Researcher

Dr. Nicole M. Ardoin PhD

Emmett Faculty Scholar and Sykes Family Director, Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences
Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University

Areas of Expertise

Founder of the Social Ecology Lab at Stanford University, Professor Ardoin is an interdisciplinary social scientist who researches individual and collective environmental behavior as influenced by environmental learning and motivated by place-based connections. Professor Ardoin and members of her lab often work in collaboration with community partners, including public, private, and social sector organizations at a range of scales, to co-design and implement studies that build on a theoretical frame while concurrently addressing questions of interest to the partners. This work occurs primarily in informal settings, such as parks and protected areas, nature-based tourism locales, community gathering spaces, and other everyday-life settings. Interested in actionable knowledge and notions of co-production, Professor Ardoin and her group collaborate with sustainability, environmental conservation, and philanthropic organizations to study the design, implementation, and effectiveness of a range of social-ecological practices. Through reflective learning, curiosity, and humility, the Social Ecology Lab strives to bring theoretically based insights to sustainability opportunities and challenges.

Projects

Publications

Crary, I., Ardoin, N.M., and Gardner, C. 2022. Exploring the impact of child interaction with food preparation on vegetable preferences: A farm-based education approach. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 54:1, 46-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neb.2021.08.009

Ardoin, N.M. and Heimlich, J.E. 2021. Environmental learning in everyday life: Foundations of meaning and a context for change. Environmental Education Research, 27:12, 1681–1699, https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1992354

Swanson, S. and Ardoin, N.M. 2021. Communities behind the lens: A review and critical analysis of Visual Participatory Methods in biodiversity conservation. Biological Conservation, 262, 109293, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109293

Wojcik, D.J., Ardoin, N.M., and Gould, R.K. 2021. Using social network analysis to explore and expand our understanding of a robust environmental learning landscape. Environmental Education Research, 27:9, 1263–1283, https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1905779

Ardoin, N.M. and Bowers, A.W. 2020. Early childhood environmental education: A systematic review of the research literature. Educational Research Review, 31,100353, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100353

Selby, S., Cruz, A., Ardoin, N.M., and Durham, W.B. 2020. Community-as-pedagogy: Environmental leadership for youth in rural Costa Rica. Environmental Education Research, 26:11, 1594–1620, https://doi.10.1080/13504622.2020.1792415

Forsyth, J.E., Mutuku, F.M., Kibe, L., Egemba, C., Ardoin, N.M., and LaBeaud, D. 2020. Source reduction with a purpose: Mosquito ecology and community perspectives offer insights for improving household mosquito management in coastal Kenya. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 14:5, e0008239, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008239

Ardoin, N.M., Gaillard, E., and Bowers, A.W. 2020. Environmental education outcomes for conservation: A systematic review. Biological Conservation, 241, 108224, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108224

Mach, K., Lemos, M.C., Meadow, A.M., Wyborn, C., Klenk, N., Arnott, J.C., Ardoin, N.M., Fiesler, C., Moss, R.H., Nichols, L., Stults, M., Vaughan, C., and Wong-Parodi, G. 2020. Actionable knowledge and the art of engagement. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 42, 30–37, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2020.01.002

For additional publications in other related areas, as well as those prior to 2020, please visit our lab website and/or see profile on Google Scholar.