Tidball, Keith G.

leadership role

Civic Ecology Lab Associate Director

administrative responsibilities

Associate Director of the Initiative for Civic Ecology

other Cornell affiliations

member of

David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future (ACSF) Faculty Fellow

has primary specialization area

Biodiversity and Natural Resources Protection

research overview

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.

research activities

principal investigator on

LANDSCAPES OF RESILIENCE: UNDERSTANDING THE CREATION AND STEWARDSHIP OF OPEN SPACES AND SACRED SPACES IN JOPLIN, MO AND DETROIT, MI awarded by TKF FOUNDATION 2012

area(s) of concentration/expertise

natural resource management

other area(s) of concentration/expertise

Urban ecology

keywords

civic ecology
natural resources in post-conflict/post-disaster contexts
social-ecological system resilience
urban and community forestry
urban community-based natural resources management

geographic focus

country
- Sub-Saharan Africa
domestic geographical region
- Louisiana
new york state geographical region
- New York City
- Seneca County
transnational region
- western Europe

individual publications

academic article
- Positive Dependency and Virtuous Cycles: From Resource Dependence to Resilience in Urban Social-Ecological Systems. Ecological Economics. 86:292-299. 2013
- Challenges of biodiversity education: A review of education strategies for conserving biodiversity. International Electronic Journal of Environmental Education. 2. 2012
- Civic Ecology: A pathway for Earth Stewardship in cities.. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.. 10:267-273. 2012
- Urgent Biophilia: Human-Nature Interactions and Biological Attractions in Disaster Resilience . Ecology and Society. 17. 2012
- Toward an Ecology of Environmental Education and Learning. Ecospheres. 2. 2011
- Agricultural knowledge in urban and resettled communities: Applications to social–ecological resilience and environmental education. Environmental Education Research. 16. 2010
- Civic Ecology: Linking Social and Ecological Approaches in Extension. Journal of Extension. 48. 2010
- Greening in the Red Zone: Green Space and Disaster Resistance, Recovery and Resilience. Anthropology News. 51:10-11. 2010
- Resilience in learning systems: case studies in university education. Environmental Education Research. 16:559-573. 2010
- Stewardship, Learning, and Memory in Disaster Resilience. Environmental Education Research. 16:591-609. 2010
- The URBIS Partnership Proposal for a Global Urban Designation. Policy Matters. 17:41-45. 2010
- Urban environmental education from a social-ecological perspective: Conceptual framework. Cities and the Environment . Cities and the Environment. 3. 2010
- Applying a resilience systems framework to urban environmental education. Environmental Education Research. 15:465-482. 2009
- Community gardens as contexts for science, stewardship, and advocacy learning: the Garden Mosaics example. Cities and the Environment. 2:12. 2009
- Education and resilience: Social and situated learning among university and secondary students. Ecology and Society. 14:15. 2009
- Environment Shaping: an Alternative Approach to Development and Aid. Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. 1:67-85. 2007
- Serpents, Sainthood, and Celebrity: Symbolic and Ritual Tensions in Appalachian Pentecostal Serpent Handling. Journal of Religion & Popular Culture. 17. 2007
- Sharing programs across cultures: Lessons learned from Garden Mosaics in South Africa. Children, Youth and Environments. 17:237-254. 2007
article
book
- The Case for a Community Greening Research Agenda 2009
booksection
- Urban Environments: Service Learning Towards Urban Sustainability. Vol. Fall. 2007
chapter
- Introduction: Greening in the Red Zone. Greening in the Red Zone. 2013
- A role for citizen science in disaster and conflict recovery and resilience. . Citizen Science: Public Participation in Environmental Research. 2012
- Civic Ecology, resilience, and citizen science in disaster zones. Cornell University Press. 2012
- Civic Ecology: a social-ecological resilience perspective on environmental education as a practice and system. Environmental Education Reader. 2012
- Agricultural knowledge in urban and resettled communities: Applications to social–ecological resilience and environmental education. Taylor Frances. 2011
- Stewardship, Learning, and Memory in Disaster Resilience. Taylor Frances. 2011
- From risk to resilience: What role for community greening and civic ecology in cities. Social Learning Towards a more Sustainable World. 149-164. 2007
intellectual contribution
- Garden Mosaics Program Manual. 256. 2005
report

