Smyth, Elizabeth (2024) A Bird's-Eye View: Industrial Technology in Environmental Creative-Practice Research. In: [Presented at the 29th Conference of the Australasian Association of Writing Programs]. From: AAWP 2024: 29th Conference of the Australasian Association of Writing Programs, 27-29 November 2024, Armidale, NSW, Australia.

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Abstract

Creative writers exploring environmental issues and human relationships with nonhuman nature often employ methods of immersion in nature and critical walking, or may seek to appreciate what anthropologist Deborah Bird Rose describes as a ‘footwalk epistemology’. But what happens when industrial technology is employed in phenomenological research with nature? And how does working at height in the workbox of a large-scale crane alter the human experience, writing process, and subsequent literary representations? James Cook University’s Daintree Rainforest Observatory offers use of a Liebherr 91 EC crane for studies of rainforest canopy ecology and atmospheric conditions in the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area. This extraordinarily biodiverse Area covers only 0.12 percent of the continent yet is home to 30 percent of Australian marsupials, 58 percent of bats, 60 percent of butterflies, and over 5000 species of plants (Wet Tropics Management Authority). The canopy crane is the only one of its kind in Australia and therefore offers a rare opportunity for simultaneous aerial and industrial engagement with a forest. In this session, I describe the benefits and challenges of using this engineering technology in environmental creative-practice research and present a short reading of eco-fiction written as part of this project.

Item ID:	84248
Item Type:	Conference Item (Presentation)
Keywords:	Canopy crane, rainforest, creative writing, ecofiction, walking
Date Deposited:	02 Dec 2024 23:37
FoR Codes:	36 CREATIVE ARTS AND WRITING > 3602 Creative and professional writing > 360201 Creative writing (incl. scriptwriting) @ 100%
SEO Codes:	28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280122 Expanding knowledge in creative arts and writing studies @ 100%
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