Climate change is an urgent problem with implications registered not only globally, but also on national and local scales. It is a particularly challenging case of environmental communication because its main cause, greenhouse gas emissions, is invisible. The predominant approach of making climate change visible is the use of iconic, often affective, imagery. Literature on the iconography of climate change shows that global iconic motifs, such as polar bears, have contributed to a public perception of the problem as spatially and temporally remote. This paper proposes an alternative approach to global climate change icons by focusing on recognizable representations of local impacts within an interactive game environment. This approach was implemented and tested in a research project based on the municipality of Delta, British Columbia. A major outcome of the research is Future Delta, an interactive educational game featuring 3-D visualizations and simulation tools for climate change adaptation and mitigation future scenarios. The empirical evaluation is based on quantitative pre/post game play questionnaires with 24 students and 10 qualitative expert interviews. The findings support the assumption that interactive 3D imagery is effective in communicating climate change. The quantitative postquestionnaires particularly highlight a shift in support of more local responsibility.
Wicked environmental problems are complex, illdefined and constantly shifting. Analytical methods alone are typically under-equipped to address these problems. High-low tech is a craftmaking and design practice that encourages makers to merge high-and low-tech materials, processes and cultures. We explore how high -low tech practices can create new ways of understanding wicked environmental problems and lead practitioners towards new ways of approaching them.Through five examples of high -low tech practices, we explore the qualities of these practices-an embrace of complexity, a transdisciplinary approach to work and a maker ethos-that make high -low tech practices particularly well suited to addressing wicked environmental problems.
Abstract. In this paper we discuss the Future Delta game, as a time-forward 3-D visualization and simulation tool that aims to motivate actions and behavioral changes and to educate players about climate change mitigation and adaptations solutions and challenges. The game simulation is situated in a recognizable community locale: the flood-prone neighborhood of Delta, BC. Combining climate change modeling, socioeconomic scenario analysis and 3D modeling of real places with engaging soundscapes and imagery, our game is designed to make climate change science and solutions more salient and understandable to the layperson. The project comprises a game simulation and dynamic 3D visualizations of future local climate change scenarios to provide an environment for experiential learning tied to place attachment. The project builds on a foundation rich in research, experimentation, and production in the topic of climate change in Delta, but extends previous work into a new representational platform of virtual game. An initial testing of the game shows that engaging with the game strengthened the user's belief that action can be taken to mitigate climate change and increased their support for more transformative social changes to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation.
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