Research Projects
Current Projects
Strengthening and Sustaining Marine Socioecological Systems
With Support from Woods Environmental Ventures Project
This initiative aims to develop community-led ocean management solutions that honor the needs of human and non-human communities in Belau and Galápagos.
Learn more about conservation solutions
Catalyzing Transformative Change for Sustainability
The Transformation Science Program explores and considers broad approaches to achieve transformative change for sustainability across contexts and scales.
Learn more about the Transformation Science Program
Community-Engaged Place-Making and Urban Forestry
This community-engaged research explores how urban tree planting fosters place-making, collective action, and environmental stewardship in local communities.
Learn more about our community-engaged research
Empowering Youth in Frontline Communities through Climate Data
With support from Woods Environmental Ventures Project
In collaboration with Victor Lee (GSE) and Jenny Suckale (SDSS, Woods Institute) and in partnership with Climate Resilient Communities, this project aims to empower youth from frontline communities to map and disseminate environmental data through out-of-school learning experiences, while developing a toolkit to position them as changemakers who can leverage this data to raise awareness and advocate for their communities in the face of climate change.
Learn more about empowering youth
Investigating Youth Climate Activists’ Motivations and Supports
In collaboration with high school students and undergraduate researchers, this interview study explores the motivations of youth climate activists. Drawing on theoretical frames from affective science, we are exploring, in particular, the relationship between hope/fear and optimism/pessimism as emotions that encourage these young people to become and remain engaged in climate change-related efforts.
Selected Past Projects
Accelerating 30x30 Through a Collaborative Regional Prioritization Partnership
With support from the SDSS Accelerator
In collaboration with PI Liz Hadly (Biology) and co-PI Debbie Sivas (EBS, SDSS; SLS), this multi-part study uses mixed-methods–combining social, legal, and ecological approaches–to model 30x30 conservation planning approaches using the case of potential elk reintroduction in the mid-peninsula region of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Values and Actions in Home Selection: The Role of Healthy Home Environment Preferences
With support from the Hayward Institute
Although human and environmental health are intertwined within the context of daily life, people rarely consider options available to make their homes healthier for themselves and the planet. Using community listening sessions and surveys in four case-study sites across the United States, we are exploring homeowners’ individual and socially informed decisionmaking processes related to home choice, within a broader social and community perspective.Biophilic Design for Psychological and Physiological Health Outcomes
With support from Stanford Health Care Seed Grant
We are undertaking a systematic overview of reviews examining the ways in which biophilic design impacts physiological and psychological health outcomes. The review includes two areas of emphasis: implications for health care settings and the scope of biophilic design research focused on underserved communities.
Learn more about Healthcare Sustainability Champions
A Social Science/Sustainability Incubator: Interdisciplinary scholarship and practice to amplify impact and redefine solutions
With support from Stanford’s Sustainability Initiative
In collaboration with co-PI James Jones (SDSS) and to support the continued development of the social science-related research programs in Stanford’s new Doerr School of Sustainability, we hosted a workshop/listening session and conducted interviews with scholars in the social and natural sciences to solicit perspectives on the role of the social sciences in sustainability research.
Tracking Socio-Ecological Recovery after Forest Fire: The Case of Big Basin State Park
With support from: Digital Learning Initiative of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning
Working with community partners at Big Basin State Park, we explored how virtual field trips (VFTs) might support connection to nature, encourage pro-environmental behaviors, and broaden park accessibility. Our VFT team, which also includes technical experts who have previously developed VFTs, collaborated with Big Basin’s park service members to collect photospheres, videos, and sound recordings.