On April 25th, Alexis Foster proudly represented the Cavaliere Critical Conservation Lab on a field trip organized by Dr. Christina Cavaliere and Kathryn Metzeger. Dr. Cavaliere represents CSU on the Colorado Tourism Office Destination Stewardship Council, where she interacts with Colorado tourism stakeholders to support sustainable tourism management in the state. In this instance, Visit Longmont serves as a wonderful destination management organization to provide experiential learning for our students in the Master’s program. The students in Dr. Cavaliere’s NRRT 609 Tourism and Conservation course started the field trip by attending a guided tour at Jack’s Solar Garden, where they learned about agrovolterics and the connection to tourism. Next, the group enjoyed a lunch break at the Parkway Food Hall, bringing culinary tourism into the experience. Then, a conversation with Ryan Kazee from Angles Sport Ski Board and Fly Shop brought local tourism business perspectives to our learning goals for the day. Finally, a discussion with Sarah Leonard, the Chief Destination Stewardship Officer at Visit Longmont, was held with the students about how the DMO is approaching and implementing elements of the new Colorado Destination Stewardship Strategic Plan. A heartfelt thank you to Dr. Cavaliere, Kathryn, and all the dedicated community leaders for organizing such an impactful field trip. Overall, the students had a great time exploring sustainable tourism management in the field and were inspired by all the learning experiences and conversations. CSU would specifically like to thank Visit Longmont and Sarah Leonard for their kind support in sponsoring the student visit! Please see the video below for a recap of the student experiential learning in the field:
Dr. Jean Bethke Elshtain Scholarship Awarded!
Dr. Christina T. Cavaliere’s commitment to academic mentorship and scholarly excellence has led to a wonderful achievement for her current PhD student, Alexis Foster, who has been awarded the prestigious Dr. Jean Bethke Elshtain Scholarship. As the director of the Cavaliere Critical Conservation Lab, housed in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department in the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University, Dr. Cavaliere has cultivated an environment that nurtures rigorous research focused on conservation social science, sustainable tourism, critical thinking and social-ecological justice. Dr. Cavaliere’s nomination articulated Alexis’ contributions to these fields, demonstrating a strong alignment with the intellectual legacy of Dr. Jean Elshtain, whose work in social and political ethics continues to shape academic discourse.
Following a rigorous selection process, Alexis Foster was chosen as a recipient of this distinguished scholarship, recognizing her dedication to interdisciplinary research under Dr. Cavaliere’s tutelage. In the research lab, they extend Dr. Cavaliere’s intersectional research that integrates ecofeminist perspectives, justice, and sustainable tourism management. Alexis’ scholarship will empower her to continue her doctoral work focused on the impacts of overtourism within Colorado’s Lory State Park and Horsetooth Reservoir.
Congratulations to Dr. Cavaliere for her steadfast mentorship and support of her students and for fostering a research lab that exemplifies critical inquiry. Additionally, congratulations to Alexis Foster for this well-earned scholarly distinction. Their achievements reflect the pursuit of academic excellence and ethical engagement that define the mission of the Dr. Jean Bethke Elshtain Scholarship. Dr. Cav and Alexis extend their deep gratitude to all those involved with the scholarship selection committee!
Dr. Alberto Amore’s Hosted Visit!
The Cavaliere Critical Conservation Lab was honored to host Dr. Alberto Amore, a distinguished visiting scholar from the University of Oulu. Dr. Cavaliere invited Dr. Amore to present his research as it is deeply related to our lab’s research emphasis on biocultural conservation and tourism. Dr. Amore leads the Biodiverse Anthropocene Lab at the University of Oulu, focusing on tourism-related research in urban regeneration, planning, and resilience. His presentation is entitled “Resilience and regenerative turns in tourism,” and provides valuable insights into these interconnected areas of tourism studies. Dr. Cavaliere and the lab are excited to offer this research presentation free of charge to the public in partial fulfillment of CSU’s Land Grant mission.
Click here to watch a recording of this amazing presentation.
Funded Master’s Opportunity in Biocultural Diversity
Dr. Michael Gavin has shared with us a funded master’s opportunity at Colorado State University. Please reach out to Dr. Gavin directly and not Dr. Cavaliere. Here is more information provided by Dr. Michael Gavin:
Dr. Gavin is recruiting a Masters student that will be supported by a graduate research assistantship (tuition & stipend) to work on an NSF-funded project based at Colorado State University (Fort Collins, Colorado). This project examines the processes that have resulted in current global patterns of biocultural diversity (with particular emphasis on linguistic diversity). The student will have the opportunity to develop a research project linked to the project’s focus, and the student will contribute to the development of teaching unit(s) on biocultural diversity and conservation for undergraduate courses. Candidates will pursue a degree under the primary direction of Dr. Michael Gavin in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources (more details: https://warnercnr.colostate.edu/hdnr/graduate-study/ ) or via the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology (more details: https://ecology.colostate.edu/apply/) (pending acceptance into one of these programs).
Students should have an undergraduate degree in a discipline with clear links to the project’s goals (e.g., in geography, ecology, linguistics, anthropology, education, or allied disciplines) and a competitive cumulative GPA (typically >3.5 out of 4). Preference will be given to students who have demonstrated research experience, as well demonstrated knowledge/experience in the development of teaching materials and/or in quantitative data analysis using R. Interested candidates should send an initial cover letter and CV to michael.gavin@colostate.edu. Note that following initial screening, identified candidates will be required to apply for official acceptance into one of the graduate programs noted above.
