Critiques of the environmental ramifications of the early Genesis narrative by environmental thinkers such as Aldo Leopold, Ian McHarg, and Lynn White underscore a longstanding tension between the environmental movement and Western Christianity. The evangelical community (EC) especially, has been at odds with the environmental movement, as the EC grounds its theology regarding human relations to nature on the Genesis narrative—and especially the Genesis 1:26-28 dominion mandate— interpreted with a literal hermeneutic. The EC generally concludes in favor of either a dominionist interpretation, that mankind has dominion over nature, or a stewardship interpretation, that mankind’s dominion is more akin to tending or stewarding than to domination. Both interpretations trend toward the anthropocentrism that Leopold, McHarg, and White criticize. J. Baird Callicott postulates a third, less anthropocentric view: the citizenship interpretation, that humanity is co-citizen with nonhuman beings, rather than a superior. Callicott’s view, while commendable on key points, is incompatible with EC methodology because it is grounded only on Genesis 2 and subsequent passages, rejecting the legitimacy of Genesis 1:26-28 altogether. A fourth interpretation is proposed here, redacted dominionism, derived using EC methodology, and claiming that human relations to nature are based on theocentric themes. Redacted dominionism understands humanity as initially given dominion over nature by virtue of the imago Dei, but human disobedience to God, tarnished that image, and human qualification for dominion was lost. Post-fall, the dominion mandate is never repeated, and seems even to be replaced. In consideration of early Genesis and related passages, understood within EC methodology, redacted dominionism argues for theocentrism, thus grounding a biblical environmental ethic that escapes the indictments of Leopold, McHarg, and White. Such an ethic could be useful within the EC to motivate greater environmental consideration. It could likewise be beneficial to those within and without the EC, as a catalyst for dialogue between the environmental movement and the EC, and as a mechanism whereby the EC may be held accountable for attitudes and actions impacting nature.

This dissertation examines the effect of podcast tours on park visitor experiences. Podcast tours have emerged as a new medium in facilitating the interaction between tourists and destinations. Providing visitors with enhanced experiences through the use of interpretive technologies is especially important for national parks dealing with enhancing visitors' experiences which may influence visitors' perception of environmental stewardship and, in turn, positively affect preserving environmental resources. Furthermore, there has been a noticeable increase in consumer demand for podcast tours. Based on theoretical accounts that human voices convey rich social information, this dissertation proposes that podcast tours enhance perceived social presence and mindfulness which leads to enhanced tourist experiences (learning, enjoyment, and escape) and environmental stewardship (attitudinal and behavioral stewardship). A field experiment was conducted at Padre Island National Seashore using MP3 players containing podcast tours. The podcasts were manipulated using four experimental conditions: 2 information source compositions (single narrator voice vs. multiple narrator voices) x 2 narrating styles (formal style vs. conversational style). The questionnaire administered to subjects after they took the podcast tour included measures of social presence, mindfulness, tourist experience (learning, enjoyment, and escape), and stewardship (attitudinal and behavioral stewardship). The pre-questionnaire included question items regarding the nature of the visit, visitor characteristics, technology usage behavior, audio tour evaluation and socio-demographics. Responses from 221 visitors were analyzed using structural equation modeling with LISREL 8.7. The results provide evidence that multiple voices, and to some extent also narration style, positively increase social presence but neither experimental condition had any influence on mindfulness. The increased feeling of social presence influences park visitors' enjoyment and escape experiences but not learning. Mindfulness was found to affect visitors' learning, enjoyment, and escape experience. The results further show that enhanced experiences positively influence attitudinal stewardship which in turn leads to behavioral stewardship toward national parks. The results of this dissertation generally support the theoretical model suggesting that even if communicated through audio-only media, the human voice creates and sustains a positive social context for meaningful interaction which influences tourist experiences and stewardship. Mindfulness was also found to be an important construct impacting the quality of visitor experiences but could not be explained by the specific podcast tour designs tested. From a practical perspective, the findings provide important insights regarding the usefulness of podcast tours as interpretative media, and also suggest that specific designs are more capable of fostering feelings of social presence.

