Phil critically interprets dominant Western conceptions of human-nature relationships and focuses on socio-ecological approaches to studying, theorizing, and practicing and facilitating outdoor recreation, education, and travel. He investigates the interrelationship of people and place through outdoor activities (e.g. canoeing, fly fishing, hiking, climbing) and the institutions that enable them (e.g. families, clubs, schools, businesses). He’s particularly interested in how the process of becoming skilled involves learning about and engaging with environments, landscapes, and issues. That is, how outdoor activities and related discourses position people as participants in particular social, ecological, and economic relations relative to issues of sustainability. Phil interprets how these relations produce, maintain, and challenge wilderness, parks, protected areas, and green space, as well as how they can be used to understand and improve outdoor and environmental education and management for conservation and social change.