MASON 4C/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: OVERVIEW AND HANDBOOK

The document provides a comprehensive guide for the 4C-NPS internship program, which trains students to create climate change communication materials for parks in the Washington, D.C. metro area. It outlines two primary communication heuristics—simplifying messages and promoting pro-environmental behaviors—and details the administrative roles, recruitment processes, and academic syllabus used to manage the program.

• The internship program operated for nine summers, partnering the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication (4C) with the National Park Service (NPS) Capital Region’s Urban Ecology Research Alliance (UERLA) to produce communication materials for National Capital Region (NCR) parks.
• Effective climate communication is based on the heuristic of using simple, clear messages that are repeated frequently by a variety of trusted and caring sources to avoid overwhelming audiences with complex information.
• To bridge the 'Attitude-Behavior Gap' and encourage climate-friendly actions, the program applies a heuristic focused on making recommended behaviors easy, fun (rewarding), and popular through the use of social norms.
• The program leverages the high level of trust Americans have in the National Park Service to deliver climate change messaging as part of the visitor experience.
• The internship is structured as a 10- to 12-week full-time commitment (40 hours per week) for graduate students or exceptional upperclassmen, with pay historically set at $4,000 for undergraduates and $6,000 for graduate students.
• Program management is divided between an NPS/UERLA Coordinator, 4C Administration, and a Project Manager, with the latter handling recruitment, orientation, and the teaching of climate communication research.

APA

Orr, M. (n.d.). MASON 4C/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: OVERVIEW AND HANDBOOK. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mason-4cnational-park-service-internship-program-overview-and-handbook-1.pdf

Chicago

Orr, Margaret. MASON 4C/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: OVERVIEW AND HANDBOOK. Center for Climate Change Communication, n.d. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mason-4cnational-park-service-internship-program-overview-and-handbook-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Orr |first1=Margaret |title=MASON 4C/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: OVERVIEW AND HANDBOOK |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mason-4cnational-park-service-internship-program-overview-and-handbook-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{orrndmason, author = {Orr, Margaret}, title = {{MASON 4C/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: OVERVIEW AND HANDBOOK}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mason-4cnational-park-service-internship-program-overview-and-handbook-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }