11 Education and communication were identified as important components of adaptation planning. For instance, participants in the workshop conducted as part of the third project in February 2013 admitted that they were hesitant to communicate the risks associated with flooding, partly due to their fear of creating anxiety or panic, and partly due to their reluctance to confront constituents who may be unaware of the problem. Across the projects in general, there was a consensus that communication was a necessary prerequisite for building support for land use decisions, that it should be an important part of a long-term outreach strategy, and that it has to be conducted over multiple sessions. Furthermore, it became clear that there is often a degree of disconnect between those engaged in scientific research and education, on one hand, and, on the other, those responsible for decision-making, public policy, and outreach. In other words, it is not just the general public who is unaware of research findings and their implications: elected officials and public policy-makers do not always appear to appreciate or have an accurate understanding of the information presented to them by researchers. This speaks to ongoing challenges in transferring knowledge outside of science and social science arenas, and suggests that communication strategies need to target elected officials and public policy-makers as well.

12 As the various projects of the Atlantic RAC draw to a close, there is now a significant body of research findings from studies in the sciences and social sciences pertaining to the Tantramar region. The many projects funded through the national and Atlantic region programs on climate change adaptation have produced reliable and compelling evidence of such developments, yet the challenge remains: how will we effectively raise awareness and inspire action in our public policy-makers, elected officials, and community members at the local level? Which novel approaches as well as infrastructure planning and adaptation strategies will our local communities adopt and implement as a result of these findings? What level of interprovincial cooperation will take place on these issues and who will lead the process? For the Tantramar region, and potentially farther afield in neighbouring Nova Scotia and beyond, emerging groups addressing these pressing issues consist of a number of partnering agencies and municipalities.

13 The visualization of anticipated impacts (either spatially or non-spatially) has an important role to play in risk communication. It has been demonstrated that when properly designed, visualizations can counteract the cognitive biases of individuals, help focus their attention on important trends, and provide them with the information and inspiration to make proactive adjustments in their own lives in order to lower their personal vulnerability (Lieske 2012). Visualizations can inspire interest, command attention, and possibly attract a wider and more diverse audience (Berry and Higgs 230). Risk communication should be seen as a narrow and temporary window through which risks can be communicated and a long-term intention to adapt inspired.

14 Organizers of outreach efforts related to climate change should encourage a two-way exchange of information. Moreover, they must package their communication with tangible and useful support. They can, for example, place participants in touch with peer-support networks, such as those available on social media, and recommend ways to lobby for the adoption of adaptation strategies. Trust between the communicator and the audience is also an important co-requisite (Lieske et al. 92). In the Tantramar case study, initial fears of creating panic were ultimately proven to be unjustified, as evidenced by the generally calm reception to flood risk information exhibited during the focus group sessions conducted by the researchers.

15 Anecdotally, some local stakeholders shared with us that the information disseminated through this process increased their knowledge and built their confidence to confront the problem publicly, which directly contributed to the publication of a section of the flood risk map in the centre spread of the Sackville Tribune on 13 March 2013. As a result of this careful groundwork, the adoption of the new 8.9-m flood risk map was entirely non-controversial and passed its third reading in town council on 9 September 2013. Based on hearsay, we can indicate that some felt that in fact a more extreme flood risk map would have likely passed.

16 It is important to emphasize that the presentation of evidence must be executed carefully in order to not confuse the public. Climate change information is often jargon-laden, and members of the general public are normally unfamiliar with the traditional representation of information (e.g., trend lines). Animations, such as a bouncing ball following a trend line, can be more visually interesting, aid in focusing the audience’s attention on relevant aspects of the data, and ultimately result in better long-term retention of the information than ordinary graphs (Figure 2). Published research shows, however, that complicated visualizations should be accompanied by background explanatory information (Appleton and Lovett 322–23; Jude; Lieske et al. 92). Without this support, the audience members may misinterpret the underlying assumptions of the visual model or derive incorrect conclusions.

17 Personalizing visualizations so as to maximize familiarity with the imagery in target audiences is vitally important. Furthermore, when risks have a historical precedent, sharing old photographs with the audience can be deeply impactful. In the Tantramar case, significant coastal flooding due to a storm surge has not happened since the nineteenth century. To achieve similar effects as the presentation of old photographs, a three-dimensional animation was developed that enabled the researchers to convey the potential physical impact of such an event. An animation called “The Walking Family” was created to illustrate the challenges that a typical family would face while attempting to navigate through the flooded historic downtown core (Figure 3).

