Improving Science Communication in Wellington: An Analysis of Public Knowledge of Seal Level Rise in the Central Business District of Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington, New Zealand

The goal of our project was to assess public perceptions of sea level rise in Wellington in order to provide recommendations to our sponsor, the Antarctic Research Center of Victoria University, for developing outreach initiatives to communicate their research to the public. Using convenience surveys administered to the pubic and expert interviews administered to science communication experts and local public officials, we found three areas to target for future outreach and five practices to communicate them effectively. Our recommendations for potential outreach strategies ranged from computer simulations to art installations.