I am human geographer whose research explores the practices and politics of environmental governance. I’m particularly interested in understanding how relationships between humans and non-humans are shaped by, or can shape, culture, politics and policy.  In my research I apply these ideas to better understand rewilding and nature recovery, alongside biosecurity and animal managment.  

Research Projects 

2023. Into the Wild: Rewilding and the Historic Environment. Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Collaboration grant. £29,000. Co-Investigator. Project information

2023. Mapping social elements of rewilding to identify pragmatic social metrics for stakeholders. Rewilding Britain. £3000

2018. Sowing the Seeds of Heritage: Examining bio-cultural knowledge and social memory of agricultural practices. Small Research Grant, Royal Geographical Society. £3,000 

2018. Release of legacy fallout radionuclides from retreating glaciers: co-producing ‘risk maps’ with the Sami to inform adaptations to an emerging threat in Arctic Sweden’ Environment and Sustainability Research Grant. £15,000

2015. Research Fellowship Providing Evidence and Analysis to Inform Policy Development on Key Elements of Biosecurity. DEFRA. (Project number SD0511) £103,712

2006. Wellcome Trust Undergraduate Research Scholarship Award, Nottingham University £1500

Current PhD students

Heidi Barron. Respect, Responsibility and Reciprocity: Envisioning Multi-Species Justice in the River Dart. ESRC Funded

Patrick Geoghegan. Realising alternative futures—on structure, agency, and the London National Park City movement. ESRC Funded

Completed PhD students

2019. Cara Clancy. Wild entanglements: exploring the visions and dilemmas of ‘renaturing’ urban Britain. SoGEES funded 

2023. Carlotta Molfese. Going back-to-the-land in the Anthropocene: a more-than-human journey into anarchist geography  ESRC Funded

2024. Dylan Beard. Glaciers as secondary sources of anthropogenic pollutants: an emerging socio-environmental challenge. SoGEES Funded. 2nd supervisor. 

I teach across a variety of modules within the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science (SoGEES).