Environmental Behavioral Sciences Seminar

Nature’s non-material benefits, relational thinking, and decision-making

Understanding the non-material ways that nature benefits people (e.g., via mental health, spirituality, and identity) matters for both ethical and practical reasons. A primary ethical reason is that without this understanding, we risk further marginalization of non-dominant perspectives; a primary pragmatic reason is that omission of this information can lead to ineffective environmental management. This talk will discuss research on cultural ecosystem services, nature’s nonmaterial contributions to people, and relational values – a suite of concepts that seek to bring into decision-making meaningful conversation about intangible aspects of human-nature relationships. It will address how this work interacts with the purported “relational turn” in sustainability science, with research on human behavior/action, and with decision-making tools such as Benefit-Cost Analysis. The talk will combine insight from multiple disciplines to consider how research might help make environmental decision-making more fair and effective.

Bio

Rachelle Gould is part of The University of Vermont’s Sustainability and Global Equity Cluster, and is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies program and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Her work addresses two primary topics: the nonmaterial values associated with ecosystems and environmental education.