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Alaska's Changing Habitats: A Multi-System Approach for Understanding Climate Impacts in High Latitude Regions

Scientific information can be used to help individuals, communities, and governments alike make more informed decisions. However, for people to become aware of the science that could inform their decisions and its relevance to their lives and decisions, it must be communicated effectively. Multiple obstacles prevent this from happening, including scientists’ lack of time and communication expertise, among other barriers. This pilot project is a novel internship program that pairs student interns with USGS scientists to assist with field-based natural or physical science research in Alaska, while also providing support to the teams of interns and scientists to generate creative and durable science communication products (i.e., posters, social media) that help people make decisions related to our changing climate. The primary outcome of this project is science mentoring and training for two interns. This project will also result in at least two completed science communication products that are carefully designed to match a specific decision-making or informational need. This project has indirect effects on society by supporting the evolution of conditions that make science more accessible to everyone. More specifically though, this project will build capacity among interns and scientists and generate science communication products for specific decision makers, enabling them to make better decisions about climate change adaptation – which can help improve public health and safety, save money, or improve conservation outcomes.