Monterey Pine / Radiata Pine

I seek new understandings of human connection to the forest, including plantation environments, through creative arts research and practice, namely creative writing, photography, and ecological sound studies. My research is informed by field work in Australia and the U.S., and focuses on:
• the representation of trees and forest in fictional literature as more-than-human environments beyond being objects and settings for human activity

• the challenges and limits of human language in exploring the life of the forest

• sound as a point of connection to and education about forest environments through evocation of the imagination

• creative data collection and production methods that decentre the human and promote new perspectives

• the role of the creative arts in transmitting new forest perspectives to educate and promote conservation and climate action.


My PhD research explores the life of a forest, focusing on the Monterey Pine / Radiata Pine, an endangered native of the Monterey Bay region of Central California, yet grown in Australia and other countries as a plantation tree. This species has a longstanding complex relationship with humans. Depending on the region and community, this pine is a crop for harvest and economic benefit, a focus of conservation for future generations, a source of inspiration for artists/creatives, a ‘pest’ that ‘invades’ environments where it is not wanted, and many other perspectives and meanings. In my field work in South Australia (the plantations of Radiata Pine) and California (the parks and reserves of Monterey Pine) I seek to understand the human connection with these pines, and gain my own understanding of these trees and their environments through close attention achieved by exploring the visual, soundscapes, and cognitive evocations. This work informs my evolving PhD exegesis and literary novel, and a future ambisonic sound and visual installation that allows participants to spend time in these environments.