Journal article
Hybrid knowledge: Place, practice, and knowing in a volunteer ecological restoration project
KA Reid, KJH Williams, MS Paine
Ecology and Society | Published : 2011
Abstract
Wide community participation in ecological restoration projects is encouraged because of the multiple values generated. However, it is often assumed that volunteer projects cannot contribute to the production of generalizable ecological knowledge because they are locally focused and don't follow scientific protocols or ecological theory. Anecdotally, the many successful volunteer projects suggest that some amateurs possess insight that could benefit restoration ecology generally, but the processes of generating, testing, and sharing local restoration knowledge remains poorly understood. This ethnographic study of the volunteer restorationist organization, Friends of Organ Pipes National Park..
View full abstractGrants
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge with thanks the support of the Parks Victoria Rangers stationed at the Grasslands Unit at Organ Pipes National Park. We are also grateful for the insightful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript from our colleague Dave Kendal. We also thank the anonymous reviewers whose constructive suggestions greatly improved our manuscript. We reserve our greatest thanks for the Friends of Organ Pipes past and present whose commitment to learning and sharing their knowledge made this research possible. This study was conducted with the support of an Australian Postgraduate Award.