Supporting communities in sharing stories of climate change

The 'Warming Up' project leverages Australia's community radio sector to document and amplify local experiences of climate change, focusing on marginalized communities like the Barkindji people in Wilcannia. By providing training and resources for participatory audio production, the project seeks to bridge the gap between remote regional experiences and urban decision-makers.

• Community radio in Australia serves as a critical third tier of broadcasting, reaching approximately six million people, or one in four Australians, and is particularly vital for marginalized groups often ignored by mainstream media.
• Hyperlocal community radio stations are uniquely positioned to support climate change responses because they possess intimate knowledge of local values, beliefs, and socio-cultural contexts, allowing them to frame constructive dialogue on local impacts.
• In Wilcannia, New South Wales, climate change is experienced through severe droughts and the drying of the Darling-Baarka River, a situation exacerbated by water mismanagement and the prioritization of upstream cotton farms.
• Climate projections for the Wilcannia region indicate an increase of 10 to 20 hot days (above 35°C) annually, a decrease in spring and autumn rainfall, and an increase in severe fire weather.
• Wilcannia River Radio acts as a community leader and activist, focusing on the health of the Baarka-Darling River and advocating for national action to move from 'voice to action' regarding water and climate rights.
• The 'Warming Up' project is implemented in three phases: mapping existing sector efforts in disaster and climate programming, conducting pilot interviews to identify communication barriers, and using a storytelling approach to help stations produce 30-minute podcasts on local climate impacts.

APA

Backhaus, B., Leitch, A., & Foxwell-Norton, K. (2021). Supporting communities in sharing stories of climate change. World Association for Christian Communication. https://waccglobal.org/supporting-communities-in-sharing-stories-of-climate-change/

Chicago

Backhaus, Bridget, Anne Leitch, and Kerrie Foxwell-Norton. Supporting communities in sharing stories of climate change. World Association for Christian Communication, 2021. https://waccglobal.org/supporting-communities-in-sharing-stories-of-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Backhaus |first1=Bridget |last2=Leitch |first2=Anne |last3=Foxwell-Norton |first3=Kerrie |title=Supporting communities in sharing stories of climate change |publisher=World Association for Christian Communication |date=24 November 2021 |url=https://waccglobal.org/supporting-communities-in-sharing-stories-of-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{backhaus2021supporting, author = {Backhaus, Bridget and Leitch, Anne and Foxwell-Norton, Kerrie}, title = {{Supporting communities in sharing stories of climate change}}, institution = {World Association for Christian Communication}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://waccglobal.org/supporting-communities-in-sharing-stories-of-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }