Senior Extension Associate
115A Bruckner
(607) 254-5479
Email: kgtidball@cornell.edu
Dr. Tidball is a Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Natural Resources where he serves as Associate Director of the Civic Ecology Lab and Program Leader for the Nature & Human Security Program. He is also the New York State Coordinator for the NY Extension Disaster Education Network. Tidball's research is focused on the interactions between humans and nature in the context of disasters and war. He is particularly interested in how these interactions relate to social-ecological system resilience, or in other words, how humans and their interactions with nature are related to a system`s ability to bounce back after being disturbed. Tidball's extension and outreach work is organized around the "greening in the red zone " concept - bringing the individual, societal and ecological benefits of community-based environmentally sustainable practices to disaster preparedness, relief and mitigation. Tidball approaches this work as a hybrid anthropologist/ecologist and draws heavily from fields such as ecological anthropology, social-ecological systems resilience theory, environmental psychology, and international relations theory. Sub-disciplines and areas of interest include Community Forestry, Community-Based Natural Resource Management, Ecological Engineering, Cultural Anthropology and Symbolism, Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management, SSTR (Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction), and the Human Security paradigm.
My work is focused on the interactions between humans and nature in the aftermath of natural disasters and war. I am particularly interested in how these interactions relate to social-ecological system resilience, or in other words, how humans and their interactions with nature are related to a system's ability to bounce back after being disturbed. I approach this work through integration of anthropology and ecology and draw heavily from fields such as ecological anthropology, social-ecological systems resilience theory, and international relations theory. Sub-disciplines and areas of interest include Community Forestry, Community-Based Natural Resource Management, Ecological Engineering, Cultural Anthropology and Symbolism, Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management, and SSTR (Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction). An emerging area of inquiry and practice is Civic Ecology.
Tidball is an Extension Associate in the Department of Natural Resources where he serves as Associate Director of the Civic Ecology Lab and Program Leader for the Communities and Urban Forests Extension Program. In these positions he helps people leverage natural resources to organize, learn, and act in ways that increase their capacity to withstand, and where appropriate to grow from, environmental change and uncertainty. He focuses on efforts that nurture cultural and ecological diversity, create opportunities for civic participation, and that foster learning from different types of knowledge to increase community capacity and resilience. He works to connect people with plants and animals in urban contexts and other "peopled landscapes" for purposes of education, community restoration and regeneration, and biodiversity conservation through Civic Ecology programs such as urban community forestry restoration projects, urban community watershed projects, and the National Science Foundation funded Garden Mosaics program. A specific and important aspect of Tidball's work is its explicit application to post-conflict and post-disaster scenarios. In these contexts, the role that humans' relationships with nature play in social-ecological system resilience are magnified significantly. Tidball is the DNR liaison to Cornell's Extension Disaster Education Network delegate in connection with this area of his applied research and extension.
I occasionally am called upon to teach or assist in teaching courses with an urban ecology or related component. Recent examples have included: Natural Resources 694 “Trans-disciplinary Approaches to Environmental Challenges.” Fall 2008. With Dr. E. Mills & Dr. R. Stedman. Natural Resources 494/694 “Urban Environments/Alternative Spring Break NYC.” Spring 2008. City and Regional Planning 384/584 “Green Cities.” With Elan Shapiro, Fall 2007. Natural Resources 490: “Urban Environments/Alternative Spring Break NYC.” Spring 2007. Natural Resources 496: “Urban Environments/ Alternative Spring Break NYC.” Spring 2006. Natural Resources 496: “Urban Environments/ Alternative Spring Break NYC.” With Dr. M. Krasny, Spring 2005. Natural Resources 699: “Science Education for Civic Participation.” Team-taught with Dr. M. Krasny and Tania Schusler, Fall 2005.
