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Brendon M. H. LarsonAssociate Professor Phone: +1-519-888-4567 ext. 38140 CV: Read more
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I am an interdisciplinary social scientist who integrates life-long experience as a naturalist and a biologist with current research on the social dimensions of biodiversity conservation. In addition to UW, I have taught at the University of Toronto, the University of California at Santa Barbara, UC-Davis, Oregon State University, and Linköping University (Sweden), and currently advise several graduate students. I have been invited to present my research more than 50 times at conferences and workshops in a dozen countries and have more than 75 publications, including nearly 30 articles in refereed journals across the spectrum of the natural and social sciences (including high-impact international journals such as BioScience and Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment). I wrote Metaphors for Environmental Sustainability: Redefining Our Relationship with Nature, which was published by Yale University Press this spring; it has been awarded the 2011 Oravec Research Award in Environmental Communication by the National Communication Association. Among other projects, my current research funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and an Early Researcher Award focuses on stakeholder perceptions of assisted colonization and invasive species. I have served on the Board of Directors of World Wildlife Fund – Canada, currently sit on the board of directors of the Invasive Species Centre and the editorial board of the journal Diversity and Distributions, and I am President of Ontario’s largest non-profit environmental organization, Ontario Nature.
If you're interested in doing research that critically examines environmental science and its role in society, please read on and contact me if you have any questions.
1. Defining Ontario's and Canada's future forests
Canada’s tree species may expand northward in response to climate change, potentially bringing economic benefits, but ecologists have warned that they may not be able to spread rapidly enough to track the rate of climate change. Controversially, they propose that humans assist trees’ colonization of more northern areas. This project will consult with scientists as well as a broad range of bodies concerned with Canada’s forests to understand their views of, concerns about, and recommendations for assisted colonization. The objective will be to provide information for future policy development concerning how we will define the future shape of our forests.
This research is funded by an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation and a SSHRC Standard Research Grant (2011-2015). The former will focus on the implications of assisted colonization for the province of Ontario, which the latter will scale-up to cross-Canada contrasts.
SSHRC Research summary: Defining Canada's future forest: Stakeholder perceptions of assisted colonization.
Funding for these projects will run through 2015, so I am looking for qualified graduate students (MES or PhD) and postdoctoral fellows. If you are interested and have strong social scientific research skills, please see our departmental graduate studies admissions page and then contact me (send cover letter and resume to Brendon Larson).
We often treat scientific metaphors as if they are factual, but they often reflect and reinforce particular cultural values. Further, environmental scientists often use them to sell particular facts – particular ways of seeing. My research in this area considers the ethical implications of particular ecological and evolutionary metaphors and suggests ways to reform them in the interest of what has been called postnormal science. For more information, see publications below, including my book recently published by Yale University Press.
My interest in ecological metaphors encouraged me to revisit invasion biology, a field I first encountered as a biologist. My recent papers have concerned various linguistic, philosophical and social dimensions of invasion biology. They have critiqued some of our assumptions about these species, yet have also sought alternative ways of conceiving them. I also realized that we need to understand how other stakeholders think about this and other problems if we are to approach them more maturely. With funding from SSHRC (Standard Research Grant, 2008-2012), my students and I have conducted a series of projects on stakeholder perceptions of invasive species. Some of the results have been published or submitted to refereed journals and others are in preparation or still ongoing.
I have funding from SSHRC (Strategic Research Grant - Canadian Environmental Issues, 2009-2012) for another project entitled, "Biodiversity science and conservation in southern Ontario: historical, contemporary, and spatial dimensions," with S. Bocking (Trent U.) and G. Whitelaw (Queen's U).
Contact Brendon Larson for more information on research opportunities.