featured in archived article

talks and presentations

·         Keith G Tidball, “Civic Ecology for Greener Communities,” invited presentation at the Achieving Greener Communities Through Civic, Private, and Government Sector Innovations conference, a one-day conference of the Rural Learning Network of Central and Western New York. Mt. Morris, NY: October 2008.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Civic Ecology: Resilience Thinking in Urban Social-Ecological Systems,” invited presentation at the 8th Annual Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems, “Creating Resilience in Sustainable Communities,” Syracuse, NY: September 2008.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Bringing People Back in: Civic Ecology in Urban Social-Ecological Systems,” invited presentation at the Summer Joint Session of the Northeast Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Directors, and the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) Delegate, Washington , DC: July 2008.

·         Krasny, ME and KG Tidball. 2008. “Systems Theory in Environmental Education: Participation, Self-organization, and Community Interactions.” American Educational Research Association. NYC, NY.

·         Keith G Tidball, Marianne E Krasny, “Local vs. Global Environmental Education: Approaches emerging from ‘spaces-in-between’” presentation at the World Environmental Education Congress, Durban, South Africa: July 2007.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Urban Environments: Civic Ecology Through Service Learning in New York City,” invited presentation at Cornell Public Service Center’s annual Faculty Fellows in Service University-Community Partnership Conference, Ithaca, NY: April 26, 2007.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Civic Ecology: Growing Neighborhood Leaders,” keynote address at the Ohio Community Gardening Conference, Columbus, OH: March 16, 2007.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Community Greening in New Orleans: Seeing the Past, and the Promise of the Future,” presentation at the American Community Garden Association Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA: August 2006.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Urban Community Greening and Community Resilience,” presentation at the Cornell University Dept. of Natural Resources Graduate Student Association 2006 Symposium, Ithaca, NY: January 18, 2006.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Toward a Natural Resource Intervention: Community Greening as a First Response Tool for Post-Crisis in Urban Contexts” presentation at the Cornell University Dept. of Natural Resources Graduate Student Association 2005 Symposium, January 2005.

·         Keith G Tidball, Marianne E Krasny, “Garden Mosaics: Growing Across Cultures.” Presentation/workshop at American Community Garden Association Annual Conference: Toronto, September 30, 2004.

·         Marianne E Krasny, Keith G Tidball, L Pohl-Kosbau, and A Berkowitz. Exploring Urban Ecology Through Community Gardens.   Presentation/workshop at Ecological Society of America Annual Conference. Portland, Oregon. August 1, 2004.

·         Krasny, ME, K Tidball, M Cox, G Daniel, L Librizzi, D Stahl, A Wasescha, and J Whitehead. “Garden Mosaics.” American Community Garden Association Annual Conference: Chicago, IL. 2003.

·         Krasny, ME, K Tidball, M Cox, G Daniel, L Librizzi, D Stahl, A Wasescha, and J Whitehead. “Garden Mosaics.” Cultural Connections for the School Garden. Chicago, IL. 2003.

·         Keith G Tidball and ME Krasny. “Garden Mosaics: a unique citizen science project.” Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta Annual Conference, Boston, MA. 2003.

·         Keith G Tidball and ME Krasny. “Garden Mosaics: Intergenerational Learning in Gardens.” Generations United Annual Conference, Arlington, VA. 2003.
·         Keith G Tidball, “Civic Ecology for Greener Communities,” invited presentation at the Achieving Greener Communities Through Civic, Private, and Government Sector Innovations conference, a one-day conference of the Rural Learning Network of Central and Western New York. Mt. Morris, NY: October 2008.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Civic Ecology: Resilience Thinking in Urban Social-Ecological Systems,” invited presentation at the 8th Annual Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems, “Creating Resilience in Sustainable Communities,” Syracuse, NY: September 2008.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Bringing People Back in: Civic Ecology in Urban Social-Ecological Systems,” invited presentation at the Summer Joint Session of the Northeast Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Directors, and the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) Delegate, Washington , DC: July 2008.

