Rachel Fetherston

Anything that brings together the humanities and the natural world will always capture my interest. I am the Arts Director, Publications Manager and co-founder of Remember The Wild, Australia's first nature engagement charity, and a current PhD candidate at Deakin University. In my spare time, I am also a freelance writer hoping to expand my work into the creative writing sphere.

In 2014, I completed my Honours thesis in Literary Studies at Monash University, with an emphasis on the role of speculative fiction in understanding the modern environmental crisis. I have subsequently gained a great appreciation for ecophilosophy, ecocritical theory, and the environmental humanities, and am passionate about the collaboration of arts and science disciplines in order to encourage a greater understanding of the natural world. Subsequently, I am now undertaking a PhD at Deakin University in Literary Studies and Social Science, with the aim of investigating what role Australian fiction plays in changing readers' environmental values and behaviours.

As one of the co-founders of Remember The Wild and Wild Melbourne, I have contributed to the wider community of the arts and sciences through science communication, nature engagement, content creation and project management. My background in literary studies means that I am involved in making the arts a stronger part of our organisation. The importance of incorporating writing, visual art, and general creativity into science communication and Australians' understanding of nature is something that I am extremely passionate about.