Dr. Lauren Ferguson is an Assistant Professor in Recreation Management and Policy at UNH. Her research examines the connection between outdoor recreation, human health, and natural environments through ecosystem services and sustainable protected area conservation and management. Ecosystem services can be defined as the benefits natural ecosystems provide to humans. She studies how different components of ecosystems, such as soundscapes influence human health and the best practices for managing parks and protected areas so that outdoor recreationists and the broader community can obtain various ecosystem services. Outcomes from her research have implications for protected area managers, health practitioners, and conservation policy.
Her teaching, broadly speaking, focuses on experiential learning and human dimensions of natural resources, with additional expertise in nonprofit organizations, grantsmanship, research design, and law. Lauren's approach to teaching emphasizes using hands on learning experiences that are applied, to teach students content and skills which translate into their professional careers.
Courses Taught
- LAP 501: Life Act Prog/Fly Fishing
- RMP 511: Iss Wilderness Nature Amer Soc
- RMP 559: Program and Event Marketing
- RMP 563: Rec Mgt & Policy Practicum
- RMP 724: Research and Evaluation
- RMP 724/824: Research and Evaluation
- RMP 772/872: Law&Public Policy Leisure Svcs
- RMP 776/876: Human Dimensions of Nature
- RMP 824: Research and Evaluation
- RMP 970: Teaching Practicum
- RMP 980: Independent Study
Research Interests
- Acoustics
- Ecosystems
- Environmental Health
- Natural Resources Management
- Parks & Recreation Management
Selected Publications
Ferguson, L. A., Ferguson, M. D., Rodrigues, K., Evensen, D., Caraynoff, A. R., Persson, K., . . . Eisenhaure, S. (2024). The role of health and wellbeing in shaping local park experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 46, 100739. doi:10.1016/j.jort.2024.100739
Smith, M., Ferguson, M., Ferguson, L., Contosta, A., Burakowski, E., Levine, D., & Rogers, S. (2024). From a Shorter Winter Season to More Storm Damage: New Hampshire Outdoor Recreation Providers Feel Climate Impacts Far More than Visitors. https://scholars.unh.edu/carsey/484/: Carsey School of Public Polic. Retrieved from https://scholars.unh.edu/carsey/484/
Ferguson, L. A., Taff, B. D., Blanford, J. I., Mennitt, D. J., Mowen, A. J., Levenhagen, M., . . . Newman, P. (2024). Understanding park visitors' soundscape perception using subjective and objective measurement.. PeerJ, 12, e16592. doi:10.7717/peerj.16592
Ferguson, L. A., Newman, P., McKenna, M. F., Betchkal, D. H., Miller, Z. D., Keller, R., . . . Taff, B. D. (2023). How much noise is too much? Methods for identifying thresholds for soundscape quality and ecosystem services. Applied Acoustics, 209, 109388. doi:10.1016/j.apacoust.2023.109388
Ferguson, M. D., Lynch, M. L., Evensen, D., Ferguson, L. A., Barcelona, R., Giles, G., & Leberman, M. (2023). The nature of the pandemic: Exploring the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic upon recreation visitor behaviors and experiences in parks and protected areas.. J Outdoor Recreat Tour, 41, 100498. doi:10.1016/j.jort.2022.100498
Ferraro, D. M., Miller, Z. D., Ferguson, L. A., Taff, B. D., Barber, J. R., Newman, P., & Francis, C. D. (2020). The phantom chorus: birdsong boosts human well-being in protected areas. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 287(1941). doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.1811
Ferguson, M. D., Lynch, M. L., Miller, Z. D., Ferguson, L. A., & Newman, P. (2020). What do outdoor recreationists think of fracking? Politics, ideology, and perceptions of shale gas energy development in Pennsylvania State Forests. ENERGY RESEARCH & SOCIAL SCIENCE, 62. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2019.101384
Miller, Z. D., Ferguson, L. A., Newman, P., Ferguson, M., Tipton, N., Sparrow, V., & Taff, B. D. (2020). Developing visitor thresholds of sound from shale natural gas compressors for motorized and non-motorized recreation users in Pennsylvania State Forests. APPLIED ACOUSTICS, 157. doi:10.1016/j.apacoust.2019.107012
Francis, C. D., Newman, P., Taff, B. D., White, C., Monz, C. A., Levenhagen, M., . . . Barber, J. R. (2017). Acoustic environments matter: Synergistic benefits to humans and ecological communities.. J Environ Manage, 203(Pt 1), 245-254. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.07.041
Abbott, L. C., Taff, D., Newman, P., Benfield, J. A., & Mowen, A. J. (2016). The Influence of Natural Sounds on Attention Restoration. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 34(3). doi:10.18666/jpra-2016-v34-i3-6893