Home | Alex Kudryavtsev

Alex Kudryavtsev (Alex Russ)

Research Associate

Cornell University

I am an environmental education researcher in the Civic Ecology Lab at Cornell University. CV (PDF file)

My mission – as a researcher and teacher – is to contribute to solving social and environmental problems through sustainability education and civic engagement in schools, nonformal education, and community settings.

I explore civic engagement in urban agriculture education. I believe that through environmental / sustainability / urban agriculture education we can empower urban residents to improve cities, human well-being, and strengthen civic participation.
I also work with my colleagues on the develop of online courses for educator professional development. In addition, conduct field experiences with an elementary school in Ithaca, NY, which will help me combine environmental education in formal and conformal settings.
Outside teaching and research, I am a traveler (all 7 continents, 50 US states, and 38 countries so far), lover of national parks, vegan (see my Instagram), and avid reader (my Goodreads). I love reading and writing.

Upcoming Event:

Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2021

Our presentation was accepted to The Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2021 (SRI2021), June 2021. Stay tuned!

Melissa Taggart and Alex Kudryavtsev

Creating the World We Want: Case Studies in Environmental Education

Before the congress, participate in virtual events "Dialogues on the Future of Sustainability": https://sri2021.org/sri-talks/

Current projects

Urban Agriculture Education & Civic Participation

Currently, I am exploring how urban agriculture in New York City – in community gardens, farms, schools, botanical gardens, and parks – encourage youth to become civically engaged environmental citizens Co-PIs: Kudryavtsev, and Krasny; Sponsored by USDA NIFA.

Environmental Education Case Studies

I'm helping the Global Environmental Education Partnership (GEEP) to create an environmental education case studies ebook for university courses and professional development workshops. Each case study is connected with several of 17 Sustainable Development Goals. One of case studies (on Rocking the Boat) is available online. More chapters from this ebook are coming in 2021.

E-STEM Education

My colleagues and I have recently designed a new online course "E-STEM Education" for teachers and educators who want to help youth become scientifically literate, environmental citizens. Participants learn how to integrate environmental ideas into STEM classes (e.g., biology and earth science), and how to make science part of environmental education programs. We also discuss inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, and other active learning pedagogies.

Green Cities online and in-person course

Each summer, I teach the Green Cities online course for the Cornell University School of Continuing Education. I always look for new materials to improve this course, including relevant theoretical frameworks and case studies. In 2020, my TAs and I have successfully converted this in-person course to an online course.

Online Professional Development of Environmental Educators

Along with my colleagues, I am investigating how social norm messages and study group discussions in online courses influence practice of environmental educators. Co-PIs: Krasny, Kizilcec, Li, and Kudryavtsev; Sponsored by Cornell China Center.

Selected publications

Russ, A., and Gaus, M. (in-progress). Urban agriculture and youth civic participation: A rapid scoping review. Social Movements, Institutions and Governance.
Russ, A., Armstrong, A., and Krasny, M. (in-progress). Urban agriculture in parks: Fostering youths’ civic participation. In: The Transformative Power of Parks.
DuBois, B., Krasny, M., and Russ, A. (2019). Online professional development for environmental educators: Strategies to foster critical thinking and social interactions. Environmental Education Research, 25(10), 1479-1494. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2018.1564247 PDF
Russ, A., Peters, S.J., Krasny, M.E., and Stedman, R.C. (2015). Development of ecological place meaning in New York City. Journal of Environmental Education, 46(2), 73–93. doi: 10.1080/00958964.2014.999743 PDF
Krasny, M.E., Kalbacker, L., Stedman, R.C., and Russ, A. (2015). Measuring social capital among youth: Applications in environmental education. Environmental Education Research, 21(1): 1-23. 10.1080/13504622.2013.843647 PDF
Kudryavtsev, A., Krasny, M., and Stedman, R. (2012). The impact of environmental education on sense of place among urban youth. Ecosphere, 3(4):29. doi: 10.1890/ES11-00318.1 PDF, Survey
Kudryavtsev, A., Stedman, R., and Krasny, M. (2011). Sense of place in environmental education. Environmental Education Research, 18(2), 229–250. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2011.609615 PDF