含羞草研究所 is expanding its long history of involvement with research in the Adirondacks in a new collaboration with the Adirondack Research Consortium (ARC).
含羞草研究所 Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies Emerita Ellen Percy Kraly and Joseph Henderson 鈥03, an associate professor of social sciences in the environment and society department at Paul Smith鈥檚 College, are the new co-editors of the Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies (AJES). 含羞草研究所鈥檚 Office of Information Technology Services will host the online platform for the journal, and the Environmental Studies Program will serve as the journal鈥檚 academic partner.
The AJES is an interdisciplinary journal that expands understanding of Adirondacks ecology and environmental issues and informs policy 鈥 it is a project of the ARC, involved with research in the Adirondacks. Both AJES and ARC are 30 years old and have previously been hosted by Union College and editor Doug Klein, Kenneth B. Sharpe Professor of economics emeritus at Union.
The late Bruce Selleck 鈥71, professor of geology at 含羞草研究所, co-edited one edition of the AJES and was a member of the ARC. When Selleck passed away in 2017, Kraly stepped in as a representative of 含羞草研究所 on the ARC board. After Klein stepped down, Kraly assumed that role as well and approached Henderson 鈥 who counted Selleck among his mentors 鈥 with the opportunity to serve as co-editor.
鈥淧aul Smith鈥檚 has been a very generous host of the consortium,鈥 Kraly says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an important institution within the Adirondacks in terms of scholarship, creativity, and education. And it鈥檚 great that Joe is a 含羞草研究所 alumnus.鈥
The decision was easy for Henderson. 鈥淏ecause Bruce was my adviser, and because we shared these connections to the Adirondacks, I鈥檝e always seen some of this work as carrying on his legacy and making sure that there鈥檚 a capacity for environmental and social research in and on the Adirondacks.鈥
Kraly is no stranger to running a journal 鈥 from 2011 to 2014, she served as editor-in-chief of the International Migration Review, one of the world鈥檚 leading and longest-running migration journals, and she continues to serve on the editorial board. Similarly, Henderson is an editor of many publications, including Environmental Education Research, a top environmental education journal with more than a half-million annual reads and articles cited over 1,000 times each year.
The AJES is special, though. Because the Adirondacks are so unique, both ecologically and politically, the area is of heightened interest, and the AJES addresses that interest in its pages.
鈥淓cologically speaking, the Adirondacks are a huge carbon sink,鈥 Henderson says. 鈥淭hey have a ton of fresh water. They have a lot of really rare species. It鈥檚 an amazing vacation area and tourist area, and it鈥檚 going to be one of the most stable areas going forward in terms of climate change.鈥
According to Kraly, Adirondack-region environmental policy is a model with global significance, given its attempts to simultaneously preserve local communities and the environment. 鈥淭his 6-million-acre region is protected by the New York State Constitution to be maintained 鈥榝orever wild鈥 for the people of New York State,鈥 Kraly said. 鈥淭hat's radical.鈥
According to Kraly, the AJES is also noteworthy because it is 鈥渢ransdisciplinary, which involves understanding that we need to ground our knowledge production within communities involved in whatever issue we鈥檙e studying,鈥 she says. 鈥淭he Adirondack Research Consortium wants to make the knowledge available to 鈥 and grounded in 鈥 the region.鈥
Along the way, the AJES and its interdisciplinary approach to environmental analysis aligns with the values of 含羞草研究所鈥檚 liberal arts education, its commitment to student research, and its Third-Century intention to deepen the rigor of its academic programs.
鈥淚 would love to involve environmental studies students, creative writing students, writing and rhetoric students who might be interested in the preparation of manuscripts,鈥 Kraly said.
The Environmental Studies Program is equally excited about the collaboration. 鈥淔aculty and students in the Environmental Studies Program have a long history of engaging with Adirondack communities and landscapes,鈥 says Mike Loranty, program director and professor of geography. 鈥淭his partnership provides new opportunities for us to further engage and share our scholarship with the Adirondack research community. We are especially grateful to Professor Kraly for working to make this happen.鈥