20
BAMOS Dec 2017
Article
Taking it to the streets – some thoughts on meteorology and community outreach
Richard Whitaker AMOS NSW and AMOS Education and Outreach Committee
Since 2011, I have been engaged in a self-designed outreach course to promote meteorology and climate issues to the general public.
Beginning with talks to community organisations such as Rotary and Probus, the demand has steadily grown, and with no promotion or marketing has now become a constant endeavour that involves giving talks all over Sydney, and in recent times the New South Wales Central Coast.
Since 2011 I have addressed close to 150 community organisations, many on two or three occasions, as requests for repeat visits occur. In approximate terms this would mean that I have addressed some 5000 people( some of these repeats!) on broad issues of weather and climate, and the demand continues to be substantial. This has been achieved almost entirely by word of mouth, with recommendations being passed across individual organisations and also between them.
I developed eight main talks, with variations on each of these according to the requirements of each meeting. All of these are in Powerpoint format.
1. Of Droughts and Flooding Rains— Rainfall Variability in Australia
2. From Gods to Gigabytes— A Brief History of Weather Forecasting
3. Australian Weather Disasters 4. Bushfires in Australia 5. Severe Thunderstorms in New South Wales 6. What Causes Climate Change?
7. Severe Weather in Sydney— East Coast Lows and Thunderstorms
8. Clouds for Kids
The main interest groups that have been addressed include Sydney-wide chapters of Probus, Rotary and U3A. Demand for the talk on climate change( no 6 above) has risen over the last six months.
Various historical societies have shown interest in past severe storm events and First Fleeter Chapters in weather that affected the infant settlement of Sydney. This is described in talk 1( above).
Schools at the primary level have been presented with“ Clouds for Kids”, and then secondary level with a selection of the other talks. A meteorology course of 12 lectures was designed and delivered to the Workers’ Education Authority( WEA) in October 2015.
Several community libraries have requested an assortment of these talks and not surprisingly presentations to Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service groups are concerned mainly with Lectures 3, 4 and 5.
Customised presentations were also delivered to the Navy( HMAS Parramatta), the Sydney Paragliding and Hangliding Club and the Waterboard Former Employees Club of NSW.
From all these activities I am of the firm belief that there is considerable public interest at community level in weather and climate and that we should further encourage this type of public engagement. I am in possession of numerous appreciative references to substantiate this claim.
Numbers of community talks delivered annually by Richard Whitaker. A re-location to the Central Coast in 2016 produced a drop in numbers that year.