Research

The greatest challenge of anthropogenic climate change is lack of predictability due to unprecedented weather patterns. Developing anticipatory capacity – the ability to envision possible futures and develop a dynamic plan to deal with uncertainties – is urgent. Ecological calendars contribute to food and livelihood security.

We examine the nexus of peacebuilding, climate change, and migration from a socio-environmental perspective, integrating methods from the physical sciences with knowledge of locally and regionally-specific political, economic, and cultural arrangements.

Global public scholarship demands the effective ability of the biophysical and social sciences as well as the humanities to transcend borders and connect individuals and communities across the world to attain common goals and resolve mutual problems.

Past Research Projects

The purpose of our research was to create a biocultural land stewardship strategy for existing and newly-settled land claims of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.

This project was designed to serve and impact youth from both urban and rural areas of New York state with diverse needs, particularly vis-a-vis nature exploration and education. Youth of the Twenty-first Century are not visitors to their environment but are an integral part of their habitat.

Hosted an online contest to recalibrate traditional ecological calendars with climate science data, in collaboration with the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence and the Thriving Earth Exchange at AGU.

Developed case studies addressing major conservation issues and linking civil society institutions with undergraduate students at Beijing Normal University, University of Central Asia, and Cornell.

In collaboration with Mi’kmaq and Maliseet communities, developed guidelines and documented valuable knowledge related to plant gathering, cultivation, and use.

Engaged a multi-disciplinary group of scholars and leaders from civil society institutions to develop a new vocabulary around the notion of pluralism.

Assessed the resilience capacity and developed relevant adaptation strategies resulting from biocultural changes in the Pamir Mountains of Badakhshan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Demonstrated best practices for community institutions and analyzed human ecological relations in forest communities to show linkages between cultural and biological diversity.

Explored the feasibility of combining remotely-sensed information with surface observations of abnormal sea ice events based on the traditional knowledge of indigenous community members.

Documented the impact of chemical pollutants on the human ecology of three Arctic marine communities whose livelihood and food sources are dependent on marine resources.

Examined the role of indigenous women in forest communities in India and Canada and related these to current participation of women in economic activities.

Introduced the concept of natural resources co-management to Russia, utilizing Canadian methodology (participatory action research) and Russian research trainees.