As the planet rapidly urbanizes and demand for locally-produced ecosystem services grows, the effective management of urban green infrastructure is increasingly important. A number of digital tools have recently been developed and released that share information and incite citizen participation in the governance, management and planning of urban green infrastructure. In this paper, I analyse six different e-tools within the context of New York City with a focus on the types of knowledge they share and the forms of participation they incite in relation to urban green infrastructure. I explore how e-tool knowledge exchange and participation relate to civic stewardship of urban green spaces, as stewards play a significant role in the local production of urban ecosystem services. The findings indicate that most e-tools are designed to share a large amount of data describing social-ecological systems. In many cases, the tool developers hope that through gaining knowledge about the system, users will develop an ethical consideration for the environmental resource and even take action as environmental stewards. Additionally, while many of the e-tools present complex, exploratory digital learning environments, many also combine virtual experiences with in-person trainings, workshops and coaching. These hybrid approaches harness the power of digital platforms to organize diverse social networks and share large amounts of data while employing more traditional on-the-ground organizing techniques and offer a way forward in an age of increasing dominance of digital data. Further research on these types of hybrid digital approaches is warranted. Future research on e-tool usership and connections to stewardship outcomes could enrich the understanding of how e-tools operate as well as their social-ecological potential and impact.

During the 21st century, more people will reside in cities than in rural areas for the first time in human history. As cities expand to accommodate their growing population, pressure is mounting on local biodiversity and the ecosystems they support. This prompted the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity - in collaboration with the City of Singapore - to develop a biodiversity index specifically for cities. In 2014, the final draft of the City Biodiversity Index was released. Twenty-three indicators comprise three categories that assess: native biodiversity, ecosystem services, and municipal support for local biodiversity. A case-study was designed for Starkville, MS to better understand the merits of the index and its application to small rural town planning. The research illuminated the breadth and flexibility of the index across multiple scales and the availability of local resources to deliver a meaningful biodiversity analysis.

Environmental stewardship schemes are an important driver of biodiversity and habitat improvement throughout England, with the provision of funding to land managers to deliver effective land management that will benefit wildlife, habitats, natural resources and the population. Participation in agri-environment schemes is voluntary and much is done to encourage scheme participation. Dartmoor is a designated landscape, a National Park, and a Special Area of Conservation and encompasses areas of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Dartmoor is a farmed landscape, with the area divided into 92 common land units, over which a diversity of common rights are exercised. At present, the majority of Dartmoor Commons are managed by Environmental agreements, protecting the habitat and the SSSI’s. There is a demand for Dartmoor to be a recreational area, an environmental jewel, and a farmed landscape. Protection of this landscape requires the amalgamation of various organisations and individuals. Research indicates the benefits of group agri-environment schemes, of a landscape-scale approach to the improvement of habitats and the provision of wildlife corridors, crossing the boundaries of land ownership. vi The research considers the factors associated with group agri-environment schemes, where it is not necessarily like-minded individuals who come together because of a common cause and a shared vision. The issue surrounding common rights results in persons coming together because they have common rights and not necessarily a common view. A combination of interview responses and questionnaire data has been pulled together to ascertain the factors affecting agri-environment scheme participation on Dartmoor. The data reflects on the impacts of group agri-environment schemes on the commons of Dartmoor. The question remains as to the voluntary nature of group agri-environment schemes on Dartmoor. Hardin (1968) recognised the impact of one commoner’s decision had on another. Dartmoor agri-environment schemes require participation from the majority of commoners; therefore an individual’s action has a consequence. This research aims to investigate the impacts of agri-environment schemes on the commons of Dartmoor.

