For his CCC fellowship Adam employed Photovoice, a participatory action research project, to organize a diverse group of conservation practitioners and community members in eastern Samburu County, Kenya. The project allowed the group to identify local conservation concerns and develop plans for community action. As a result, 26 photographers from Samburu National Reserve, Kalama and West Gate Community Wildlife Conservancies and local communities worked together to identify a way forward for conservation, education, and development on their own lands. Their collective vision has been shared with international audiences in Kenya and the United States. Adam is currently working at the Jornada Experimental Range as a Human Ecologist for USDA-ARS (New Mexico State University) coordinating the Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS), a cloud-based analytic system using mobile phone technologies to integrate local and scientific knowledge for dynamic land-use planning in Kenya, Namibia, and the southwestern US.

The Samburu Photovoice Project

Legitimizing Local Perspectives in Conservation Through Community

She explored the process of paradigm shifts in order to understand how to facilitate paradigm shifts in the construction industry more effectively.  Her research is informing the development of a process guide called LENSES (Living Environments in Natural, Social, and Economic Systems) used to foster a living systems approach to the design, construction and operations of buildings with Brian Dunbar and his team at the Institute for the Built Environment at CSU (http://ibe.colostate.edu/).

Arren joined the CCC to coordinate the undergraduate opportunities initiative. Arren made progress towards integrating collaborative conservation content into existing programs and classes via presentations to students in the classroom and in the field. She has developed several field trips around the area as experiential learning opportunities, including a biking tour around City of Fort Collins’ Natural Areas. Other objectives of the initiative include connecting undergrads to our Collaborative Conservation Fellow and alumni, as well as faculty and practitioners working in the field. Finally, she promotes these opportunities by elevating our visibility and communication across the University, with outreach to student clubs, departmental coordinators, and listservs.  In addition to this, Arren is facilitating CCC graduate fellowships endeavors with Dr. Kim Skyelander. Arren enjoys swimming, traditional climbing, cooking, and traveling.

Collaborating With Communities In Coastal Management In Cebu, Philippines

Acceptability, Conflict, And Supporter Coastal Resource Management Policies And Initiatives In Cebu, Philippines

Experiential Programs For Educators A Case Study On Coastal Policy Communication In Cebu, Philippines

Predicting Stakeholder Support For Fishery Policies

Information Dissemination Diffusion And Marine Protected Area Approval In The Philippines Ocean And Coastal Management

For her fellowship she evaluated the collaborative process of scenario planning as applied to climate change management initiatives in the National Park Service and other land management agencies. Ashley explored how scientists and managers negotiated the uncertainty and complexity of climate change impacts on protected areas. She studied the application of different collaborative tools such as scenario planning and situation mapping to understand how different organizations and individuals can work together to promote adaptation in environmental management.

Her graduate research and fellowship project were conducted in four different herding communities of Mongolia to analyze the relationship between community-based rangeland management (CBRM) and the social-ecological resilience of pastoral Mongolian communities.

For her fellowship, she used collaborative processes to engage government, non-profit, and agricultural communities in exploring the potential for a payment for ecosystem services (PES) program to deliver conservation and livelihood outcomes in the buffer zone of La Amistad Bi-national World Heritage Site in Western Panama. The resulting research also contributes to a key social consideration in the design of PES: how to proactively explore ways to ensure that landowners across the socioeconomic spectrum, including particularly the poor, are able to participate in PES.

Informing The Design Of A Payment For Ecosystem Services Program In Western Panama

Upper Green River Basin Ecosystem Services

Her fellowship involved carrying out a Photovoice project that put cameras in the hands of Maasai volunteers to document their interactions with wildlife, conservation and drought, and has led to multiple art exhibits in Fort Collins, Colorado.  She also co-produced and co-directed a documentary film on the project’s Photovoice process and outcomes, entitled ” Through our Eyes: a Maasai Photographic Journey”.  She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at Instituto de Ciencias Sociais e Politicas, in Lisbon, Portugal, carrying out cognitive anthropology research in Guinea-Bissau.

Through Our Eyes

As collaborative approaches to solving complex natural resource problems and their role in natural resource planning continue to proliferate, it is essential that collaborative efforts be evaluated to ensure the most efficient and effective uses of scarce resources. For her fellowship Patti collaborated with conservation practitioners to develop an evaluation procedure utilizing criteria and indicators for determining the progress and success of collaboratives in Colorado.

Her CCC fellowship involved producing films and written reports for local villagers and village leaders in the Greater Ruaha Ecosystem of Tanzania describing the general behavioral ecology of elephants, as well as the landscape ecology of the conflict and potential mitigation strategies which may be employed to manage it.  These activities inspired the development of her current project, known as the Ruaha National Park visitation program, the aim of which is to continue bridging the disconnect which local people experience between themselves and wildlife by providing local people with regular opportunities to visit and learn about the park, and to measure the influence of these visits on identification of Ruaha National Park as a locally valuable resource.

She is assessing the biological consequences of earlier snowmelt as a result of desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes.  For her fellowship she collaborated with the Mountain Studies Institute, Silverton, CO to create visualizations of Rocky Mountain alpine landscape seasonality in 2020 based on continued high levels of dust deposition to share with local residents for use in decision-making.

For his CCC fellowship, he worked with ranchers and other stakeholders in northern Colorado to explore ways to develop business models that align conservation and economic incentives for working ranches and their communities. This project has led to efforts to develop payment for ecosystem services programs in northern Colorado and elsewhere across the Rocky Mountain region.

A thesis written by Megan Christensen, one of Josh’s students, which pertains to his fellow project.

For her fellowship, Liba worked with public and private landowners in Hawaii to understand the seed dispersal services that native birds provide and their role in restoring understory fruiting plants for conservation and Hawaiian cultural practices. Liba later worked with Erica Goad, CCC graduate student fellow, on her project on mammal use of dispersed housing developments along the Front Range of Colorado. She also worked closely with Lindsay Ex, CCC practitioner fellow, on her project to develop a learning network for conservation development scientists and practitioners.

For his fellowship, David facilitated linkages among Maasai communities and conservation organizations to enhance mutual participation in conservation, while exploring innovative and sustainable ways of generating revenue for local households and conserving the environment.  David continues to work at the interface of pastoral communities, research and conservation organizations, and policy makers to enhance understanding of problems affecting livelihoods and sustainability, especially in the dry lands of East Africa.

Ed is working on a community-based initiative, the mission of which is to strengthen the connection between the Lakota people and the buffalo.  Historically, the Lakota people practiced collaboration as a way of life, and understood the importance of the concept of conservationism.  Due to historical events that have created a “disconnect” from teachings, a revitalization of these beliefs and practices must occur and Ed’s project will create a resource for this.  Ed is producing a pictorial with narrative on the role of the Buffalo Nation in the Lakota spiritual and cultural ceremonies with emphasis on their role in conservationism according to the Lakota perspective to be used in schools, colleges, universities and for community presentations.  He is collaborating with Village Earth, youth from Pine Ridge Reservation, and traditional healers and elders to complete this project.

As part of his fellowship he developed and implemented a four-day short course for conservation practitioners and students entitled ‘Private Land Conservation Law and Policy.’  The course was held at CSU in August, 2009.  Jeff also spearheaded a field-based conservation planning short-course for non-specialists for September 2010.

Common Questions On Conservation Easements