Tourism and Conservation Lab Presents at GSTC and BCRTS 2021 Tourism Summit
On November 4th, 2021, Dr. Cavaliere’s Tourism and Conservation Lab was invited to take part in the BCRTS Tourism Summit for 2021. This virtual event was a joint collaboration with the Global
Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and the British Colombia Regional Tourism Secretariat. Hosting 3 GSTC Workshops, 6 BCRTS panels and over 25 Virtual Booths, the T&C Lab was proud to take part and present within the Natural Areas and Visitor Management workshop.
Facilitated by Dr. Kelly Bricker, Julia Branstrator joined the conference panelists and presented collaborative work with Dr. Cavaliere and Dr. Niemiec in a session on Visitor Use Management and Overtourism, highlighting visitor management cases from North America, Europe, and South America. The Tourism and Conservation Lab presented insights from their continued field research within the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Southeastern Alaska including perceptions of biocultural conservation, visitor management and overtourism through the experiences of residents during COVID.
To watch all panelists of the session, including Dr. Ivana Damnjanovic, and learn from the full day of presentations, follow this link to watch the T&C Lab present with this Vimeo recording!
Tourism and Conservation Lab Presents at 29th Nordic Symposium on Tourism
From the 21st – 23rd of September, 2021, the Tourism and Conservation Lab joined the 29th Nordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research, an e-Conference hosted
by the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre in Akureyri, Iceland. Sharing on behalf of the research team including Dr. Christina T. Cavaliere and Dr. Rebecca Niemiec, Director of the Conservation Action through Behavioral Science Lab also housed within the Human Dimension of Natural Resources Department at Colorado State University, Julia Branstrator presented in Session 30: Staying with the trouble of cruise communities in
a post-Covid world. Julia presented an emerging analysis of work conducted within the T&C Lab titled Community perceptions of biocultural changes during the COVID disruption in Ketchikan, Alaska.
The T&C Lab was proud to present alongside research collaborator, Dr. Hin Hoarau Heemstra, on behalf of her team including Karina Eline Knutzenand, and Karin Andrea Wigger of Nord University and the Nordic Cruise Research Network. Hin shared highlights of the Nordic team regarding Resilience to cruise tourism: insights from Northern Norway and Svalbard
The Tourism and Conservation Lab is looking forward to the 2022 30th NST in Finland!
To explore the full book of abstracts from the 2021 29th NST, follow this link.
Dr. Cavaliere Receives 2020-2021 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award for Colorado State University’s Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department
The Tourism and Conservation Lab is delighted to announce that Dr. Christina T. Cavaliere has been recognized by the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department for her outstanding effort to promote diversity, equity and inclusion through her faculty service and research! She was nominated on the following highlights:
- Invited by the co-editors for a Special Issue on gender and tourism in Annals of Leisure Research
- Cavaliere, C. T., & Ingram, L. J. (2021). Climate change and anger: misogyny and the dominant growth paradigm in tourism. Annals of Leisure Research, 1-18. DOI: 10.1080/11745398.2021.1949732
- Research with colleagues in Norway and the US that implements the utilization of a new transdisciplinary ecofeminist intersectional methodology relating to posthumanism and tourism studies coining the conceptualization of Wildlife Equity
- Making projects, knowledge networks, and coursework available through her lab supporting co-learning and co-supporting of DEI and female researchers.
- Foundational use of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion principles as foundations in teaching
- Fostering inclusion of advanced gender equality within academic involvement through research in the Tourism and Conservation Lab
- Service on multiple external international advisory boards and committees that demonstrate her commitment to international DEI including:
- Warner College Committee of International Affairs and Global Engagement
- Advisory Board for Fanimal
- Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Communications & Marketing Working Group
- Editorial service to the Journal of Ecotourism
Congratulations!
Have You Taken the Merle Pledge?
Too often imbalances in gender and diversity are overlooked during the organization, facilitation, and registration of conferences, events, and project collaborations. As representatives and leaders of the tourism industry within the Tourism and Conservation Lab, we seek and engage with many conferences, events, and collaborations as educational and professional opportunities. Our lab supports and practices transparency in this process by each member of the Tourism and Conservation Lab taking the Merle Pledge committing to:
- increasing the visibility and contribution of women in public and professional forums
- advocating for gender balance and diversity in all professional events, panels and conferences
- encouraging my colleagues and friends to participate in the Merle Pledge
- questioning and raising the issue of gender balance and diversity when the opportunity arises
- actively encouraging and supporting the voices of women
- honouring the Merle Pledge whenever I am invited to speak
- standing up for what is right
- persevering and not accepting excuses for unequal representation (The University of Queensland, n.d.)
We encourage and welcome those who are interested in taking the Merle Pledge to share their thoughts on diversity, equity and inclusion as related to conferences, events and collaborations. This is an important step in realizing actions towards sustainable tourism.
The Tourism and Conservation Lab, a representative of and supporting group for diversity, equity and inclusion at Colorado State University, is committed to supporting events and conferences that uplift the many voices historically underrepresented in tourism and conservation in academia and industry operations. Join us by taking the Merle Pledge!
Reference
The University of Queensland. (0AD). SAGE Athena SWAN at UQ – The Merle Pledge. About UQ. https://about.uq.edu.au/initiatives/sage-athena-swan#qt-sage_athena_swan_tabs-foundation-tabs-6