18 The presentation of flood risk information can elicit anxious responses from participants, particularly when it includes upsetting imagery or animations, which emphasizes the need for risk communication to be part of a wider communication strategy. To highlight how community-level adaptation can be facilitated through enhanced communication and better coordination among already- existing community groups, we use the Regional Centre of Excellence on Education for Sustainable Development, known as RCE-Tantramar,2 as a case example. RCE-Tantramar team members have been involved in a wide range of activities and have consistently provided background information, such as links to past and current scientific research. Moreover, they have been closely involved in the coordination of meetings that brought together diverse stakeholders and partners, including the town of Sackville, the village of Port Elgin, the village of Dorchester, the Tantramar office of the Regional Service Commission, EOS Eco-energy,3 the Department of Education, the Environmental Change Lab, and the Sustainable Sackville Committee. Just-in-time communication events occurred via telephone, websites, social media, in-person discussions, as well as formal and informal information meetings and presentations to municipal leaders, to the mayor and at council meetings, and to subcommittees and administrative groups across the region. The involvement of “communications interns” was also instrumental in maintaining and even heightening public awareness through regular contributions to newspapers such as the Sackville Tribune Post, the Moncton Times & Transcript, and The Argosy.4

19 Other aspects of the overall communications strategy have included two very successful Sackville “climate change awareness weeks” in the spring of 2013 and 2014, which offered a series of public outreach displays and events (e.g., a large-size printed map of the town’s coastal flood vulnerability to an 8.9-m sea level rise). This event, complemented by a four-page feature article submitted to the local newspaper, served to draw attention to the topic of climate change and reached a cross-section of the community not normally accessible during traditional public information sessions.

20 As a final note, the involvement of the Department of Geography and Environment at Mount Allison University demonstrated the role that universities can play in facilitating community adaptation. A community-based course called “Local Adaptation to Climate Change” brought students together with research scientists as well as municipal and provincial policy- and decision-makers to investigate the processes involved in the teaching-learning-research framework of education for sustainable development. The course also provided a forum for collaboration and the dissemination of research findings. In fact, student-led activism helped push the new flood risk map through the planning process and contributed to its eventual adoption as part of the Sackville Municipal Plan.

21 The participants in the third consultation project, who were drawn mainly from smaller rural planning districts, reported that it was difficult for them to access high quality data that would help them to build defensible flood maps. For instance, unlike planners in Moncton and Sackville, participants in the third consultation project session were from planning districts that had not yet been surveyed using very high-resolution lidar elevation data. Other information gaps were also identified—for instance, a lack of reliable prediction surfaces of potential river flooding, and the absence of digitized waterways of scales finer than 1:10,000. In addition, participants reported that they were discouraged from gathering their own data. It should also be noted that the focus groups from the first consultation project singled out technology resources and advanced expertise at universities as important resources that needed to be tapped into (Appendix 1). This underscores the fact that the mere provisioning of data is insufficient without the assistance of scientists and analysts capable of leveraging that information to support decision-making.

22 Complete, high-resolution lidar coverage of New Brunswick communities should be a high priority for the province. Moreover, stream gauge data needs to be collected as part of a wider network, and connections between rainfall and river water levels should be analyzed in order to build an empirical model of water levels under future climate change scenarios. Such data gathering cannot be considered a one-off exercise, but should be supported as part of a long-term monitoring program designed to facilitate the understanding and predicting of future flood events and impacts. This data should be gathered as part of a provincially managed effort, with information held centrally but shared with jurisdictions as needed. Encouragingly, the previous New Brunswick government signalled a commitment to support ongoing data collection through research and to play a greater coordinating role, as evidenced by its publication of the New Brunswick Flood Risk Reduction Strategy and the New Brunswick Climate Change Action Plan: 2014–2020. It is hoped that these strategy statements continue to receive support in the future.