·         Krasny, ME and KG Tidball. 2008. “Systems Theory in Environmental Education: Participation, Self-organization, and Community Interactions.” American Educational Research Association. NYC, NY.

·         Keith G Tidball, Marianne E Krasny, “Local vs. Global Environmental Education: Approaches emerging from ‘spaces-in-between’” presentation at the World Environmental Education Congress, Durban, South Africa: July 2007.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Urban Environments: Civic Ecology Through Service Learning in New York City,” invited presentation at Cornell Public Service Center’s annual Faculty Fellows in Service University-Community Partnership Conference, Ithaca, NY: April 26, 2007.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Civic Ecology: Growing Neighborhood Leaders,” keynote address at the Ohio Community Gardening Conference, Columbus, OH: March 16, 2007.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Community Greening in New Orleans: Seeing the Past, and the Promise of the Future,” presentation at the American Community Garden Association Annual Conference, Los Angeles, CA: August 2006.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Urban Community Greening and Community Resilience,” presentation at the Cornell University Dept. of Natural Resources Graduate Student Association 2006 Symposium, Ithaca, NY: January 18, 2006.

·         Keith G Tidball, “Toward a Natural Resource Intervention: Community Greening as a First Response Tool for Post-Crisis in Urban Contexts” presentation at the Cornell University Dept. of Natural Resources Graduate Student Association 2005 Symposium, January 2005.

·         Keith G Tidball, Marianne E Krasny, “Garden Mosaics: Growing Across Cultures.” Presentation/workshop at American Community Garden Association Annual Conference: Toronto, September 30, 2004.

·         Marianne E Krasny, Keith G Tidball, L Pohl-Kosbau, and A Berkowitz. Exploring Urban Ecology Through Community Gardens.   Presentation/workshop at Ecological Society of America Annual Conference. Portland, Oregon. August 1, 2004.

·         Krasny, ME, K Tidball, M Cox, G Daniel, L Librizzi, D Stahl, A Wasescha, and J Whitehead. “Garden Mosaics.” American Community Garden Association Annual Conference: Chicago, IL. 2003.

·         Krasny, ME, K Tidball, M Cox, G Daniel, L Librizzi, D Stahl, A Wasescha, and J Whitehead. “Garden Mosaics.” Cultural Connections for the School Garden. Chicago, IL. 2003.

·         Keith G Tidball and ME Krasny. “Garden Mosaics: a unique citizen science project.” Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta Annual Conference, Boston, MA. 2003.

·         Keith G Tidball and ME Krasny. “Garden Mosaics: Intergenerational Learning in Gardens.” Generations United Annual Conference, Arlington, VA. 2003.

teaching overview

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.

teaching activities

recent courses taught

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.

outreach overview

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.

reviewer or editor for

education and training

Ph.D. in Natural Resources/ Vulnerability, Community Natural Resource Management & Resilience, Cornell University 2012
M.A. in International Affairs/ International Conservation & Agricultural Development, The George Washington University 2000
B.A. in Anthropology- Ritual, Symbolism & Resource Dependent Communities, University of Kentucky 1998

awards and honors

college

CALS

research keyword

civic ecology
natural resources in post-conflict/post-disaster contexts
social-ecological system resilience
urban and community forestry
urban community-based natural resources management

name prefix

Dr.

Positions

Research Areas

Websites

Affiliations

leadership role

administrative responsibilities

other Cornell affiliations

member of

Extension

has primary specialization area

Research

research overview

research activities

principal investigator on

area(s) of concentration/expertise

other area(s) of concentration/expertise

keywords

geographic focus

country

domestic geographical region

new york state geographical region

transnational region

Publications

individual publications

academic article

article

book

booksection

chapter

intellectual contribution

report

featured in archived article

talks and presentations

Teaching

teaching overview

teaching activities

recent courses taught

Service

outreach overview

reviewer or editor for

Background

education and training

awards and honors

Other

college

research keyword

name prefix