People & Nature with Dr. Blake Simmons

Hosted by UFAEC graduate student Emma Lauren Poole, this episode features Dr. Blake Simmons of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program discussing the purpose and impact of the People in Nature Symposium and the growing field of conservation social science. Learn how human behavior, community action, and collaboration play a critical role in addressing environmental challenges and how individuals can get involved in making a difference. 

Dr. Blake Simmons: https://tbep.org/about-tbep/our-team/

People & Nature Symposium: https://tbep.org/people-nature-symposium/

Transcript

Emma Poole

Hello everyone and thank you so much for tuning in today. My name is Emma and I'm a grad student at the University of Florida. I'm here with Blake Simmons who is an environmental social scientist with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. I am so excited to get to sit down quite literally in the pine needles and grass out here and get to talk to you today about the People in Nature Symposium, which is where we are and just kind of some of the things that have been going on here and the ideas and maybe even and some of the issues that environmental social scientists face. So thank you so much for joining me.

Blake Simmons

Thanks for having me.

Emma Poole

And let's just dive right in. So we are at the People and Nature Symposium. I know it's the first one of these. Could you talk a little bit to what the mission or the goal of the People and Nature Symposium was or kind of what ended up happening? Maybe some reflections on how the past two days have been.

Blake Simmons

Yeah, well, it's funny because The People in Nature Symposium really started out as just a small group of conservation social scientists from throughout Florida, just looking for a place of support. internally to say, hey, we're coming up against some big challenges in our field at the moment in these interesting times. And we're looking for a place where we can share our shared challenges, but also strategize ways forward to help continue to proliferate good conservation social science work out there while forming new networks, strengthening existing networks, and finding ways to collaborate more effectively between us And as we were progressing this over a year ago, we really started to notice that more and more people were interested in joining this conversation. And ultimately, what went from about 10 people became 85 people that wanted to join us in this effort. And really, our mission for this symposium was to be able to build our networks and strengthen connections between conservation social scientists across the state to help us identify new solutions to challenges that we're all facing, identify new opportunities for collaboration, but also innovative solutions that can come from all the different fields and expertise within the social sciences. and ultimately catalyze some action to come out of this, both on the social science side, but also on the professional development and ultimately conservation impact side of things. So really that's how this whole symposium was built and how it progressed into this whole two-day event where we spent the first day just hearing from over 45 presenters, from all stages of the social science career journey in all kinds of disciplines, from outreach, communication, education, to psychology, behavioral economics, all sorts of different activities and research paradigms that they have going on. And then the second day, we followed up with a bunch of different types of interactive sessions, workshops, skill-building activities, as well as a final wrap-up to say, hey, going forward, how do we build this network of social scientists here in Florida so that we know what each other is doing? We're there to support them. We're there to contribute to each other's efforts and collaborate more holistically for a better future for people in nature here in Florida.

Emma Poole

That's amazing. And I know there's been a lot of talk that I've heard just being here today about the connections and the networking that can be built moving forward to reach audiences, you know, in early stages of community outreach and in those later stages as well. But one of the things that the small group that I got to join this morning talked about was definitely trust within this field and how we can learn from leaders in different communities and locally. So I think it's amazing that all those people came together to make that happen. And I mean, I didn't even hear the of the conversations, but the ones I heard were super productive. So I think that this has definitely accomplished that purpose. But before we talk about this anymore, I know we have some listeners who might not know what environmental or conservation social science is. Could you provide us with, I know this will probably be a difficult task, but a working definition that you use of that, that you apply to your work or anything that would make our listeners understand the definition of conservation and environmental social science and the importance of it.

Blake Simmons

Sure. Well, luckily for you, I don't think it's a difficult question to answer at all. When we think about social science, a lot of people don't know what that means. But really, social science is just the scientific study of society and the social system. So it's really focused on people. And that can be individual people and their behaviors. It can be institutions, it can be social relationships. It's really just thinking about how the human system functions and operates. And so that's social science as a whole. It includes psychology, sociology, but also economics and political science, anthropology, all sorts of things in here that really help describe the human experience. And so I like to think about it if aliens came to visit, really the social science is what would give them the information about human life that they seek. Meanwhile, there's natural sciences and other types of sciences that would give you more of an idea of the rest of our world. So whenever we say environmental social science or conservation social science, it's really just adding this little qualifier that says, hey, All of this stuff about human society that we do, it all has a focus on its link to the environment or conservation. And so that can range from a million different things. It can be about sustainable behaviors. It can be about human-wildlife conflict, any type of environmental decision-making that you can think of. Do we want to pause for the plane?