23 Participants in the third consultation project were of the opinion that it is difficult to assess objectively the true level of risk posed by climate change and even more difficult to come to a general agreement on adaptation strategies. If this appraisal is generally true, achieving solidarity around any particular adaptation solution will be difficult, and the likelihood of public support for adaptation initiatives will be diminished. Participants also indicated that unless money is at stake (i.e., there is an economic interest involved), attendance at public information sessions tends to be low. Community divisions were most obvious in the context of public sessions when naysayers were in attendance. According to February 2013 workshop participants, naysayers are committed to confusing the issues at stake and actively undermine attempts at consensus building by spreading misinformation or organizing contrary “blocs of resistance” at public meetings.

24 There is a role to be played by public participatory GIS (PPGIS) as a consensus-building tool (Aggett and McColl; Bailey and Grossardt; Barndt; Craig and Elwood; Sieber). The Tantramar Community Adaptation Viewer (TCAV,5 Lieske 2015 107) is an easy-to-use, Web-based software toolkit enabling the exploration of spatial patterns of community risk and vulnerability. This novel technology supports the interactive identification of vulnerable locations, the construction of adaptation zones, the analysis of expected economic damages in Canadian dollars, as well as the assessment of social vulnerability (based on Statistics Canada census data from 2006). A test deployment of this software for the town of Sackville occurred in January and February 2014, with small groups of expert stakeholders brought together for three-hour sessions to explore the community’s flood risk vulnerability. Many issues were raised and risks at specific locations were identified (e.g., particularly vulnerable roads and residences, as well as sewage lift stations). The sessions resulted in a thorough analysis of community vulnerability that included the estimated costs of damages to flooded neighbourhoods and the locations of services utilized by vulnerable members of the community. An important next step is to continue discussing ways in which to mitigate these risks as well as how to involve a broader section of the general public, such as elders and people with restricted mobility.

25 In February 2013, participants expressed concern that when confronted with climate change information, communities may splinter into flood-affected and non-affected groups. Participants suggested that there might be resentment toward people who knowingly build in flooded areas and then subsequently receive government compensation for damage due to flooding.

26 Community cohesion is an important requirement for successful adaptation and resilience (Appendix 1). In November 2013, participants identified the need to encourage community ownership of the problem or issue at stake, which should be fostered by opportunities for stakeholders to come together to share information and ideas. The sentiments communicated by some of the participants in February 2013 highlight the importance of having a healthy and cohesive communication strategy based on mutual trust and respect. Breakdowns in trust will inevitably lead to conflict in situations when there are contrary personal values or vested interests. As pointed out in the section “Public Education and Awareness,” communication must be part of a unified, long-term outreach strategy and not a one-off transmission of facts, rules, or policies. If not, such information will inevitably be perceived as a “dictate” from above. Furthermore, there must be adequate opportunities for dialogue so that concerns can be voiced and acknowledged.

27 During four workshops conducted between March and April 2013, one of the authors focused specifically on the effectiveness of science cafés in the community of Sackville (Phillips, “Science Cafés”). Science cafés were used in Sackville to broach topics related to the local impacts of climate change and flood risk, while engaging community members in a dialogue with scientific and professional experts. These public fora resulted in a rich collection of original ideas about moving forward to address the vulnerability of Sackville in the face of climate change (Phillips, “Science Cafés”).

28 Key elements determining the success of the science café model include the level of accessibility of the presentation, which must be intelligible and relevant to laypersons, and the opportunity to engage directly with an expert, thereby taking learning outside formal institutions and into a more egalitarian setting. The collaborative and comfortable environment that science cafés create allows community members to feel at ease to ask questions and gauge public opinion of their hitherto private ideas, thus kick-starting the process of participatory decision-making. Research has shown that this interaction facilitates mutual learning and leads to the co-production of knowledge, which then emerges from both experts and community members interested in issues that impact the community (Hirakawa 218).

