referencing the human role in causing climate change, referring to scientific climate research, and including hope. These findings may reflect the views of visitors who choose to attend NPS programs."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:45439"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/140017"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Climate change communication","interpretation","National Park Service","inspiring climate action","visitor outcomes","training"],"dc:title":["U.S. National Park Service Climate Change Interpretation: A National Study"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Forestry"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:31Z"}