Ryan Plummer

Social-ecological (SE) fit has been posited as a prerequisite for decision-making performance. However, empirical research linking indicators of SE fit to performance are limited. Current studies rarely consider how multiple overlapping interdependencies that constitute social-ecological systems (SES) influence fit and performance. This research investigates flood planning to probe the relationship between SE fit and functional performance. We incorporate aspects of complexity from the ecological system through interconnected sub-basins and from the collective action problem through interdependent functions. Applying a multi-level network approach, we assessed how patterns of collaboration believed to support positive outcomes in social-ecological systems (i.e., SE fit) impact task performance when accounting for different SE fit challenges. When actors were working in the same sub-basin, collaboration that aligned to interdependent functions did not influence performance. When actors collaborated across sub-basins, collaboration that aligned with interdependent functions enhanced performance. Our findings highlight that SE fit is crucial for enhancing performance specifically when contextual factors will increase the transaction cost of collaborative relationships.

Notwithstanding actions taken to date through policy, programmes and practices, the planet remains on an unsustainable pathway. System level and individual actions are needed to address the challenges that confront us. Finding approaches to encourage individual pro‐environmental behaviours are important for shifting an individual's actions, and these changes can have systemic implications. Outdoor adventure education programmes represent an ideal context to research the development of pro‐environmental behaviours. For outdoor adventure education to effect both individual and system‐level change, it is necessary for participants to connect learning from programmes to wider contexts where they can leverage influence. One of the prominent transferable outcomes of outdoor adventure education is the ability to serve in a leadership role. This article addresses the following primary research question: What aspects of outdoor adventure education programmes promote pro‐environmental behaviour intentions among participants? It explores this by examining various learning mechanisms and design features of NOLS, a global expeditionary outdoor adventure education programme formerly known as the National Outdoor Leadership School. Data were collected and analysed from 202 NOLS programme participants from around the world through open‐ended responses completed as part of a questionnaire at the end of the programme. Results showed that the most prominent aspects of the outdoor adventure education programme that helped to promote pro‐environmental behaviour intentions were the building of conservation and environmental issue awareness, the practice of minimum impact techniques, and engagement in waste and food management. These programme aspects were produced through the learning mechanism domains of structure‐oriented learning, instructor‐oriented learning, environment‐oriented learning, instructor‐and‐student oriented learning and independent student‐oriented learning to varying degrees. Our results illuminate design features of outdoor adventure education that have potential to generate and support environmental commitment and show how pro‐environmental learning is mediated through broad exposure to an array of activities and learning mechanism domains. In combination with the leadership development components, our results suggest that outdoor adventure education programmes show promise for developing and supporting environmental commitment in individuals necessary for solving global environmental crises now and in the future. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Large organizations play a critical role in environmental stewardship. The concept of leverage points offers one promising avenue of inquiry to enhance the effectiveness of large organizations in advancing environmental stewardship. Here, we focus on the flow of information within a large environmental organization as a deep leverage point for system change. We conducted a social network analysis of an organization with an environmental stewardship mandate. Results show that the organization has a dense communication network that could be effectively leveraged for environmental stewardship communication, especially by influential individuals and departments. As practical implications, we recommend that an environmental stewardship-focused communication approach, based on four strategies (segmentation, induction, two-way communication, and individual strategies) be enacted by the organization to use this leverage point to enhance the diffusion of environmental stewardship. Directions for future research include a deep study of the plurality of understandings of environmental stewardship within the organization.

Environmental stewardship—a concept that describes the relationships between humans and the environment—is gaining increased attention as an approach that can address planetary sustainability issues. In‐depth empirical investigations of local environmental stewardship are needed to understand how social‐ecological context influences stewardship, as well as the arrangement of conceptual elements in applied settings. This study addresses these needs by conducting an in‐depth exploration of environmental stewardship in the Niagara Region of Canada. A single embedded case study design is employed, with environmental stewardship initiatives constituting the individual units of analysis with the case. Analysis of the spatial arrangement of a total of 89 initiatives indicated that initiatives tended to cluster closer to the Niagara River and in more populous municipalities. The significance of collaboration, tensions between the environment and economic development, and concerns about political impacts emerged as themes across contextual factors. The configuration of stewardship elements reveals interesting discrepancies between initiatives and previous stewardship research focused on larger scales, individuals, and organizations. Further analysis is encouraged to illuminate environmental stewardship in other settings as well as advance relational understanding of conceptual elements.

Human development seeks to enlarge freedoms by building capacity and is integral to achieving sustainable development, particularly in the era of the Anthropocene. However, the efficiency and effectiveness of capacity building is limited. First-generation adaptive capacity emphasizes a deficit model. Second-generation adaptive capacity focuses on mobilization by individuals. Neither adequately address the issue of scale, nor recognize how stocks of capacity are enhanced or diminished through interactions between individuals and groups. Addressing these shortcomings and realizing climate-resilient development, is contingent upon a next (third) generation of adaptive capacity that incorporates the transfer of capacity.

Assessments of ecosystem condition are fundamental to landscape management, and there are several sources of evidence practitioners may use. Perceptions of individuals is one of those sources, and understudied. This study quantitatively compares ecological field measurements and the perceptions of a group of key individuals. Findings reveal that perceptions did not statistically differ from the ecological assessment for elements of ecosystem composition (e.g. vegetation diversity and invasive species). However, differences were found for all other elements (e.g. ecosystem function, structure, and overall condition), such that the individuals tended to have lower ratings of ecosystem condition than ecological assessments. The findings highlight the importance of comparing different approaches for reciprocal verification of data and to identify opportunities to integrate evidence, thereby providing a more detailed picture of ecosystem condition.

Momentum of the creation of partnerships between higher education institutions (HEIs) and communities is strong. As their significance intensifies, the question of how to judge their value is garnering increasing attention. In this perspective article, we develop a framework for comprehensively appraising HEI-community partnerships. Constituent parts of the framework are unpacked, and application of the framework is then discussed. The appraisal framework provides a mechanism to document evidence of worth, and most importantly contributes to the continuous improvement and learning imperative of HEI-community partnerships.

Engaging in environmental stewardship is critical for sustainability. Understanding individual differences and engagement is an important gap in present scholarship and addressing it is necessary to understand individual factors that relate to the types of activities engaged in, motivations and barriers to environmental stewardship. We surveyed 637 Canadian and American adults via Amazon Mechanical Turk, querying a range of demographic, psychological and environmental perceptions factors as well as motivations and barriers to stewardship activities. Respondents were ultimately grouped into Non-Stewards, Home-Oriented Stewards and Community-Oriented Stewards. Few differences were found among these groups. However, Home-Oriented Stewards and Community-Oriented Stewards exhibited very different initial and ongoing motivations to engage in environmental stewardship. Accordingly, we identify stewardship motivations as a potential leverage point and as one of several promising avenues for future research related to enhancing engagement in environmental stewardship for the sustainability of the planet.