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Credit: Yale U
New Haven, Conn. -- Yale professor Stephen Kellert, the Tweedy Ordway Professor of Social Ecology at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, has won the North American Association for Environmental Education award for "Outstanding Contributions to Research."
The award is given to an individual who has made outstanding theoretical and scientific contributions. Kellert will be presented the award at the association's annual conference on October 13 in St. Paul, Minn.
"Professor Kellert is a prolific writer, superb teacher and a leader in his field," said Gus Speth, dean of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
Much of Kellert's work focuses on understanding the connection between human and natural systems, with a particular interest in the value and conservation of nature and designing ways to harmonize the natural and human built environments.
He has authored over 100 publications, including several books exploring people's relationship to nature. In 1993, he co-edited "The Biophilia Hypothesis" with Edward O. Wilson, an entomologist at Harvard. The book brought together 20 scientists from various disciplines to refine and examine the idea of biophilia, which suggests that humans possess a deep and biologically based urge to connect with the natural world.
He has since published several books on biological diversity and the human-nature connection. His other recent awards include the National Conservation Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation and the Distinguished Individual Achievement Award from the Society for Conservation Biology. He has served on committees of the National Academy of Sciences and is a member of IUCN Species Survival Commission Groups. He is one of 300 individuals listed in "American Environmental Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present."
The North American Association for Environmental Education is a network of professionals, students and volunteers working in the field of environmental education throughout North America and in over 55 countries.