Scotland Outdoors Queer Ecology with Dr Em Merrin May Armstrong
Jan 14, 2026
Dr. Em Merrin May Armstrong is an interdisciplinary plant researcher and queer ecology scholar who explores the fascinating world of plants and their societal implications. They share their journey of falling in love with plants and discuss how their autism influences this connection. Em critiques colonial legacies in botany, challenges the labels of 'native' and 'invasive,' and reveals unsettling links between plant science and eugenics. By reexamining nature through a queer lens, Em advocates for questioning norms and appreciating the complexity of life's interconnections.
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Childhood Sparked A Plant Lifelong
- Em Merrin May Armstrong grew up playing in Essex fields and was captivated when their mum explained chlorophyll to them as a child.
- That early fascination led them into interdisciplinary plant research and a lifelong commitment to plants.
Queer Ecology Reframes Knowledge
- Queer ecology reframes how we categorise and understand the world by exposing political assumptions in Western thought.
- It treats 'queer' as strangeness and resilience, not only sexual identity, to rethink knowledge and perception.
Victorian Roots Of Extractive Botany
- Victorian-era colonialism and extractivism reshaped how we view nature as a resource separate from humans.
- Many non-native plants arrived via colonisation and exploitative collecting practices that erased local knowledge.