Nicole Klenk (post-doctoral research associate)
| Nicole has a B.Sc. in Botany and an M.Sc. in Forest Nutrition from McGill, and a Ph.D. in Ethics and Forestry from the University of British Columbia. Her interests include environmental science and policy, governance, political philosophy, ethics, and sociology of science. Her doctoral work focused on the values and ethics underlying and transmitted through scientific approaches to forest management. She has also conducted research on Network Centers of Excellence, government science laboratories, and Model Forest governance. Her post-doctoral work will investigate policy dimensions of assisted colonization in a Canadian context. |  |
Cristóbal Pizarro (Ph.D., in progress)
| Cristóbal initially trained as a veterinarian at the Universidad de Conception, Chile, and later obtained an M.S. in Management and Conservation from the Universidad de Magallanes, Chile. Since 2004 he has worked in the Magallanes Region and Tierra del Fuego Archipelago of extreme southern Chile on various research, education and conservation projects. Over this time he has developed a keen interest in the relationship between humans and nature, focusing specifically on the social and ecological connections that can be found between people and birds. He hypothesizes that beyond a mere utilitarian association between human and non-human beings, the bird-human relationship can tell a lot about how we can ethically co-inhabit our environments, an issue he plans to study for his dissertation. |  |
Jeff Sutherland (MES, in progress)
| Jeff completed his undergraduate degree at Acadia University in 2010 with a BSc. in Environmental Science. During his undergrad, he spent a season working as an Environmental Interpreter at the KC Irving Environmental Science Centre and Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. His interests include, but are not limited to, resource management, native plant systems, and experiential environmental education. He has just begun his MES here in ERS and is putting together a proposal to work on assisted colonization. |  |
Heather Crochetiere (MES, in progress)
Heather completed her undergraduate degree in biology at McMaster University, specializing in Biodiversity with a minor in GIS. She spent two seasons working as a field botany student at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. Her thesis will examine both customer preferences for species promoted by garden centers as alternatives to invasive species and nursery manager/owners’ views on participating in voluntary initiatives to prevent the spread of invasive species through horticulture. |
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Heather Andrachuk (MES, in progress)
Heather completed her undergraduate degree in biology at Dalhousie University, with a minor in environmental studies. She worked for Environment Canada for several years as the national NatureWatch coordinator and as project manager of Pollination Canada. Heather has collected data for her thesis, which will examine the effectiveness of citizen science programs for monitoring pollinator abundance and diversity, but is currently teaching full-time. |
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Jenny Chan (Research assistant)
Jenny See-Yan Chan completed her honours undergraduate degree in ERS, where she developed a strong interest in the intersections of environment(alism), social justice, and race. She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario, where she researches perceptions of invasive species based on an individual's understanding or connection to immigration. Jenny also enjoys web design, illustration, and queer culture; one day, she will write a web comic. |
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Past students and post-docs
Mark Neff (post-doc, 2010-2011), Assistant Professor, Allegheny College
Mark is an assistant professor of Environmental Science and Environmental Studies at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA and an affiliated scholar at the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University. In general, he is interested in the roles of science and values in environmental controversies and decision-making, understanding how best to organize science so that it contributes to societal goals, as well as figuring out how to make decisions about the environment proactively (before a problem occurs or before it has become severe) rather than reactively (when interventions tend to become more difficult). |
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Kyle Creelman (MES, 2011)
Kyle completed his Bachelor of Environmental Studies and Bachelor of Education degrees at the University of Windsor and completed his Master’s degree on adolescents’ attitudes and perceptions of invasive species and nature. He currently teaches in the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board. |
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Elaine Ferrier (MES, 2011)
Elaine began her academic career at Trent University and completed her Master’s thesis on citizens’ perceptions of the Oak Ridges Moraine, which involved both interviews and an application of the Q Method survey technique. Elaine has a wide range of employment experiences, including an internship on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, where she developed management priorities for the Flyingfish fishery through discussions with fishers in Barbados and Tobago, and currently, as a Policy Research Intern in the Natural Heritage Land Use Planning Section of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. |
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Carolyn Glass (MES, 2010)
For her thesis, Carolyn evaluated the reintroduction of Atlantic Salmon to Lake Ontario and its tributaries. |
I have listed some recent/key papers below, but please see my CV for a complete list of publications. Please contact me if you would like to cite one of these papers and need the final version or if you would like a pdf of another paper not listed here. Student co-authors are indicated with an asterisk (*).
Books:
2011 Oravec Research Award in Environmental Communication (National Communication Association) "a beautifully interdisciplinary investigation ... an essential read for practicing scientists, editors and reviewers, students and teachers, policy-makers and funders, and the informed public." -Science, Aug. 5, 2011 Reviews and preview available at Amazon.com Order from Yale University Press, Amazon.com, or Amazon.ca |
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Journal articles and book chapters: (Citations at Google Scholar)
I regularly contribute to academic conferences and speak to other organizations. Please see my CV for complete details and contact me if you wish to discuss whether I might speak for your organization. (UW Expert Speakers)
Here are some interesting previous workshops in which I have taken part:
Fall 2011
ERS 110, ERS Introductory Course: Environmental Analysis and Solutions I: Transdisciplinary Foundations
Winter 2012
ERS 410, ERS Capstone: Environmental Analysis and Solutions VI: Transforming Ecosocial Systems
Spring 2012
ERS 283, Ontario Natural History:
Species and Patterns
I will hold this eight-day block field course at Grebe Lodge on the Bruce Peninsula in late June. The course also includes online components leading up to the field portion of the course.
Find out more about my interests and life experiences.
Among other commitments, my major service is the following:
Updated: December 7, 2011
