Resisting the marginalisation of the non-human: Interdependency, wonder, and humility in Tasmanian forests

Drawing from a qualitative research project conducted in Tasmania, this paper proposes that forests act as a site of resistance to the marginalisation of the non-human. Participants’ experiences of human-forest interdependency, wonder, empowerment and humility undermine assumptions of human dominance, the sequestration of the non-human, and the delegitimising of emotion. I argue that forests therefore provide an opportunity to celebrate interdependence, empathy and gratitude, a ‘service’ provided by forests which is seldom considered in questions of forest management and harvesting. This approach speaks to the discipline’s increasing recognition of relational approaches, emphasising the significance of the interdependency of actors – both human and non-human – in social life (Dépelteau 2018).