Emma Poole

Oh no, the plane is fine. The plane is just happening.

Blake Simmons

Okay. Yeah, so it's really just taking a lens of environmental perspectives onto the institutions, individuals, and... governments that really shaped the human existence. And so it can take a variety of different forms. And sometimes I say it's really hard to say what isn't environmental social science, because as we're learning more and more, the human experience has some kind of impact in some way on the environment in the end. And so there's really, it's hard to find some kind of aspect of society that doesn't have an environmental component to it.

Emma Poole

Talking about human and nature interactions, I know I for one, like with my master's project and everything, I'm very interested in how people's personal lived experiences impact the way they interact with or perceive nature and the environment. And so I think that's, you know, a super important conversation to have and did a great job explaining with the aliens because I know they would think some things about people that I might might not ever think about people. But so thank you for taking the time to explain that. Now I want to talk about your background work in that. So what have you kind of experienced working with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program? What do you, you know, you see happening in in the field? And what kind of an impact do you think that bringing people together here could have on those types of issues in the current climate of conservation, social science?

Blake Simmons

Yeah, one thing that is really positive about the Tampa Bay area is that there is this increasing recognition of the role that people play in the environment. And it's this synergistic relationship, right? People impact the environment, but the environment also impacts people. So a lot of times we get bogged down in what humans are doing to destroy the environment. You know, in Tampa Bay specifically, we have a lot of nitrogen pollution And so nitrogen can come from, wastewater, poop in our sewers, those sorts of things. That's what most people immediately think about. But it also comes from what we call non-point source pollution. And that can be simple things like the fertilizer that you put on your lawn. The rain comes, washes a lot of that fertilizer down the storm drain, and it ultimately ends up in our waterways contributing to pollution. picking up your dog's poop whenever you go outside to let them relieve themselves. That's something that can help prevent more of that nitrogen from going into our waterways. And so there's usually a focus on that, but there's also this increasing focus on the benefits that nature gives to us. And that can be the typical recreational benefits, but it's also things like building our mental health, our connection to nature, which is an important spiritual component of a lot of people. There's also a lot of economic services that it provides. We did an economic valuation, or I should say the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council did an economic valuation of Tampa Bay a couple of years ago and found that Tampa Bay, the services it provides, provides millions of dollars annually in carbon sequestration benefits, that supplies, I think it was about one in 10 jobs are there because of the healthy and thriving Tampa Bay. tourism value, all sorts of things. So there's this increasing recognition of how important this people-nature relationship is in Tampa Bay. And that's where my work focuses in. I say, hey, how do we help reduce the problematic relationships between these things? And that can be on the human side. How do we get people to stop fertilizing during the rainy season? How do we get people to pick up their dog's poop? But also So from the opposite end, how do we make communities more resilient to sea level rise? How do we reduce the impacts of sunny day flooding? And those sorts of things where the environment can also pose risks to people. And so I kind of sit in that bridge between the human and natural systems to try to tackle these modern conservation challenges that we're having.

Emma Poole

I love that. As someone from the Tampa Bay area, I know that like a lot of blame gets placed for something that, you know, obviously is an issue, but it sometimes gets deflected in the wrong direction while there's things that we could all do, like you mentioned, with fertilizer and with picking up after our pets, that people just don't think about how big of an impact something small like that could happen. And you know, while businesses and corporations and people do play a role in that too, it's very heartening as a local to that work is being done to make sure that we know exactly the impact that every single one of us has on this. And, and for our listeners, some really practical applications that we can all do in our everyday lives. And like, I know that I don't love picking up other people's trash or whatever, because I don't know where that's been, but I'm willing to do it. So.

