The move of many international conservation agencies and nonprofit organizations to large-scale, ecoregional conservation approaches has implications for human communities living within high-priority conservation areas. While scientists worldwide are studying the ecological impacts of this shift in scale, few are considering the social implications of ecoregion conservation. With the understanding that, ultimately, people must be at the heart of any successful conservation strategy, this research proposes to examine the efficacy of using a larger scale to involve local communities in conservation efforts, particularly through environmental education strategies.

Gaining a better understanding of how and why people connect with their places, or develop a "sense of place," at a scale between the local and the global has far-reaching implications for the design, implementation, and public-policy outcomes of large-scale conservation. This research will use three ecologically, geographically, socially, and culturally diverse case studies--the Galapagos Islands, the Klamath-Siskiyou, and the Chihuahuan Desert--to examine the scale at which residents of high-priority ecoregions perceive of and care about their places. Furthermore, the study will explore the cultural processes that serve to create and maintain a shared sense of place in each of these ecoregions, and develop an understanding of the most salient factors that function to nurture a larger scale sense of place. Finally, this study will examine how those place perceptions link to the undertaking of environmentally responsible behaviors. The study will use a triangulated approach using in-depth interviews, mapping exercises, participant observation, textual analysis, standardized surveys, and focus groups to explore these questions.

Ultimately, the research will examine whether the ecoregion scale is one at which residents can and do develop a sense of place. By exploring this concept in a range of cultural, geographical, and political contexts, the research has the potential to provide insights to help further understandings of how place attachments are developed and maintained at an intermediary scale. These findings will become increasingly important as numerous organizations and agencies continue to design and implement conservation initiatives within a large-scale context.

The photos below were taken in the Galapagos Islands, one of several ecoregions where Nicole is conducting research.

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