Jenny Atchison

I am a human geographer and interdisciplinary social scientist interested in human relationships with nature, particularly plants. My research focuses on the material interactions of human-nature relationships, examining the ways nonhumans shape human lives and provoke us to think and live differently in the world. I am motivated by relational thinking and more-than-human geographies that bridge or undo the nature-culture binary, contributing to this disciplinary project through research on places and relationships that take nonhumans seriously as equally sociable beings. Building on my multidisciplinary background in environmental science and archaeobotany, my current research has evolved to examine peopled landscapes - a concept grounded in the understanding that it is neither possible nor socially or politically desirable to remove people from the environment. This work develops from my earlier ethnobotanical research and emphasises the necessity of documenting and developing ways for humans and nonhumans to coexist and flourish together. My ARC Future Fellowship project (2021-2029) examines the social and cultural relationships between people and plants that have become invasive in northern Australia, focusing on questions of coexistence. This research challenges adversarial rhetoric in invasive plant management, instead exploring how people and communities can help us understand human-weed relations and develop more nuanced approaches to living with invasive species. Concurrently, my ARC Discovery project (2021-2026) investigates conflict in urban greening, examining human relationships with urban trees through the lens of multispecies justice. This research explores how people express feelings for urban trees, the politics of urban forest governance, and experiences of ecological loss. Through concepts of conviviality, lament, and gratitude, this work provides insights into multispecies living and how attachments to urban nature are fostered and maintained. Methodologically, I continue to employ qualitative social science and cultural research methods, while expanding my practice to include collaborative work with Indigenous communities in cultural mapping. This collaborative approach reflects my commitment to understanding diverse ways of knowing and relating to landscapes. My research responds to rapid environmental change by examining how humans and nonhumans are adjusting to contemporary earth conditions, with particular attention to questions of environmental justice and sustainable coexistence. Through this work, I contribute to critical conversations about conservation, urban planning, and environmental management in an era of unprecedented ecological transformation. Human geography, more-than-human geographies, peopled landscapes, ethnobotany, invasive plant management, urban greening, multispecies justice, environmental justice, sustainable coexistence