Rebecca L Vidra
Contact Info:Office Location: Art Building, East Campus
E-mail Address:
Typical Courses Taught:
- Writing 20, Academic writing
Synopsis
- Writing 20, Academic writing
Synopsis
- Environ 105s, Ethical challenges env conserv
Synopsis
- Office Hours:
- On Research Leave
June 2008 - July 2009
- PhD, North Carolina State University, 2004
- MS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2000
- BS, The Ohio State University, 1996
Bassett
Research Interests:
My research and teaching interests involve the ethics, motivations, and expectations for restoration of damaged ecosystems. I received my academic training in restoration ecology at North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina and The Ohio State University. Yet, my experiences diving on coral reefs in the Florida Keys, trudging through riparian buffers in North Carolina, and exploring my own little slice of hardwood forest drive me to delve into the ethical dilemmas of believing in restoration.
My current professional work focuses on the ethical aspects of restoration ecology in three key ways. To explore issues of professional ethics, I serve on a committee of the Society of Ecological Restoration to develop a code of ethics. My Writing 20 students at Duke proposed that such a code be undertaken as a result of a research project they completed in Fall 2005 (see below publications). I am particularly interested in the scope of such a code and whether it will involve restoration ecologists in unveiling the range of dilemmas they face in their careers.
My second research interest involves questioning the interface between humans and nature in restoration projects. This work is being developed through a book chapter for Global Challenges in Restoration Ecology, edited by Francisco Comin for Cambridge University Press. I am particularly interested in revisiting the question of whether human-created nature can ever be truly "natural" and I find that my own answer has changed significantly over time.
My third project involves reflection on teaching ethics in conservation and writing classes and is motivated by my teaching at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I look forward to teaching courses in the 2007-2008 academic year, in the UWP and the Nicholas School at Duke, that will engage students in fundamental questions about their own environmental ethic and impact.
Representative Publications
- R.L. Vidra and T.H.Shear. "Thinking locally for urban forest restoration: A simple method links exotic species invasion to local landscape structure." Restoration Ecology In Press (2008).
- R.L. Vidra, T.H. Shear, and J.M. Stucky. "Effects of vegetation removal on native understory recovery in an exotic-rich urban forest." Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 134.3 (2007): 410-419.
- R.L. Vidra, T.H. Shear and T.R. Wentworth. "Testing the paradigms of exotic species invasion in urban riparian forests." Natural Areas Journal (October, 2006).
- R.L. Vidra. "Studying the ethics of ecological restoration: An introduction." Ecological Restoration 24.2 (June, 2006): 100-101.
- Dickinson, W.... (10 undergraduate co-authors) and R.L. Vidra. "The ethical challenges faced by ecological restorationists." Ecological Restoration 24.2 (June, 2006): 102-104.
- Carpenter, A.... (11 undergraduate co-authors) and R.L. Vidra. "Developing a code of ethics for ecological restorationists." Ecological Restoration 24.2 (June, 2006): 105-108.
- R.L. Vidra. "What are your ethical challenges?." Ecological Restoration 21.2 (2003): 120-121.
- R.L. Vidra and T.H. Shear. "The human/nature dilemma in ecological restoration." Global Restoration Ecology. Edited by Francisco Comin. Under Review.
- R.L. Vidra. "Ethical dilemmas in coral reef restoration." Coral Reef Restoration Handbook. Edited by W. Precht. CRC Press 2005.