Andrew Spiers

Lecturer, Brock University, Department of Tourism and Environment
MCC 428
E-mail: aspiers@brocku.ca

Education
BRLS Brock University
MA (Tourism Policy & Planning) University of Waterloo
Ph.D. (Outdoor Recreation Management) University of Alberta

About Me:
I am currently a Lecturer in the Department of Tourism and Environment at Brock University teaching in the areas of biodiversity conservation, sustainability, environmental ethics, and nature-based tourism.
My current research is both theoretical and practical.  With regard to the former, I am interested in developing a better understanding of outdoor recreation user conflicts.  My work has proposed a theoretical understanding of conflict based on negative emotional reactions to people, events, and situations and has validated a multi-dimension multi-item scale for measuring recreationist emotional responses to conflict occurrences.  Pragmatically, my research has focused on the transfer and use of research knowledge and information to inform recreation resource management decisions.

<b>How does outdoor recreation fit into ESRC?</b><br> It’s about the relationships that people develop with the natural environment. Why does somebody choose to go mountain biking, hiking, or canoeing? Sustainability and effective and appropriate resource management are critical to continuing to provide opportunities for people to experience all that is wonderful about the natural environment. Similarly, how people share space in the outdoors and perceive actions/behaviours (e.g., littering) towards the environment are often at the heart of outdoor recreation conflict experiences.