Faculty Feature: Meet Erin Seekamp

Erin Seekamp is a Professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. Her current research interests include climate adaptation planning, community-based conservation and conservation behaviors.

An Interview with Erin

Where were you born? Where have you lived?

I was born in North Haven Connecticut and have lived a lot of different places since I left home for college at James Madison University in Harrisonburg Virginia. I’ve lived in Connecticut, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois and have called North Carolina home for nearly nine years.

What is your favorite climate? Where would you live or work if you could?

The mountains have always called me and they still do, but I’ve been finding a sense of place more and more in coastal North Carolina lately.

What were your favorite school subjects growing up?

I enjoyed most subjects, but found many of the ‘ologies particularly interesting… and not just biology but also etymology.

How did you decide to pursue a degree in Anthropology?

I didn’t know Anthropology was going to be my degree until I had a summer experience working for the Yosemite Concession Service and living in Yosemite National Park between my sophomore and junior years of undergrad. I witnessed two natural disasters—a flood and a rockslide—that closed the park to visitors. In seeing what the park experience could be like with fewer visitors, I decided that I wanted to study human – nature interactions. When I returned for the fall semester, I crafted a program of study that would let me do that without changing institutions. James Madison University didn’t have a PRTM program. I majored in Anthropology and minored in Environmental Studies.

What drew you to NC State’s College of Natural Resources? What do you enjoy most about your work here?

At the time, I was drawn to NC State because of the PRTM Department Head, Dorothy Anderson (faculty emeritus). She really sold the university, college and program as a place where my teaching, research, outreach and service interests could thrive. Having been a faculty member at NC State since 2012 (and holding that title since 2007), I can say she was right. But not only do my interests thrive, I have found the type of community of collegiality that makes my work more stimulating and gratifying. It is the people that I enjoy the most.

Were you always aware and appreciative of the environment? When did you choose to pursue studies in conservation and preservation?

I think so. I spent most of my childhood outside and my fondest memories were being immersed in nature. Once I changed my major, everything fell into alignment despite my parents’ initial concerns about my employability when I changed my major. I was really into backpacking and had noticed that the impacts of backcountry camping seemed dependent on the type of program (dispersed or designated site camping). I decided to explore that for an undergraduate research project. In doing so, I discovered that other people were already asking questions about recreation impacts. The research experience helped me gain a Student Conservation Association (SCA) assistantship at North Cascades National Park. They hired me after my internship concluded. The research experience also led to a research assistantship for my master’s studies at Virginia Tech.

Tell us about your current research with the National Park Service.

I’m currently collaborating with NPS staff and citizens and staff of Tribal Nations to create climate adaptation planning guidance to enhance the stewardship of archeological sites on NPS lands threated by climate change. This project grew out of my work at Cape Lookout National Seashore that helped develop climate adaptation planning guidance for buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places that are at risk to sea level rise storm-related flooding and erosion.

Our hope for this work is that stakeholder values are at the forefront of planning and recovery decisions, as this work is essentially about adapting (or not adapting) sites where people’s heritage is likely to be impacted by climate change. As such, people and their values should be centered in how discussions about how planning and recovery decisions are made. This work is truly collaborative, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the vital contributions of my current graduate students, Courtney Hotchkiss (PRTM PhD program) and Eleanor Knight (PRTM MS program). Their contributions are deeply appreciated; they have helped me learn along the way!

How would you explain the study of Human Dimensions to those outside of academia?

The study of human dimensions integrates diverse elements of the social sciences into applied research projects focused on natural or cultural resource management. It may be a project that integrates political science to study the positive and negative impacts of current policies on resource stewardship or environmental justice, or social psychology to understand people’s preferences for management, or environmental communication to influence people’s behaviors to reduce negative social or ecological impacts in recreational spaces.

Describe your work with or what you most enjoy about Tourism Extension.

My work with Tourism Extension is integrated with my research program. It is critical to frame problems and identify research questions with stakeholders and end-users of the research. Doing so allows us to not only disseminate findings in academia but also to and with the stakeholders and end-users. In other words, my favorite thing about Tourism is that I can create “Actionable Science” – so that my work can be applied by communities, business, and resource management agencies.

Can you tell us about your family. Pets?

I have two pets – Leo(nardo) and (Tiger) Lily; cats who regularly make appearances in my Zoom meetings and Zoom classrooms. My husband and I adopted them as kittens (littermates) when we returned back to Raleigh after my sabbatical as a research fellow at ICCROM in Rome, Italy. They’ve made the transition back to my regularly scholarly duties and my partner’s job much more enjoyable, particularly during the pandemic.

Last book read? Favorite podcasts? TV Shows?

I’m an avid reader; reading for pleasure helps me “quiet” my thoughts before I try to sleep. The best book I’ve read lately was The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack. I haven’t made a lot of time for podcasts (I seem to get distracted unless I’m in the car, and since I’ve been working remotely, I don’t drive very much). My favorite TV show is the one that swept the awards in 2020: Schitt’s Creek. I’ve started re-watching the entire series and still laugh as hard as I did the first time around.