About
Dear Planet Earth is a part of our Cultivating Hope project that aims to better understand how hope and concern play a role in the way people think about and respond to climate change.
The Dear Planet Earth initiative is led by Dr. Nicole Ardoin’s Social Ecology Lab at Stanford University. The Social Ecology Lab conducts interdisciplinary research relating environmental learning and behavior, with a focus on translating research into practice. Our current work seeks to more deeply explore individual and collective human response to climate change, with the end goal of generating new understandings of how emotional responses such as fear, concern, grief, and hope may translate into action.
The Dear Planet Earth initiative grew out of the Summen Project, an interdisciplinary, interinstitutional study of climate change impacts on California’s redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests. From 2017 through 2020, the Social Ecology Lab examined how these iconic landscapes fostered connections to nature and place by visitors to redwood forests and residents alike. In turn, we explored the role charismatic megaflora, such as the majestic redwoods, may play in fostering pro-environmental behaviors. Long-term climate change solutions will only be made possible by engaging and empowering some of the redwoods’ most important advocates: the millions of enthusiastic visitors who make the pilgrimage to these unique ecosystems each year.
California’s beautiful redwood ecosystems remain front and center in our Dear Planet Earth initiative as a symbol of resilience and hope. Through this initiative, we seek to engage people around the world to support and encourage reflection upon our place in a changing planet.
The Dear Planet Earth initiative grew out of the Summen Project, an interdisciplinary, interinstitutional study of climate change impacts on California’s redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests. From 2017 through 2020, the Social Ecology Lab examined how these iconic landscapes fostered connections to nature and place by visitors to redwood forests and residents alike. In turn, we explored the role charismatic megaflora, such as the majestic redwoods, may play in fostering pro-environmental behaviors. Long-term climate change solutions will only be made possible by engaging and empowering some of the redwoods’ most important advocates: the millions of enthusiastic visitors who make the pilgrimage to these unique ecosystems each year.
California’s beautiful redwood ecosystems remain front and center in our Dear Planet Earth initiative as a symbol of resilience and hope. Through this initiative, we seek to engage people around the world to support and encourage reflection upon our place in a changing planet.
Meet Our Team
Nicole ArdoinAssociate Professor Nicole Ardoin is the Faculty Director of the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) and a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. She is interested in education as an opportunity to engage communities in productive dialogue about sustainability to build resiliency and adaptability in light of changing environmental conditions.
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Maria DiGianoMaria DiGiano, PhD, is a Senior Research Associate with the Social Ecology Lab at Stanford University. She strives to contribute to sustainability solutions through both research and practice in collaboration with diverse decision-makers.
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Marika JaegerMarika is a Research Associate with the Social Ecology Lab at Stanford. Her interests include human-environment systems and intersections of environmental conservation and economic development. Marika has a Bachelor's degree in Human Biology and a Master's degree in Earth Systems from Stanford University.
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Meet Our Collaborators
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Emily Williams |
Will Tams |
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Emily is an Educator at Aspen Center for Environmental Studies in Aspen, CO, where she teaches K-4th Grade students. She also works as a researcher with the Ardoin Social Ecology Lab where she studies professional development for environmental educators and environmental behavior change. Emily has a Bachelor’s degree in Geological and Environmental Sciences and a Master’s degree in Environmental Communication, both from Stanford University.
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Will Tams, Founder and Director of Creative at The Collective Spark Creative, brings over two decades of experience in using design to catalyze and grow positive impacts in the world, working with clients including Apple and the Nature Conservancy. Through Will’s contribution to this project - from early stages of design to the fine details of the final Dear Planet Earth postcards you see on this site - The Collective Spark continues its mission to reach and inspire through beautiful design.
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Meet Our Sponsors
