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Local food systems; More-than-human place making; Natureculture relations; Grassroots movements; Community economies and resilience.

20062024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

My research explores the multispecies relationships between people, place and the environment (more-than-human) concentrating on how best to build the resilience and capacity of communities to enact more sustainable futures in a time of climate change. I have particular expertise in local food systems (including community food production, food rescue and food waste management) and understanding the impacts of everyday food interactions on human and planetary health and wellbeing. Conceptions of waste and practices of reuse and repair through community sharing projects are also current areas of focus.

I use participatory, ethnographic and non-representational methodologies to conduct fieldwork informed by an attentiveness to the more-than-human. This fieldwork is informed by policy analysis and interdisciplinary theoretical approaches drawing on my background in social movement studies, cultural theory, critical food studies, environmental humanities and cultural geography. My work is underpinned by an interest in: the materialities of everyday lived experience at the nature-culture interface (or nature-culture entanglements); how these experiences are represented; and generative conceptual and applied possibilities that build on current community practices and imaginaries. My research is embedded in local, community action while being directly connected to broader global socio-environmental issues.

I have over a decade of research experience with local governments, schools, community groups, cultural institutions and other industry in designing interventions, gathering and evaluating data, and communicating outcomes that have direct impact on policy and practice.

I am employed as an Associate Professor in Faculty of Arts and Design.  As the Faculty’s Associate Dean - Higher Degrees by Research I am privileged to be able to support the development of our Faculty’s diverse HDR cohort and I consistently draw inspiration from their innovative and imaginative research. I am also fortunate enough to contribute to  growing the University's research impact through my role as Deputy Director of the University's  Centre for Creative and Cultural Research.

My book, Taste, Waste and the New Materiality of Food (Routledge, 2019) is open access and can be found HERE

External Positions:

July - November 2020, Visiting Research Fellow, Hong Kong Baptist University

July - December 2016, Visiting Research Fellow, School of Gender and Cultural Studies, University of Sydney

July - December 2012, Visting Research Fellow, National Museum of Australia

Research interests

My current research interests and projects relate to: urban agriculture; urban nature; more-than-humans; cultures of repair; First Nations ways of knowing, being and doing; ecological wellbeing.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action

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