The Team
Prof Nicki Whitehouse (Principle Investigator)
Nicki Whitehouse is a Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Glasgow. Her area of expertise lies within the field of environmental archaeology and the study of palaeoenvironments to understand the effects of early agriculture and land use change in the formation of landscapes and their associated ecologies. Modern biodiversity, ecosystems and landscapes are formed because of historical processes and understanding their environmental past are key to understanding past human behaviours and our present and future; consequently, much of her research is focused around what we can learn from the past as well as the archaeological record per se. She has a particular focus on peatlands and wetlands which can sometimes become the focus of re-wilding efforts.
Prof Emma Jenkins (Co-Investigator)
Emma Jenkins is Professor of Archaeology at Bournemouth University. She specialises in environmental archaeology and is interested in how societies in the past interacted with their environment and how this knowledge can be used to address contemporary debates around sustainability. Her research has focused on the transition from mobile hunter-gatherer societies to sedentary farming communities in southwest Asia, examining the impacts of this lifestyle change on landscapes and biodiversity, including studies on climate and vegetation.
Dr Kim Ward (Co-Investigator)
Dr. Kim Ward is a Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Plymouth. Her research examines the social, cultural and political dimensions of land use change, nature recovery and rewilding. Dr. Ward has published extensively in this field, is social science lead for the British Ecological Society (BES) special interest group for Rewilding and is a member of Rewilding Britain science advisory panel.
Minaksi Mallick (Research Assistant)
Minaksi is an interdisciplinary researcher with a passion for place-based modes of more-than-human stewardship, commoning, nature-based solutions and conservation in precarious ecologies, specifically peatlands. She has five years of research experience on peatland spatial and discourse analysis, commoning and management regimes in Kuttanad (Kerala, India) and is expanding that training in Scotland. Currently completing an MSc in Earth Futures: Environment, Communities and Relationships at the University of Glasgow, her training brings together political ecology, environmental humanities and decolonial approaches to nature-based solutions. Minaksi’s present research investigates the socio-political and cultural-historical dimensions of peatland conservation in Scotland.
Lizzie Robertson (Research Assistant)
Lizzie is a PhD researcher in Archaeology at the University of Glasgow. Her research specialism is in the use of creative approaches to Archaeological practice, with her current research in the use of experimental sound-based media in archaeological landscapes. She has created composition and installation work around the theme of peatland landscapes, examining the entangled ecological and cultural stories present in Rannoch Moor.