Indigenous environmental justice and rights to land are often compromised in favour of state and corporate land control. Narratives that oppose indigenous peoples to development and conservation, and portray communities as either “backwards” or “environmentally destructive”, have been used since the colonial period to justify dispossession of indigenous lands and displacements of indigenous peoples. In parallel, an indigenous justice movementhas been growing, that has absorbed a “counter-narrative” that depicts indigenous peoples as environmental stewards, and stresses the importance of indigenous rights to land as part ofeffective climate change mitigation. This thesis investigates how narratives in the scientific literature and practice frame indigenous peoples’ rights to land in Southeast Asia. A review of 60 scientific articles was conducted and complemented with a small sample of in-depthinterviews with practitioners working with development, conservation and indigenous rights in Southeast Asia. Through the creation of a novel framework that combines environmental justice and stewardship, this study uncovers how modern narratives continue to perpetuate entrenched colonial and business-as-usual pathways. / FairFrontiers Research Project at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto

In recent years, there has been a shift in interest in travel, toward an increasing interest in sustainable travel and alternative forms of travel. As a result, there is also an interest in research studying these alternative travel concepts. Therefore, this qualitative study looks at experiences in ecovillages, focusing on volunteer workers. It examines the effects of the ecovillages that influence these volunteers to become environmental stewards. For this purpose, the concept of place attachment, as the connection to the place and the people within the ecovillage, is used. As well as the concept of transformative learning, i.e., the change of views and orientations of the participants of the learning program. To get a better overview of the context of the case study, the literature on voluntourism and voluntourism in the global north (due to the location of the case study), as well as on communities and eco-communities will be examined. The case study is an ecovillage in Ireland, located in Cloughjordan, the middle of Ireland. There, 11 in-depth interviews and observations were conducted, and the volunteers were interviewed about their experiences and their time in the ecovillage. The results of this study suggest three ways in which volunteers are influenced by their ecovillage experiences to become environmental stewards. On the one hand, this is the case due to the recognition of the importance of the developed soft skills. As this is learning for oneself and improving communication with other people. Furthermore, by learning with and from each other, the volunteers are led to take stewardship actions. Finally, it is also the community itself that manages to implement stewardship among the volunteers through the way of life and togetherness and the high value of environmental actions through place attachment.

Environmental stewardship is an important attribute for students and populations of all ages to have. This study looked at the effect of middle school students of a teacher who participated in a summer field ecology training program taking part in a long-term ecology project, and the impact of the experience on their environmental stewardship attitude. A variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to look at changes in students' environmental stewardship attitudes including: surveying in a pre/post format, teacher, parent, and student focus groups, and teacher interviews. The teacher's experience with the summer field ecology training provided a foundation for development of curriculum and confidence in carrying out fieldwork with his students. Results indicate that participation in a long-term project contributed towards an increase in the students' environmental stewardship attitude, especially if the students reported having taken part in environmental activities in the past or if they were female. The results also indicate a number of implications for other schools and teachers including: focusing on middle school students, good teacher training, focused, long-term projects for students, support for teachers for project implementation, and ecological restoration as part of the student projects.

