Andrew Justus-Fritz

This presentation explored how the inner life, our emotional needs and perceptual tendencies, shape how we relate to landscapes, and how conservation professionals can draw on this understanding to inform their work to be part of ecological and beautiful landscapes and engage emotionally through presence. Using Kaplan’s Preference Matrix, Information Processing Theory, and Prospect–Refuge theory as frameworks for the learning experience, the talk invited participants to notice how aesthetic experience becomes a bridge between outer landscapes and our inner experience. The presentation was impactful. In post-presentation conversations, participants shared how this topic transformed their thinking about conservation and restoration, especially regarding how people will perceive it. This presentation was more academically aligned yet appropriate for the audience.