Nature and Well-Being Research Group @ CSU
Our Lab Group
Dr. Sarah Walker is an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University in the department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources. Sarah’s research investigates human well-being as a tool for designing environmental solutions that work for both people and nature. Further, Sarah’s research and teaching center on the belief that environmental solutions should prioritize social justice in both process and outcome. Broadly, Sarah conducts environmental and social science - exploring and measuring the human well-being impacts of various environmental problems and interventions. Much of her work is focused on equitable climate adaptation, rural livelihoods, changing environments, and the health and well-being benefits of nature immersion.
Sarah completed her BSc at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, her MS in Conservation Leadership at CSU, and her PhD in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at CSU in Fort Collins, Colorado. She also completed her postdoctoral training at CU Boulder (WELS Lab) as a NatureNet Fellow with The Nature Conservancy
Sarah is an enthusiastic teacher - engaging with students inside and outside of the classroom is one of the most rewarding parts of her job. She teaches a variety of courses, including courses on environmental conflict, climate adaptation, and the health and well-being benefits of nature immersion.
Sarah’s research and teaching occurs all around the world - from East Africa to CSU’s Mountain Campus to Canada and rural New York. Outside of her role as a researcher and teacher, Sarah is an avid hiker and cyclist and spend as much of her time as possible outside with her wife and dog
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CV
Teaching Philosophy
Google Scholar
Department Website
Kaiya (she/her) grew up in the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York and spent her childhood exploring the woods and lakes of the northeast. She moved to Saint Petersburg, Florida, to attend Eckerd College where she graduated with a BA in Psychology and minors in Environmental Studies and Human Development. She then worked as an environmental educator before becoming a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation specialist. After seeing so many animals harmed by preventable human causes, she decided to attend graduate school to work towards changing detrimental patterns of human behavior.
Her master’s thesis with Dr. Rebecca Niemiec in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department at CSU focused on the social psychological drivers of native plant gardening behavior, working to understand how to encourage residents to use native plants to conserve biodiversity, support pollinators, and reduce water use, among other benefits. Kaiya has come to believe that the root of sustainable behavior change lies in our connection to the natural world. As a Ph.D. student with Dr. Sarah Walker she will explore how higher levels of nature connectedness can improve both human and environmental well-being. Her goals are to use applied methodologies and a lens of environmental justice to connect people to the outdoors and increase equity for people and the planet.
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Apin Erik Yasin is a community leader in Samburu County, Kenya. His expertise includes community development, youth education access, tourism and conservation, and social-ecological research project management. Apin currently works as the program director for Samburu Youth Education Fund, a non-profit organization working to improve access to education for Samburu Youth. He also manages several research projects in the area and is well versed in both social and ecological data collection methods and analyses. He has specific expertise in ensuring research design and data collection methods are ethical and culturally relevant to Samburu communities. His list of publication can be found HERE. He is particularly passionate about ensuring research addresses community needs and perspectives.
When Apin is not working one of this many jobs, he enjoys spending time with his family, volunteering in his community and wildlife watching. Apin plays a critical role in all our lab’s work in Kenya.
Anna is a community leader, founding member of Unity Women's Village, and dedicated mother. Anna has spent most of her life living in Archer's Post and is a passionate advocate for children's access to education, women's empowerment and Samburu culture.
Anna leads much of our participatory research data collection in Samburu, consults in culture appropriateness of reserach methods and translation between Swahili and the Samburu dialect of Maa.
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Anna Lolemu
Community Researcher
Kenya Field Research Project Director
Elizabeth is from from Samburu, Kenya, is a mother of two and training to become professional safari tour guide. Elizabeth completed secondary school in Nakura and recently graduated from the Wildlife Training Institute in Naivasha Kenya. Elizabeth has expertise and supports or team in translation (Swahili, Maa and English), method design and qualitative data analysis. In addition to her tourism guiding and research rules she enjoys supporting community based- development programs.
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Elizabeth is a proud alumni of the Samburu Youth Education Fund and a member of Unity Women's Village.
Sharde is the project manager for the Collective for Nature Immersion Science and Practice. She also manager the Nature & Health Northern Colorado Alliance. She received her bachelor’s in psychology with a concentration in neuroscience from Colby College and is currently pursuing her Masters in sport management from Colorado State University. Sharde is fascinated by the ways in which spending time in nature may offer cognitive and affective benefits throughout the lifespan. She also has a strong interest in studying relationships among emotions, behavior, and one’s environment, in addition to being interested in emotion and stress regulation implications for mental health. In her free time, Sharde enjoys hiking, trying new foods, and trivia.
Sharde Johnson
Project Manager Manager
Collective for Nature Immersion, Science & Practice
Josie grew up in the thick, cold woods of New Hampshire, making her yearn for the Colorado sunshine. She moved to Silverton, Colorado during her gap year after high school where she discovered her love for being outside and in big mountains. After the gap year, she moved to Fort Collins to attend Colorado State University, majoring in human dimensions of natural resources with a minor in conservation biology. Being in school has only heightened her compassion for conservation, zero-waste, nature, and sustainability. In her senior year, she works as a teacher’s assistant for Wilderness Leadership where she instructs Leave No Trace and navigates the wilderness.
In her role with Nature and Well-being Research Group, Josie supports research activities by conducting literature reviews, supporting data collection, and science communication!
Sharde Johnson
Project Manager Manager
Collective for Nature Immersion, Science & Practice
Julia is a project manager for Nature and Health Northern Colorado (NH-NOCO), planning events that are free to the public to learn about as well as gain resources and connections in the nature and health field. She also assists in the research aspect for the overarching group, the Collective for Nature Immersion Science and Practice (cNISP). Originally from Iowa and surrounded by corn and soybean fields, Julia had little experience in interacting with nature growing up (outside of working in the fields.) After completing a 6-month term of service with the Arizona Conservation Corps, she realized the impact that one’s relationship with the outdoors can have on mental and physical health and well-being. However, southern Arizona – especially in the summer – is very hot. So, she decided to move up to northern Colorado to finish her bachelor’s degree in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources with a minor in Conservation Biology.
Julia Merfeld
Collaborators
Our team collaborates with a variety of other research groups and organizations both within and outside of CSU! Check out the awesome work each of our collaborators is doing!
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