Les cadres théoriques de la conservation de la nature n’ont pas un caractère figé, mais ont évolué au cours du temps en privilégiant telles ou telles valeurs, notamment intrinsèques ou instrumentales. Or, les limites de ces cadres d’analyse pour susciter des engagements pour la nature ont été montrées. En m’appuyant sur la notion de valeurs relationnelles ainsi que sur celle des transformations des expériences de nature, j’ai conduit un travail qui veut apporter une réflexion complémentaire aux manières de concevoir la conservation de la nature. Pour cela, à travers l’étude transdisciplinaire des initiatives citoyennes de jardins partagés, cette thèse cherche à comprendre les motivations des citoyens ordinaires à s’engager pour la nature. Ce travail a notamment permis de montrer que des expériences de nature se font aussi en ville, par exemple pour combler un vide personnel par des pratiques de jardinage et des mises en relations sociales et écologiques dans ces espaces. Ces expériences sont aussi vécues par les riverains des jardins, qui pour la plupart reconnaissent et valorisent les bienfaits de ces jardins pour eux, pour les jardiniers, pour le quartier et pour la ville. Au niveau de la biodiversité, j’ai montré que les jardins sont des endroits propices pour l’installation d’une flore spontanée, dont la richesse dépend de l’action des jardiniers et des décisions des propriétaires du terrain (notamment de laisser l’espace disponible sur un temps long). Enfin, j’ai montré comment les relations socio-écologiques créées et encouragées dans un jardin deviennent des moteurs pour l’action politique. Par tous ces angles d’approche, ce travail de thèse montre donc le rôle crucial des valeurs relationnelles dans la motivation à conserver la nature. Relations à reconnaitre et valoriser dans toutes leurs diversités. / Theoretical frameworks for nature conservation have evolved through time, with priority successively given to different values, instrumental or intrinsic. However, these frameworks have limits in motivating engagement towards nature. Building on the respective notions of relational values and transformation of nature experiences, my thesis work aims to fuel the reflection on new ways of considering nature conservation. I have used community gardens, a particular form of citizen initiative, as a study case to understand the motivations of ordinary citizens to engage towards nature. On the social side, I showed that experiences of nature can be gained in these gardens despite the urban environment, to fulfil personal needs through gardening and through the development of social and ecological relationships. These experiences of nature influence the neighbouring citizens of the gardens, who acknowledge their benefits for themselves, the gardeners, the neighbourhood, and the city in general.On the ecological side, I showed that community gardens host a rich community of spontaneous plants, which species richness depends upon gardeners’ management and garden age, which in turn depends on stakeholder decisions as to the durability of community gardens.Last, I showed how socio-ecological relationships created and promoted in a community garden can become drivers for political actions, through the particular case of one garden.Through this combination of social and ecological approaches, this thesis highlights the crucial role played by relational values in nature conservation motivation. These relations have to be acknowledged and promoted in all their diversity.

Most theories that attempt to describe the relationship between corporate sustainability strategies and a company’s triple bottom line also make the assumption that there is insufficient evidence to produce generalizable conclusions. This study contributes to the overall body of knowledge, as there is a lack of significant generalizable knowledge on corporate sustainability strategies and a company’s triple bottom line. To provide a methodologically more rigorous review, we performed a meta-analysis on 18 scholarly articles from top-tier academic journals containing 64 experimental treatments that measured an observed (not self-reported) behavioural outcome, which yielded a sample size of 23,871 observations. Most studies combined multiple treatments, which preclude definitive conclusions on the most effective treatments. The findings suggest that there is a positive medium to strong relationship between sustainability-oriented strategies, for both reactive and proactive behaviours (Dyllick et al., 1997; Gminder et al., 2002), and a company’s “triple bottom line.” Furthermore, regardless of the firm type (e.g., multinational corporation or local establishment, emerging economy firm or developed nation business), proactive sustainability-oriented strategies tend to have a higher payoff than firms that adopt reactive sustainability-oriented strategies. This meta-analysis establishes a greater degree of certainty with respect to corporate sustainability strategies and a firm’s triple bottom line relationship than currently assumed by many business scholars. To conclude, the sustainability concept has significantly expanded the scope of measuring organizational performance according to economic, social, and environmental components (Robins, 2006), which are collectively described as the “triple bottom line.” Organizations have determined that specific products and processes can have serious environmental and social implications beyond providing typical economic benefits (Sarkis, 2001). Based on the results of this study, companies should develop more diversified sustainability strategies that will help them to identify and capture value (McMullen, 2001). The results demonstrate that sustainability can provide companies with a strategic advantage, which is vital for the organization’s long-term viability and success (Orlitzky et al., 2003). This study also examines the balance between reasonable return on investment and long-term organizational viability, which greatly impacts organizational decision-makers that contend with numerous stakeholder issues, pressure from environmental agencies, and increased social consciousness that affects workers, consumers, and communities. It supports the conclusion that being proactive in responding to these conflicting pressures and barriers helps organizations to achieve higher levels of performance.