Blake Simmons

And that's the great thing is that really in terms of thinking about what you can do for the environment, There's something for somebody at all levels of the spectrum. It can be something really simple like recycling, opting to bring your own bag to the grocery store. little tiny things like that, or it can be bigger things all the way up to, emailing your representative in Congress and doing more activism, protesting, those sorts of things. So there's this whole spectrum of things that people can do, and some of them are easier, some of them are harder, some of them have more impact, less impact, or they impact through different pathways. But exactly kind of what you're saying, there's always something that somebody can do. every day in their normal lives to help chip away at some of these big environmental problems that we have.

Emma Poole

One thing that I think about my dad, like when I was little, and he's stopped now as he's gotten older, but he was an avid golfer. And that was something that a lot of people liked to talk about in our area, like, oh, it's the golf courses that are using a ton of fertilizer. But I think that there was a study that proved that residential use of fertilizer was like much higher than the average use on a golf course. And so just having that information available and out there. I mean, not everybody gets to come to a symposium like this and have conversations with experts and people who are experienced in this field, but having that information readily available to them would be great. But for the people who do get to come to this symposium and network and find out. options and pathways and things that they can practically do to help. I know there was some goal setting and next steps being talked about earlier in the last workshop after lunch. So for you personally, what were some of your takeaways from the last two days and things that you think we might see more of happening as a result of this symposium?

Blake Simmons

My favorite thing is just how many people have approached me to say, Thank you so much for putting this together. We have been waiting for this kind of event for the longest time because these conservation social scientists, we exist, but we're often one in an entire department of a university or a very small department of a governmental agency. So we're often very isolated and it's hard to find other people that are like and to have those connections with them. And so we often feel very alone in our efforts and constantly like, I'm trying to convince other people about the importance of my job and this field of study. And so one of the biggest things that I've taken away here is just exactly how needed this type of event is and how much we really do need to build a strong community amongst all the people that do this line of work. And it was really heartening over the last two days to see so many connections being made, so many people collaborating on future projects together. And we've outlined so many different ways that we can make sure that we all stay connected to one another. If I'm running a survey, I can tell other people and they can say, hey, I wanted to reach those people too. Can we, not duplicate efforts, right? Not, get people tired of taking survey after survey after survey, instead combine our efforts so that we optimize, you know, our research endeavors while still minimizing the burden to the public. And so for me, that's one of the biggest takeaways is just really how needed this network of support for social scientists across Florida is and how willing people are to take ownership of that and move it forward and create something really strong and supportive in the future.

Emma Poole

I agree that that's definitely needed and there are so many opportunities for collaboration here and also beyond throughout the state of Florida and not just the people that were here at the symposium. So I guess, you know, maybe my last topic that I want to address, unless you think there's something that we're missing, is how can you know our listeners who are going to be listening to this podcast get involved and what are some things that the public can do practically to collaborate and help or even just become more aware of conservation social science? What would you encourage them to do if they're listening and they think something this is something that they really care about?

Blake Simmons

I'd say there's a bunch of different ways and it really depends on what your interests are. If you want to get more involved out in nature, look for a bunch of different environmental nonprofits and organizations. They always have volunteer activities. So you can get your boots on the ground, you can go participate in cleanups and plantings, things like that. You can go to what we call experiential education events. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program hosts a lot of those where we'll get people out on kayaks and boating across the bay, all while learning about seagrass and the importance of nitrogen reduction or harmful algal blooms that are affecting the bay. And those are all different ways of communicating with the public, engaging with the public, and that's a component of social science. You can also volunteer for research projects. So there's a lot of times where researchers are looking for people to take surveys or do interviews. That's a great way to contribute to social science is being on the lookout for those opportunities. And the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, we have our own social science subcommittee that we host. And so that is another Ave. to connect social scientists, but also social science enthusiasts. And so whether you're a social scientist or not, maybe you have no idea what social science is, but you want to start dipping your toes into the water and just learning more about social science that's happening in the area. That's something that you can also join through our website on TBEP.org. And there'll be lots of other places just like that in your area that you can hopefully get involved with.

