CCRP welcomes the arrival of new Graduate Research Assistant Annie Kellner. Annie is a PhD candidate at Colorado State University in the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, where she studies polar bear spatial ecology. Her research is part of a joint effort between CSU and the USGS Alaska Science Center to understand the impact of sea ice melt on polar bear movement and behavior.

Annie became fascinated by climate change while working as an interpretive ranger for USFS in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in California. Annie loved showing forest visitors such tangible records of climate change - as well as identifying species and describing other aspects of forest ecology, and her passion for science communication continues today. Annie will be working in a supportive role with CCRP, offering her experience with data management, analysis and visualization to help the team integrate climate science into park planning efforts.

It was a busy fall for NASA's Earth to Sky (ETS) program! In November, ETS hosted a two-day pre-conference climate communication workshop at the National Association for Interpretation annual conference in Denver, CO. The workshop covered a lot of ground in two days, including climate science basics, communication techniques, knowing your audience, Project Drawdown, and a site visit to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, to learn from their scientists and about their interpretation efforts.

In October, the inaugural Earth to Sky Academy was launched to create a national network of regional climate communication communities of practice. The four teams from Idaho, Southeast Alaska, Oklahoma, and the Upper Delaware River were composed of state and local communicators and also represented federal agencies and national park units including Glacier Bay NP, Wrangell-St. Elias NP, and Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River.  At the end of the week-long course at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, each team presented a draft plan for conducting a regional climate science and communication course based upon the ETS model and for supporting and strengthening their regional communities of practice.

We're looking forward to seeing these regional courses over the next year! Contact genevieve.demessieres@nasa.gov for more information, and to learn more about putting a team together for the next ETS Academy in late 2020/21.

Availability is limited and will be awarded strictly on a first-come, first serve basis. For instructions on how to register for this opportunity, please contact Larry Perez at larry_perez@nps.gov .