Mysha Clarke

Assistant Professor, Human Dimension of Natural Resources

Mysha Clarke joined the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences in 2020. As a natural resource social scientist, her aim is to better understand people’s environmental decision-making, and to determine avenues through which to connect people with natural resource conservation and management. She uses a mixed method approach incorporating qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand the human dimensions of forest management.

Her collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects include invasive plant management on private non-industrial family forestlands, communication of invasive insects in the media, urban garden’s connectivity and urban forest change over time. Overall, she envisions her research contributing theories and knowledge to improve socio-ecological interactions, environmental decision-making and conservation by focusing primarily on the human dimensions of rural and urban forests and other natural resources.

Prior to joining the FFGS, Mysha was a Teaching Postdoctoral Fellow at Villanova University in the Department of Geography and the Environment. She grew up in Jamaica and received her PhD from Purdue University in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.

Courses Taught

• Publications

  PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

  Synder, S., Ma, Z., Floress, K. and Clarke, M. 2020. Relationships between absenteeism, conservation group membership, and land management among family forest owners. Land Use Policy. Accepted. In Press. Johnson, L., Johnson, M., Aronson, M., Campbell, L., Carr, M., Clarke, M. et al. 2020. Conceptualizing social-ecological drivers of change in urban forest patches. Urban Ecosystems. Accepted. In Press. Clarke, M., Ma, Z., Snyder, S., Floress, S. 2019. What are family forest owners thinking and doing about invasive plants? Landscape and Urban Planning, (188) 80-92. Clarke, M., Davidson, M., Egerer, M., Anderson, E. and Fouch, N. 2019. The underutilized role of community gardens in improving the resilience of cities to climate change: A review. People, Place and Policy, 12 (3) 241-251. Ma, Z., Clarke, M., Church, S. 2018. Insights into individual and cooperative invasive plant management on family forestlands. Land Use Policy, (75) 682-693. Anderson, E., Egerer, M., Fouch, N. and Clarke, M. 2019. Comparing community garden typologies of Baltimore, Chicago, and New York City (USA) to understand potential implications for socio-ecological services. Urban Ecosystems, 22 (4) 671-681. Clarke, M., Roman, L. and Conway, T. 2020. Communication about emerald ash borer in the news media: Militaristic and fatalistic framings. In Review. Fouch, N., Anderson, E., Egerer, M, Clarke, M. and Davidson, M. 2019. Socio-ecological connectivity differs in magnitude and direction across urban landscapes. Scientific Reports. In Review.

  EXTENSION PUBLICATIONS

  Clarke, M., Ma, Z., Snyder, S., Floress, K. 2017. Private woodland owners and invasive plant management in Illinois. The Voice for Illinois Forests, Volume 12 Issue 2, Summer 2017. Available at: https://www.ilforestry.org/. Clarke, M., Ma, Z. 2017. What do our private woodland owners know and are doing about invasive plants in Indiana? Indiana Woodland Steward, Volume 26, Number 1, Spring 2017. Available at: http://www.inwoodlands.org/what-do-our-private-invasive/. Clarke, M., Ma, Z. 2017. Invasive Plants: Impact on Environment and People. Nature of Teaching Lesson Plan. Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service Publication, FNR-535-W. Available at: https://edustore.purdue.edu/item.asp?Item_Number=FNR-535-W​. George, H., Diane, H. L., Carolyn, P., Scott, E., Lori, M., Ma, Z., & Clarke, M. K. (2018). Forest Nursery Seedling Production in the United States—Fiscal Year 2017. USDA Forest Service, 61(2), 18-22. Available at: https://rngr.net/publications/tpn/. Hernández, G., Haase, D.L., Pike, C., Enebak, S., Mackey, L., Ma, Z., Clarke, M. 2017. Forest Nursery Seedling Production in the United States—Fiscal Year 2016. Tree Planters’ Note 60(2): 24-28. Available at: https://rngr.net/publications/tpn/60-2. Hernández, G., Pike, C., Haase, D.L., Enebak, S., Ma, Z., Clarke, M., Mackey, L. 2016. Forest Nursery Seedling Production in the United States—Fiscal Year 2015. Tree Planters’ Note 59(2): 20-24. Available at: https://rngr.net/publications/tpn/59-2.