Engaged Faculty Fellowship Program
Shorna Allred
A 2013 Engaged Faculty Fellow, Shorna Allred is an associate professor in the Department of Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Read her faculty profile for more information.
The Story
Shorna partnered with residents and community organizations to develop, implement, and evaluate an urban forestry community engagement toolkit that will be disseminated for use by organizations nationwide. Her goal is to reach and empower people to be active stewards of their community’s trees and natural resources. Trees are integral to the urban environment, contributing multiple economic and environmental benefits. With our support, Shorna worked towards the effective community engagement that translates to an informed and invested citizenry taking actions to become advocates for their urban forest.
“Ultimately, the overall goal is an increased awareness, interest, and community involvement in urban forestry . . . Critical to the success of these efforts is community engagement. Indeed, lack of involvement of key stakeholders in urban greening projects has been linked to project failure.”
The Strategy
- Facilitated community capacity building
- Explored and utilized participatory social science research methods
- Disseminated insights locally, regionally, and nationally
- Researched and designed participatory processes to engage residents, raise awareness, and help urban forestry professionals understand the needs and constraints of residents
- Created a community engagement toolkit curriculum to serve as the foundation for an online course for both upper level undergraduate and graduate students and urban forestry professionals
- Provided an online forum for interaction between Cornell students and professionals across the U.S. whereby they could share experiences, knowledge, and also establish a network of engaged professionals and students
In the News
Summit keynote outlines peril climate change poses for indigenous peoples (December 12, 2018, Cornell Chronicle)
Sustainable economic strategies spur engaged research interest (June 29, 2018, Cornell Chronicle)
Allred receives third annual Engaged Scholar Prize (April 18, 2018, Cornell Chronicle)
OEI Grants
Grant for Faculty Research on Engagement: Transforming Upstate New York from Rust to Green
Engaged Opportunity Grant: Rust to Green Binghamton Presentation
Engaged Curriculum Grant: Climate-Adaptive Design in the Community
Engaged Undergraduate Research Grant: Rust to Green Binghamton: Living with Water Initiative
Engaged Faculty Fellowship Program
A yearlong cohort program in which faculty dive deep into the theory and practice of community-engaged learning and scholarship; meet monthly to discuss readings, and share projects and workshop challenges