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Developing a sense of self-efficacy

Ardoin explains that simply sharing information about climate change, biodiversity loss, or any other big, overwhelming topic usually isn’t enough to inspire change. “It’s not just about dumping knowledge into someone’s head or putting a sign on the side of a bus,” she says. “It’s more about supporting people in developing a sense of self-efficacy. They have to build knowledge and skills that allow them to make a difference on important, relevant issues.”

A sense of place can be as complicated and chaotic as the places themselves. While many researchers try to simplify systems and control variables, Ardoin’s team embraces the complicating factors that influence behaviors.  “We do our research in the messiness of the real world,” she says.

To fully understand the ways that people perceive and interact with their environments, Ardoin and her team call on the fields of psychology, political science, geography and learning sciences, among others. Her 14-person group includes members with PhDs or master’s degrees in fields such as sociology, anthropology, and science education. 

“All of us are quite interdisciplinary,” says Ardoin, who has a PhD in social ecology and an MS in natural resource management, and studied art history, business, and French before taking that life-changing job at the Grand Canyon.

Ardoin’s team has applied its multipronged approach to places like the Galapagos Islands, a Pacific archipelago visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. The tourists face a particular form of cognitive dissonance. 

“They have an incredible experience,” she says. “For days, all they hear about and experience is the pristine nature of the islands. Often, just before they are leaving, they learn that the islands are threatened by climate change, pollution, illegal fishing and even pressures from tourism.” That last message, she says, is especially hard to hear.

Thanks to work by Ardoin and other colleagues, tour providers have undertaken efforts to tailor elements of the interpretive experience to provide a more complete — and more actionable — understanding of the islands.

“The more holistic message then becomes: It’s a magnificent place with thriving biodiversity, but it’s also one that is threatened. The positive and hopeful side of this message is that there’s something you can do about it,” she says. “And that’s not just true of the Galapagos, but it’s true everywhere. All places on Earth face challenges, especially when we are talking about an issue like climate change — and those issues differ from place to place, but there is something you can do about it.”

‘Wherever you are is a place’

Closer to home, Ardoin’s team has observed Bay Area residents in their natural habitats, including ������������ commuters making their way to work and shoppers forging connections at farmers’ markets. Their studies find that people often have a range of motives for environmentally friendly actions. 

For example, many Caltrain riders appreciate a chance to work or zone out without having to think about traffic — a finding that can be useful for when designing campaigns to promote alternative transportation options. Shoppers at farmers’ markets like to chat with neighbors and farmers, interactions that create new opportunities for messaging around community building as well as healthy eating. 

A through-line for Ardoin’s work has been finding ways to help people value and protect the places that are important to them. “While you may not live in the Galapagos or the Grand Canyon, it’s important to recognize that, wherever you are is a place — and you can be connected to your neighborhood and think about how you can make a difference, starting right where you are.”

In today’s highly mobile world, many people, in fact, feel attached to multiple places, often transcending the traditional idea of communities. As Ardoin puts it, somewhere in Chicago, there’s a surfer who feels most at home when they’re riding a wave in Santa Cruz. Such diffuse connections amplify the opportunities for people to take action to protect places and resources, whether near or far, she says.

Moreover, Ardoin emphasizes that the concept of “places” goes beyond landscapes and nature. Whether people live in postcard-worthy mountains, a sandy coast, or the midst of a bustling urban center, much of their identity comes down to their sense of community. “Even in strikingly beautiful places, people mainly talk about their connections with other people,” she says.

For the last couple of pandemic years, Ardoin’s ‘place’ has largely been in her office. But spring 2022 brought new possibilities for travel and outreach. On Earth Day, her team visited Big Basin State Park in California as part of a reawakened project focused on the effects of climate change on the iconic redwoods. This summer, team members will be returning to the Galapagos to see how perspectives on environmental literacy and behavior have changed over the years. 

One of Ardoin’s first post-pandemic field trips took her back to her old stomping grounds, Grand Canyon National Park, where she spoke with park rangers about a potential new research project on climate change. She hopes to measure things like understanding and optimism, elements that, in their way, are as fundamental as carbon. 

She’s no longer leading hikes, but she’s still connected to the canyon. It’s the place where her work started, but it’s just one place among many that matters. 

Nicole Ardoin and Mele Wheaton, associate director of strategy at E-IPER, teach Designing for Change: Environmental Education Research and Practice, a new online course developed by the Social Ecology Lab. Learn more and register .