People

Dr. Mele Wheaton is a senior research scholar with Prof. Nicole Ardoin’s team in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. Her research interests include learning in out-of-school contexts, pro-environmental action, and nature-based tourism. As lead on a variety of projects, Mele has studied behavior change in ecotourists in Galapagos and California, environmental identity and action in high-school students participating in an intensive conservation education program, and professional development in environmental educators. She currently manages several projects including exploring the various pathways to environmental literacy through environmental education programming and connecting research and practice both in education and in conservation land management. Mele has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Science and Environmental Education from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has been a fellow of the NSF-funded Center for Informal Learning and Schools; a fellow of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation for Environmental Leadership; and a board member of the California Environmental Education Foundation (CEEF). Prior to her research career, Mele worked for more than a decade in a variety of informal education settings including parks and museums in Alaska, Arizona, and California.  Mele has also worked as a field biologist, conducting botanical surveys and studying nesting bald eagles.

Passionate innovator in experiential outdoor learning with a focus on place-based education. Builds bridges with community partners to create and sustain positive change in our local learning communities and meet the needs of learners through the use of research-based content and pedagogy.

I am a PhD Student in the Geography, Planning and Design program at the University of Colorado Denver researching regenerative food systems in urban environments. The ways people, especially children, relate to their environments and local, regional landscape guides my inquiry.

BS in Zoology from MSU; Autism Certified by the IBCCES; South Lansing, MI

For more than two decades, I've work to build support and partnerships to advance conservation and sustainability.

Second Grade Teacher Green Team Student Leader Environmental Education Educator