Doctoral Dissertation Research: Ecological Restoration's Genetic Culture: Participation and Technology in the Making of Landscapes

生态恢复是一套用于重建功能性、历史性生态系统的科学实践、方法和知识体系。实践者认为生态修复是一种包容性的保护模式，提倡公众广泛参与，但在实践中，公众对项目的参与可能会受到志愿者对生态理论和修复技术的初步了解的限制，特别是在使用高科技方法的情况下。芝加哥植物园决定将基因技术应用于其生态恢复工作，这对公众参与专业知识和恢复景观的生产提出了特殊的挑战。本博士论文研究项目将考察芝加哥植物园修复项目的实施情况，以探讨修复学家与基因技术的接触如何为公众参与修复过程提供不同的机会和障碍。博士生将寻求以下问题的答案：(1)植物学科学家和恢复参与者如何使用遗传技术来决定哪些植物包括在本地生态系统恢复中？(2)这些实践如何界定谁应该使用或创造有关本地植物及其恢复的知识？(3)在修复过程中，科学家和志愿者如何利用基因概念促进社会互动？该学生将使用半结构化访谈和参与观察，与遗传学家、修复学家和志愿者一起产生关于修复过程中专家和公民科学家之间的不连续性和联系的信息。他将确定志愿者在恢复和产生有关本地景观的知识方面的具体贡献，并评估遗传技术的使用对公众参与恢复项目的影响程度，特别强调确定遗传技术在专家和非专家之间的互动中所起的作用。该项目将分析新兴生态恢复方法的潜力，使志愿者参与知识创造实践。由于芝加哥植物园已经成为以植物园为主导的保护项目的典范，它对高科技修复实践的推广和对公众参与的承诺，使公民科学家有可能在塑造未来的基因修复实践中拥有发言权。该项目将通过对芝加哥植物园的社会和科学实验的研究，帮助确定更广泛的参与恢复项目的潜力。该项目将汇集生态学家、社会科学家和非专家/公民科学家，批判性地反思志愿者参与基因修复实践的好处和后果。本研究将阐明如何使公共科学界面对志愿修复者、他们的知识和特定地点的修复愿景更具包容性和响应性。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。

Ecological restoration is a set of scientific practices, methods, and bodies of knowledge used to re-create functional, historical ecosystems. Practitioners consider ecological restoration an inclusive conservation paradigm and advocate broad public participation, but in practice, public engagement in projects can be limited by volunteers' initial understanding of ecological theory and restoration techniques, especially when high-tech methods are used. The Chicago Botanic Garden's decision to employ genetic technology into its ecological restoration efforts provide a special challenge for public participation in the production of expert knowledge and restored landscapes. This doctoral dissertation research project will examine the conduct of restoration projects at the Chicago Botanic Garden in order to explores how the engagement of restorationists with genetic technology provides different opportunities and barriers to public participation in restoration processes. The doctoral student will seek answers to the following questions: (1) How do botanical scientists and restoration participants use genetic technologies to decide which plants are included in native ecosystem restorations? (2) How do these practices define who should use or make knowledge about native plants and their restorations? (3) How do scientists and volunteers use genetic concepts to facilitate social interactions during the restoration process? The student will use semi-structured interviews and participant observation with geneticists, restorationists, and volunteers to generate information about discontinuities and connections between expert and citizen scientists in the restoration process. He will identify the specific contributions of volunteers to restoring and producing knowledge about native landscapes and assess the degree to which the use of genetic technology affects public participation in restoration projects, with special emphasis given to identifying what role genetic technology plays in interactions between experts and non-experts.This project will analyze the potential for the emerging ecological restoration approach to include volunteers in knowledge-making practices. Because the Chicago Botanic Garden has emerged as a model for botanical garden-led conservation programs, its promotion of high-tech restoration practices and commitment to public participation make it likely that citizen scientists will have a voice in shaping future genetic restoration practices. This project will help identify the broader participatory potential for restoration programs through its examination of the Chicago Botanic Garden's social and scientific experiments. The project will bring together ecologists, social scientists, and non-experts/citizen scientists to critically reflect on the benefits and consequences of genetic restoration practices on volunteer participation. This research will elucidate how the public-science interface can be made more inclusive and responsive to volunteer restorationists, their knowledge, and their site-specific restoration visions. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.