Project Overview
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- Sustainable Communities: public participation, social capital, social psychological indicators, sustainability measures, climate dialogue
Abstract:
Supporting Climate Dialogue in Agricultural Communities: Artistic Strategies for Engagement
In the midst of a global climate crisis that is already severely affecting agricultural communities, addressing climate change is urgent in places such as Iowa and the U.S. North Central region. Many agricultural practices contribute to climate change but can also play a critical role in climate solutions. Residents in Midwestern agricultural communities (including farmers, landowners, researchers, organizers, and, as this project demonstrates, artists) must be key players in these solutions. Research shows that a critical and often overlooked step in addressing climate change is climate dialogue. And research has also shown that effective facilitation of climate dialogue in agricultural communities should highlight values, diverse perspectives, and personal experiences. Artistic engagement methods are especially apt at incorporating these elements into public dialogue.
On one hand, arts-based projects often do not have the budgets or time to be documented thoroughly. On the other hand, arts-based engagement strategies have shown great potential for improving civic dialogue and action and so should be documented and shared. Within this context, thirteen interviews were conducted with stakeholders who have used arts and storytelling strategies to talk about climate change and agriculture in Iowa. The purpose of these interviews is to reveal how artistic resources and strategies can be leveraged to facilitate climate dialogue in Iowa and Midwestern farming communities, to amplify the work that the interviewees have already done to this end, and to highlight recommendations for how similar strategies can be applied in communities across the region. The long-term objective of this project is to contribute to increased climate dialogue – and, consequently, agency in climate action – in Midwestern farming communities.
These interviews are now published through The EcoTheatre Lab as a fourteen-episode podcast series titled, The Art of Climate Dialogue: Stories from Iowa. The series is being shared widely through organizations and online platforms that target farmer and artist audiences in the Midwest. All podcast episodes, along with information about the interviewees, can be found on The EcoTheatre Lab’s website: www.ecotheatrelab.com/the-art-of-climate-dialogue
*This project is funded by both a North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program Graduate Student Grant, which is supported by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and a Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy Emerging Leader Award.
Project objectives:
Through interviews with Iowa agricultural stakeholders, this project documented strategies to support climate dialogue in North Central region farming communities, which is an essential step toward implementing climate action and ensuring that farmers and their communities have a voice in that process. The interviews were published through podcast episodes that are now being distributed through online platforms that target farmers and artists who are living in North Central region farming communities and who have expressed investment in initiating climate dialogue in their communities.
Intended learning outcomes include 1) increased awareness of arts-based climate dialogue facilitation efforts in the North Central region and 2) increased knowledge of arts-based climate dialogue facilitation strategies that can be applied in farming communities regionally.
Intended long-term action outcomes include 1) increased climate dialogue in North Central region farming communities and 2) increased intentional use of artistic methods in facilitating climate dialogue in North Central region farming communities. Short-term action outcomes from this study include recommendations for how to implement such arts-based methods in communities across the North Central region.
It is beyond the scope and timeline of this project to formally survey podcast listeners to assess the intended outcomes above. However, podcast listeners are invited to take a feedback survey following each podcast episode. Direct invitations to listen to the podcast have been distributed to farmers and artists through partnering organizations. The number of podcast listens are being measured, a follow-up debrief was conducted with interviewees, and feedback from partnering organizations was requested.