How can community leaders communicate more effectively and inclusively about climate change and sea level rise while engaging communities and businesses in solutions? We helped staff from the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability, as well as local elected officials, with this challenge by conducting comprehensive training and developing a communications toolkit. The foundation of effective climate communications begins with common ground—the values people share across cultures, ideologies, and social strata. Building on this foundation, leaders can be more strategic, more engaging, and more effective about the challenges we face and the investments we need. 

The CV-SALTS program redesigned the regulatory process for groundwater quality in the Central Valley to ensure regulators, permittees, and communities are focused on providing safe drinking water where nitrate contamination poses a public health threat. Our job was to make sense of these new regulations for the program partners, the regulated businesses, and affected communities. Working with the partners, we developed a new focus for the program website, information materials for members to distribute, and workshops to engage and inform the regulated community. Our next challenge in this ongoing project is to support long-term studies to manage salt accumulation in the Valley, which threatens the region’s economy in the longer term.