COURSE HIGHLIGHT COMMUNICATION WITH ANGELA POE

BY ISABEL JENKINS

In this day and age, it is more critical than ever for us to be able to effectively communicate environmental topics to the public. This is the focus of NRE 360: Environmental Communication, a course that teaches students how specific outreach and communication skills can be translated to the environmental field. Students learn various media channels used to communicate with the public, basics of social psychology and persuasive theory, common pitfalls when framing environmental topics, and the importance of knowing your audience when encouraging behavior change.

The course is taught by NRCM alumna Angela Poe (‘00) who currently works in public outreach for Lexington’s Department of Environmental Quality and Public Works. After graduation, Angela spent several years working in environmental outreach and education, becoming the first Executive Director of Bluegrass Greensource (previously Bluegrass PRIDE). After five years at PRIDE, she returned to school at The Ohio State University for a graduate degree in Communication. “It’s not a common combination of degrees, but my work led me to realize that environmentalists aren’t always the most effective communicators,” Angela said. “We seemed to be failing at getting people to understand, care about, and act on important environmental issues. I wanted to learn how to better engage people in the issues I feel are important.”

After finishing her graduate degree, Angela returned to Kentucky and was given the opportunity to share her takeaways through a new Environmental Communication course at UK. Angela developed the course to help students better understand how to elicit behavior change in the context of environmental issues. The first half of the course covers social psychology and communication theory; the second half highlights applied communication skills in real-world scenarios. Assignments include a press release and media interview, implementation of an audience analysis survey, and a detailed campaign outline for an environmental persuasive goal.

This previous semester, students also gained first-hand experience through a visit to local news station LEX 18 and attendance at the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education (KAEE) Conference in Berea, Kentucky. At the news station students toured facilities, watched a live broadcast, and spoke with a panel of journalists and other media professionals. The KAEE conference gave students an opportunity to network with a broad range of educators and organizations. Multiple concurrent sessions were offered covering creative mediums to educate about the environment, classroom environmental education, and engaging the public about environmental issues at a community level.

Angela hopes that these interactive projects and experiences enable students to be better equipped to communicate environmental topics to the public. She encourages any NRES student to consider this course, including those not specifically pursuing environmental outreach and education. “Even if it isn’t central to your career, most people in the environmental field have some sort of outreach or education as part of what they do,” Angela said. “Really, if you work in the environmental field, period, you will be doing some form of communication.”

For more information about NRE 360 or what it is like to have a career in environmental outreach, contact Angela at arpoepoe@gmail.com