DSC | School of Global, Urban and Social Studies
Email: ben.cooke@rmit.edu.au
Phone: +61 39925 9943
Campus: Melbourne City
DSC | School of Global, Urban and Social Studies
Email: ben.cooke@rmit.edu.au
Phone: +61 39925 9943
Campus: Melbourne City
Ben's research interests in nature conservation are driven by the idea that conservation is a fundamentally social and political process, where justice and equity for people and ecologies is not achieved by simply creating National Parks, for example. How we do conservation, who is involved and who is excluded are all fundamental questions that need to be addressed.
Ben's teaching interests include environmental planning and management, applied socio-environmental research skills and the history of environmental ideas for sustainability and conservation. Ben particularly enjoys working with final year students in the Bachelor of Environment and Society as they develop their capstone projects.
Ben has worked with a range of organisations in his teaching and research capacity at RMIT, including Trust for Nature, The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), The Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Friends of the Earth (FoE), Land for Wildlife (LfW) and a host of local government and community organisations in Victoria. Ben also co-leads the 'People and Environment' Research Program with the Centre for Urban Research, which has partnered with a number of organisations in the completion of applied socio-environmental research.
Ben's specific research focuses on a critical examination of nature conservation across a range of contexts. This includes the challenges of fostering and producing nature in cities, the role of private land in protected area conservation, notions of the commons and commoning practices, and justice and equity issues associated with nature and conservation. His current work involves an examination of the rise of private protected area conservation in Australia. Ben is also an editorial board member of the academic journal Australian Geographer.
Private land conservation, Protected areas, Urban greening, Human-environment relationships, More-than-human, Nature, Conservation policy
Publications
Funding
Projects
Palgrave MacMillan
Benjamin Cooke and Ruth Lane (2020).
Australian Geographer 51 (2), 137-153
Benjamin Cooke (2020).
Sustainability Science, 11, 831–843
Benjamin Cooke, Simon West & Wiebren J. Boonstra (2016).
Peer-reviewed book chapters:
Reports and other publications:
Peer-reviewed book chapters:
Reports and other publications:
Peer-reviewed book chapters:
ARC Discovery Project ($338,000)
Aidan Davison, Benjamin Cooke, Lilian Pearce, Jamie Kirkpatrick, Florence Damiens
2018 - 2022
Contract Research (14,800)
Benjamin Cooke, Lilian Pearce, Oli Moraes
2021-2022
Award date: 2017
Recipients: Benjamin Cooke
Award date: 2018
Recipients: Benjamin Cooke
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.