I am a researcher in the environmental humanities. I look at storytelling and biodiversity (loss) from a humanities and social sciences perspective. Broadly speaking, I am interested in why people care more about certain plants and animals than others and are willing to share their stories and care for them in other ways.
My doctoral research at the Universities of Bristol and Bath Spa (UK) was on narratives of insect decline. In my thesis, titled ‘Storying Extinction: Cultural Imaginations of Insect Decline,’ I consider questions of value, care, and (in)attention through stories of insects and their decline.
My first postdoctoral project, ‘Tending to Small Life’, at the University of Oulu (FI) looks at practices and imaginaries of seed saving as a means of safeguarding biodiversity and preventing plant loss. Find an overview of my publications and presentations here.
research interests and expertise
Storytelling
Storytelling is the figurative green thread in all my work. My background is in contemporary literature and literary theory, but I am increasingly interested in story(tell)ing practices. I approach storytelling not merely as representation but as a practice that actively shapes environmental values and collective imaginaries.
Extinction and biodiversity loss
My academic research is driven by questions of what causes people to care for and about certain animals and plants in decline but not others. Stories of other-than-human extinction and decline are mostly centred around a few select charismatic species, and my research looks at where these monocultural narratives come from.
Transdisciplinary and creative methods
The environmental humanities are transdisciplinary in nature, and my work uses different qualitative methods from the humanities and social sciences. I am also increasingly working with arts-based research and research-inspired art through creative writing, illustration and ceramics.
Multispecies care
Following Donna Haraway and Deborah Bird Rose, I understand care in terms of attentiveness. Caring for other species requires us to pay careful attention – affectively, practically, and politically – in order to maintain and repair our relationship with other-than-human life.
Biocultural heritage
I am interested in the unique landscapes and places that are shaped by human hands as well as the flora and fauna that they home. I completed a research placement with a local heritage organisation during my PhD. Most recently, my work on seed saving has led me to the biocultural heritage of my home country.
