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Our research group shares a common interest in the processes and linkages that govern dynamics in social-ecological systems. We approach restoration ecology, ecohydrology, and sustainability science by studying how localized interactions scale up to shape system behaviors.

In January 2012, I joined the faculty at the University of Georgia, with joint appointments in the Odum School of Ecology and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

Also, at UGA, I am an affiliate of the Center for Integrative Conservation Research, which offers a Ph.D program in Integrative Conservation. Students may enter the program through Ecology, Forestry & Natural Resources, Anthropology, Geography, or Marine Science. It’s a very exciting, cutting edge program, with unique and powerful training for tomorrow’s sustainability practitioners and scholars. There are few, if any programs like it. The students are amazing.  Check it out!


For most of my career, I have studied sustainability in African dryland social-ecological systems. More recently, I have also been working in restoration ecology in tidal marshes, maritime forests, and meadows on the Georgia coast. In both arenas, I am most interested in the different values that people hold for the ecosystems they live in, how important ecosystem features become degraded, and how they can be restored.


Also see the “Contact” tab for more information about graduate and undergraduate study opportunities.
The lab’s work centers the value of diversity — in nature, in society, and on campus. Read more...