Emma Poole

I think that's something that people don't realize is like it's so easy to get boots on the ground. like you said, involved with something that they really care about, even though I know that I joked, like, where were the conservation social scientists on career day? Because I so would love to do that. And also, you know, the point that it's never really too late to get involved with volunteering or doing that practical work to help with this. So I think that you're right in saying that this was a place where people could come and get their spirits lifted by knowing that people are in the same game with them, on the same mission with them. And, we're not as isolated as we may think. I think back to my communications theory class that I took in my master's program with Dr. Sadie Hundimer, who presented this week, and she's absolutely awesome. And we talked about, the spiral of silence as one of the theories and how sometimes whenever people are not vocal and active in their communities, they aren't able to really see the number of people around them who are actually advocating for this same cause. So thank you for all the work that you have done with that and with this symposium bringing all of these people together to realize that they're not alone on that journey and that this is something that really matters, that a lot of work is being done toward which I know has been uplifting for a lot of people and encouraging and I just that they all take that home with them and move forward as a result of that. And thank you also for allowing Streaming Science to be a little part of this. The two of us in the class with Dr. Lewitso I know are not graduated yet, not out in the real world, but I'm graduating in May and I'm going to be in the real world. And networking is really hard in this day and age. So knowing that there's all these people who are championing social science and who really do care about the environment and conservation as well has provided some great opportunities to start thinking about maybe different things that I didn't think about before coming here. So thank you for putting this whole thing together. And are there any more thoughts, reflections on the symposium or conservation, environmental, social science, or your presentation that you gave, anything that you would like to add?

Blake Simmons

I think just building on your point, I think environmental social science conservation, social science, human dimensions of natural resources. There's a million different ways to kind of describe what it is that we're talking about here. I agree that it is very much a new terminology, but the ideas and the concepts have been around since indigenous communities. Indigenous communities have long known that people and nature are inseparable and they're both in this symbiotic relationship. And so I think it's really important that we help get the word out about this career space that we have, because it's going to be one of the most important fields going forward as we try to fight all of these modern wicked problems that we're facing. And we were even just talking about how in future versions of the symposium, we'd love to have a much larger student presence exactly because we want students to be able to say, hey, you know, this thing that you have probably been thinking about and you probably already know is a thing but have never been able to compartmentalize it or put a name to it. exists and it may be exactly what you have been thinking about and what you've been wanting to do with your life, but you just have been kind of told that there's these very strict disciplinary silos that exist and you have to choose to be a psychologist or choose to be an ecologist or something like that where you can really choose your own adventure and You can do anything and everything that you want and call it environmental social science.

Emma Poole

Yes. When you talk about being interdisciplinary and just doing things that you care about within the space that you're in, I think about a lot of Florida's ranchers that I grew up around and with who have done great things for environmental stewardship within the agricultural space. And so I think there is a lot of great opportunity for collaboration there and, you know, bringing in people from different walks of life who have had different lived experiences, but all really do care about the same thing when it comes right down to it. So that is such a good point you bring up there. But thank you so much for sitting down and just having a conversation with me and enjoying all of the bird sounds here. This is a beautiful venue. And thank you all for listening. And I hope that if you've heard something today that has encouraged you to care more about environmental social science or look into the issues that are going on with conservation and the environment around you, that you will do some research and and learn to really dig into the opportunities to volunteer and the opportunities to get involved around you. Because if this experience has shown me anything at all, it's that there are plenty and many opportunities to get involved. So thank you all so much for listening. Blake, thank you for joining me again. I really did appreciate the opportunity to be able to sit down and talk to someone that I wish I would have been able to to talk to on the elementary school career day.

Blake Simmons

I agreed to do this because I felt exactly the same way once I started my career here. I was like, God, I wish someone would have told me about this 10 years ago. So I am hoping to be that vessel for the younger people as well.

Emma Poole

Career days were so boring that they had me really saying I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom for life. And we know I didn't really want to do that. Thank you so much. I hope this brings awareness, and I hope you all have enjoyed listening to this conversation. And again, I think we would both encourage you to do your research and get involved and start thinking consciously and learning about the impact that you have on nature and the impact that it has on you.