Paper short abstract:

This talk is an invitation to look beyond compartmentalized thinking and disciplinary boundaries, attune your methods, and dive into the complexity of a multispecies emergency. It is based on fieldwork among scientists and Maori elders in their struggle to preserve New Zealand's kauri forests.

Paper long abstract:

It all started with a realization: The seeds I held in my hands became the two-centimetre sprouts quietly sitting on top of my desk. They hold the potential to live thousands of years and grow fifty meters. Kauri is among the most ancient tree species in the world. It is believed to have been growing on these shores since the Jurassic time. Throughout their long evolutionary history, kauri survived asteroid impacts, earthquakes, volcanoes, tide waves, the disruption of climate patterns and the reversal of Earth's magnetic poles. Yet, during the ravage of the colonial era, in less than 200 years, kauri forests were logged until the brink of extinction. When the urgency to protect what it was left became evident, an unexpected pathogen, described as a biological bulldozer, arrived.

The many human interventions designed to obtain immediate outcomes often dismiss kauri's own pace and power, significatively altering their potential futures. This talk elaborates on concepts like "making kin" (Haraway), "mothering" (Simard), "whanaungatanga" (Maori ancestral wisdom) to reimagine biodiverse futures. It re-examines the role of humans in the "wild" and moves species conservation beyond sterilised scientific scales.