My name is Amirah Casey, and I am a third-year graduate student in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Science. I am divided between two areas of research that are related: climate impacts and climate solutions. Along with these research interests, I am deeply committed to enhancing science communication. I do this through the usual forms of outreach, like presenting at conferences and working on publications, but I am also interested in broader public outreach. Ido this through both my role in Students Explore Aquatic Science (SEAS) and more recently as a PNW Climate Ambassador!

From a very young age, I have been interested in how anthropogenic stressors impact our local species, and this has become the focal point of my research. Thus far, I have delved into how increasing stream temperatures interact with tire-wear contaminant 6PPD-Q to impact our local salmon populations. Shifting from climate impacts to the impacts of climate solutions, my future research will assess how a local Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) project impacts shellfish, salmon, and forage fish. Long story short, as a lifelong Washingtonian, I am committed to addressing the impacts of climate change.

Last year, when I received the email about the new Pacific Northwest Climate Ambassador program, I was very interested. Learning how to communicate about climate change is more important than ever, and as a scientist working at the precipice of these issues, I feel it is my responsibility to gain formal training on the matter. And who better to learn from than the Washington State Climate Office (WASCO) and Climate Impacts Group (CIG)? We were told that following this training, each student would create presentations “on a topic related to their area of expertise in consultation with the Program on Climate Change (PCC) and the Washington State Climate Office (WASCO) to be delivered in a public setting based on the many requests to PCC and WASCO from the public for talks to engage with various communities.” This was exciting because my outreach in graduate school has mostly included K-8 audiences through my involvement with SEAS, so this was an opportunity to expand my reach to a broader audience.Our training was brief but very impactful. We were reminded of the increasing distrust in scientists, especially following the COVID pandemic, and given guidance on the best ways to communicate an issue that is so polarizing in the US (see bottom of post). This helped build our confidence for when we broke out into groups to create a presentation on a certain topic. The topic groups were:

1. Water, Droughts, and Flooding
2. People and Infrastructure
3. Forests
4. Coasts and Oceans

While these topic groups seem broad, we each pitched in our expertise and shared resources to create slide decks that were visually appealing, appropriate for “general audiences”, and useful to fulfill presentation requests. I worked with fellow graduate students Chi-Ying Huang and Amelia Keyser-Gibson to create a slide deck about the local impacts of climate change on water, droughts, and flooding in the Pacific Northwest. This was a great team because we are each from a different discipline and background, and therefore were able to effectively touch on many topics. I was able to use my previous knowledge and experience to help with this project, but was also grateful for the opportunity to learn so many new things from my fellow ambassadors, CIG faculty (Guillaume Mauger and Jacob Genuise), and background research.

The feedback we received from our fellow ambassadors and faculty was things that many of us had heard before, but that are great reminders (see very end of post). Additionally, we learned how to speak generally and accurately about climate models, which was a topic I always avoided presenting unless speaking directly to climate scientists.

After making the necessary changes to the slide deck, we were ready to go. Amelia and I presented to the Bush School, a local high school. I loved gauging what the students already knew and then further educating them about climate impacts that they were less familiar with. This was a private school climate change class, so they were well educated about the basics, and this allowed me to interact with them and ask several questions rather than just talking at them. I also ended with a hopeful statement about how great Washington’s climate change policies and commitments (briefly spoke about the CCA and I-2117 vote), and novel climate solutions, so the students could end on a positive note.

Next, I presented virtually to two high school classes from Great Oaks Kathleen Sherry Charter School in New York City. The students were doing a unit on climate change and were interested in the impacts in the Pacific Northwest. This was a great opportunity to present to an audience that was not local and still connect it back to them, as they have experienced several climate-related natural disasters and all had seen the impacts of flooding. The students were especially concerned about climate impacts on Pacific salmon and what these impacts mean for the Tribes, which was endearing and sparked good discussion.

Overall, my time as a PNW Climate Ambassador has been extremely rewarding, and I will apply the lessons I have learned to all of my research and outreach.

Reach out to me at acasey2@uw.edu to be sent the climate communication and presentation tips we received!

Written by Amirah Casey. Amirah is a third year graduate student in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Science. She studies the impacts of increasing stream temperature and contaminants of Pacific salmon, as well as how a novel climate solution may impact local species. She is also deeply involved in outreach and education, and is a member of the inaugural cohort of PNW Climate Ambassadors.