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 an Associate Professor at the University of Vermont. She studies environmental valuation and environmental learning/behavior links. Her valuation work explores non-monetary valuation, with a focus on non-material values (this work involves concepts such as cultural ecosystem services and relational values, and addresses values such as heritage, identity, and spiritual fulfillment). Her learning/behavior work explores how learning, values, identity, and behavior intertwine.