Nicole Ardoin, an associate professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education and senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, was recently honored by the Clemson University Institute for Parks for her life’s work in environmental education.

Ardoin received the William C. Everhart award, which recognizes sustained achievements that foster an appreciation of parks and other historic and natural places. She was one of five environmentalists honored at the 2018 awards ceremony.

“Academic careers are typically evaluated by three criteria: research, teaching and service. By any standard, [Ardoin] is exceptional across all three,” said Bob Powell, director of the Clemson Institute for Parks, while presenting the award.

“Her pursuit of excellence is undeniable,” he said. “She is an important and powerful role model in the field of environmental education.”

Ardoin’s research focuses on how people’s behavior is influenced by environmental learning and place-based connections. She also explores how learning opportunities engage people in decision-making related to the environment.

“I’ve known Nicole for 18 years,” Powell said. “My first impression was that she was friendly, sincere, open and laid-back. But as I got to know her, it became apparent that she was incredibly driven. She was focused on improving the world, and her way of doing that was through environmental education.”

Ardoin earned her doctorate in social ecology from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and has more than two decades of nonprofit conservation experience. She joined the Stanford faculty in 2008.

At Stanford, Ardoin directs the Social Ecology Lab, where a team of scholars collaborate with community and nonprofit organizations to address environmental and sustainability questions. She was also recently named director of the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) in the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences.

Read more about Ardoin’s work and the Clemson Institute for Parks award.