29 The participants in the February 2013 project listed a number of concerns pertaining to governance. Governments tend to be compartmentalized in the way they operate, which hinders efforts to communicate flood risk and offer coherent action plans. Without clear planning guidelines formulated at the provincial level, insufficient support is provided to communities attempting to develop their own adaptation strategies. Furthermore, communities may pursue adaptation policies at the local scale that diverge from best practices and hinder attempts to lower vulnerability at the provincial scale. The Community Planning Act does not require municipal plans to include policies on climate change adaptation or even enact procedures that will increase community sustainability. While municipalities are empowered to include such strategies as part of their municipal plans, this type of planning is not mandatory. As such, communities are permitted to ignore the issue entirely—and many in fact do. Alternatively, many municipalities will make only fleeting references to sustainability and adaptability, without outlining actionable, locally relevant strategies. Several participants in our region signalled that, although Sackville has been one of the earliest New Brunswick communities to adopt an integrated community sustainability plan, few of the measures recommended therein have been implemented and the committee tasked with the role of overseeing this issue rarely meets.

30 Other leadership issues include a tendency to think in the short term and to respond only to immediate political, social, and economic concerns. Our interviews with planners, municipal leaders, and residents revealed that a “development at any cost” philosophy is a prevalent force that drives development in New Brunswick, which results in primarily economically based and short-term land use decisions. Leadership was singled out by the November 2013 focus groups, as well as in one-on-one interviews, as an important component of successful community adaptation. The November participants indicated that political will, coupled with a sense of responsibility to champion the issue in the face of adversity, was a necessary co-requisite. This underscores the need for ongoing consultation between provincial, municipal, and rural planning professionals across the province.

31 Our consultations discovered strong agreement that a province-wide flood risk reduction strategy could set guidelines for all jurisdictions in the province. Beyond the immediate concern for flood risks, there is actually no planning policy at the provincial level, let alone one that designates sustainable development and climate change adaptation as priorities in the New Brunswick planning process. While the province has a longstanding Coastal Areas Protection Policy, our interviews with provincial planners determined that it has been largely ignored at the local level, where coastal development has continued to be authorized and sea level rise has not been a major factor in plan revisions and protected area zoning. It is clear that by ignoring the provisions permitting such municipal zoning bylaws in the Community Planning Act, the province is missing a leadership opportunity to establish a unified vision for planning in New Brunswick as well as to offer specific expectations for planning practices and regulations.

32 Our community consultations indicated that it was deemed appropriate for a provincial planning policy to outline standards for development in areas that are subject to flooding and likely to be impacted by rising sea levels. Moreover, a planning policy could outline clear expectations for sustainable development strategies in both urban and rural areas. If nothing else, a provincial planning policy is an ideal vehicle for the province to express its commitment to planning sustainably and, with climate change in mind, encourage and support the development of sustainable strategies at local levels. It should be acknowledged that the former government authored a 2014 consultation document designed to clarify the need for province-wide flood risk reduction (the aforementioned New Brunswick’s Flood Risk Reduction Strategy). However, a new government was elected in October 2014 and, to date, it has not moved forward on these issues. If the current government is unwilling to move forward, it will continue a pattern of delay that has been ongoing for over a decade.

33 Our consultations also determined that local governments often seem unaware of the legal toolkits at their disposal and are perceived as not fully tapping into local planning expertise. Zoning is perhaps the most effective tool for improving sustainability within a community. Many of the principles of coastal zone management, including the management of local land use with the aim of reducing community vulnerability to climate change, can be addressed by zoning bylaws. Many of the planners whom we interviewed are keen to implement such principles. There are a number of ways in which a zoning bylaw can be modified to better reflect the principles of sustainable community development and planning: for example, by increasing the prevalence of mixed use zones, by defining areas vulnerable to flooding as flood risk zones, and by reducing the prevalence of low density zones.

34 However, zoning bylaws in New Brunswick do not always reflect these principles and, consequently, this very effective tool for improving sustainability is often underutilized or unknown to municipal leaders. A municipal plan is an appropriate vehicle for a municipality to clearly state that minimizing and/or modifying development in flood-prone areas is a priority. Several planners who attended our sessions used Shediac’s Municipal Plan as a local example of municipal leadership. Several planners who attended our sessions considered Shediac’s plan to be a progressive example of how municipal leadership can address the need for climate change mitigation at the community level. The plan acknowledged coastal flooding as a significant threat and outlined ways in which zoning bylaws could be designed to require appropriate building regulations and define minimum shoreline setback distances for structures. In 2015, the various communities within the Tantramar region of New Brunswick, including Sackville and Port Elgin, will be undertaking five-year reviews of their municipal plans, which offers an ideal opportunity to them to demonstrate leadership in these critical areas.