Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Working Landscape: Vermont Land Trust And Farmland Access In Vermont, Susanna Baxley

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

The number one challenge facing young farmers is access to land. Other challenges include rising student debt, high real estate values, health insurance costs, and discriminatory lending practices. As well, there are rising concerns that farm viability and the agricultural landscape of the US is in peril as the sector sees an "aging" farmer population, loss of farmland to development, and a decrease in the number of mid-sized "family" farms alongside a proliferation of very large industrial farms that dominate markets. Farms do more than just provide food to their communities; they are a cornerstone of rural economies and play …

How And Why Do People Value Nature? An Examination Of Nonmaterial Aspects Of Human-Nature Interactions., Tatiana Marquina

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Nonmaterial benefits from nature, often labeled as cultural ecosystem services, represent a core dimension of human well-being. Yet despite their importance, these benefits and associated values remain overlooked in environmental assessments and decisions.

This dissertation applies insights from multiple disciplines to document nonmaterial dimensions of human-nature interactions across geographic contexts and user groups. As nonmaterial benefits can be hard to elicit and measure, this work uses multiple existing data collection methods and tests a novel data collection tool. First, I use a qualitative study design to explore values and stewardship practices associated with urban foraging in New York City, NY. …