Cuteness In Contemporary Environmental Culture: Developing Ecopoetic Practice
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Birmingham
Department Name: Department of English Literature
Abstract
Encountering cute animals, from bunnies to kittens, monkeys to hedgehogs, is an everyday experience for most of us. They appear on tea towels, cakes and videos gone viral on social media. The cute animal might even be our pet. The simple, benign nature of cuteness means it goes unexamined, especially in the context of the environmental crisis where the aesthetic is likely to appear irrelevant, if not irreverent. This project overturns such thinking by asking: Can cuteness prompt care-giving behaviour for environments? What power dynamics exist in the 'cutification' of animals? What fate for 'uncute' species? Exploring these questions, the project brings to light the role of cuteness in environmental culture in order to advance creative practice and critical thought in literary environmental fields. This focus enables impactful activity through collaborative creating and testing of communication material for conservation campaigns. It will also allow me to establish an ecopoetic community of young writers via ecopoetry workshops and an international competition that includes mentoring as its prize.
Ecopoetry often recounts 'awe-struck' rather than 'aww-struck' reactions to nature. 'Nature, red in tooth and claw' may seem worthier, weightier subject matter than nature, doe-eyed and furry. Environmental concerns are typically associated with in-depth knowledge and seriousness. It is no surprise, then, to find ecopoetry and the broader field of the environmental humanities overlooking cuteness, especially given its associations with sentimentality and anthropocentrism. In contrast, the emerging field of cute studies has dedicated itself to exploring the aesthetic of cuteness. However, little attention has been paid to how this aesthetic presents itself in environmentally-focused subjects. Joining the dots between these creative and critical disciplines, the project engages with care ethics, speciesism, conservation and extinction narratives.
David Attenborough states that 'no one will protect what they don't care about'. Cuteness is, I argue, profoundly implicated in his maxim given its capacity to trigger care-giving responses in viewers. A major concern of this project is the role of cuteness in raising awareness of species extinction. Key to the project are partnerships with the Oxford University Natural History Museum, the Severn Rivers Trust, the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust. I will maximise the opportunities for impact here through a series of collaborations, one of which will influence and seek to improve strategies used in nature conservation communication. My work with young people - namely, my creation of ecopoetry workshops with the Trusts and the competition with the Young Poets Network - will develop the 'next generation' of ecopoets, supporting young people and setting new agendas for creative practice.
The interdisciplinary connections I will forge between ecopoetic practice, cute studies and the environmental humanities will shape agendas in creative practice and critical thought and form a clear pathway for my development as a leader. The Fellowship will have a transformative effect on my career by enabling me to reach selected communities of emerging and established academics with the aim of fostering new networks. My recent activities with non-academic institutions have been unavoidably short-term; this project's engagement with partners over 14 months will significantly enhance my research capabilities and, for the first time, allow me the opportunity to demonstrate research impact. Having experience in teaching adult writers, my project's aim to inspire creativity in young people will develop my skill-set and determine an exciting new audience for me to work with in the future. The project's doctoral training workshop and one-day symposium will allow me to provide intellectual leadership in areas in which I have an excellent track-record.
Ecopoetry often recounts 'awe-struck' rather than 'aww-struck' reactions to nature. 'Nature, red in tooth and claw' may seem worthier, weightier subject matter than nature, doe-eyed and furry. Environmental concerns are typically associated with in-depth knowledge and seriousness. It is no surprise, then, to find ecopoetry and the broader field of the environmental humanities overlooking cuteness, especially given its associations with sentimentality and anthropocentrism. In contrast, the emerging field of cute studies has dedicated itself to exploring the aesthetic of cuteness. However, little attention has been paid to how this aesthetic presents itself in environmentally-focused subjects. Joining the dots between these creative and critical disciplines, the project engages with care ethics, speciesism, conservation and extinction narratives.
David Attenborough states that 'no one will protect what they don't care about'. Cuteness is, I argue, profoundly implicated in his maxim given its capacity to trigger care-giving responses in viewers. A major concern of this project is the role of cuteness in raising awareness of species extinction. Key to the project are partnerships with the Oxford University Natural History Museum, the Severn Rivers Trust, the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust. I will maximise the opportunities for impact here through a series of collaborations, one of which will influence and seek to improve strategies used in nature conservation communication. My work with young people - namely, my creation of ecopoetry workshops with the Trusts and the competition with the Young Poets Network - will develop the 'next generation' of ecopoets, supporting young people and setting new agendas for creative practice.
The interdisciplinary connections I will forge between ecopoetic practice, cute studies and the environmental humanities will shape agendas in creative practice and critical thought and form a clear pathway for my development as a leader. The Fellowship will have a transformative effect on my career by enabling me to reach selected communities of emerging and established academics with the aim of fostering new networks. My recent activities with non-academic institutions have been unavoidably short-term; this project's engagement with partners over 14 months will significantly enhance my research capabilities and, for the first time, allow me the opportunity to demonstrate research impact. Having experience in teaching adult writers, my project's aim to inspire creativity in young people will develop my skill-set and determine an exciting new audience for me to work with in the future. The project's doctoral training workshop and one-day symposium will allow me to provide intellectual leadership in areas in which I have an excellent track-record.
Organisations
- University of Birmingham (Lead Research Organisation)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (Collaboration)
- Severn Rivers Trust (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- The Poetry Society (Collaboration)
- The Wildlife Trusts (Collaboration)
- Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- The Oxford University Museum of Natural (Project Partner)
- The Poetry Society (Project Partner)
- Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trst (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
Isabel Galleymore (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications

Galleymore Isabel
(2024)
Baby Schema

Galleymore, I
(2024)
Baby Earth Environmentalism
in PN Review
Title | Key Stage Teaching Resource |
Description | This key stage 3/4 teaching resource was completed in collaboration with The Poetry Society. |
Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
Year Produced | 2024 |
Impact | This resource was promoted to the project partners as well as teachers connected to The Poetry Society. |
URL | https://resources.poetrysociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Cuteness-Isabel-Galleymore-resourc... |
Description | The intellectual and practical objective to reinvigorate ecopoetry and chart important new territory has been met through this project's use of creative writing workshops and through this project's publication of poetry collection Baby Schema (Carcanet 2024). Follow-up questionnaires following the workshops demonstrate a growing community of ecopoets who wish to challenge tradition. As one participant stated "the ideas of cuteness and drag have allowed me to view the environment and conservation through a less austere lens". Amongst other awards and recognition, Baby Schema was longlisted for Laurel Prize: an annual award for the best collection of environmental poetry. The book was described as "The fullest exploration to date of the possibilities that might stem from the cross-pollination of ecopoetics and cuteness" in The Poetry Review and in The Sunday Times "Unlike so much eco-poetry, Baby Schema explores an original idea. cuteness. Significant new knowledge has been generated through the project's collaboration with The Wildlife Trust. Communication advertisements on social media using cuteness were tested for their effectiveness regarding 'click through' rates to the Trust's webpages. It was determined that cuteness can limit some audience/user engagement, whereas in other audiences, cuteness is an encouraging factor. These tests also showed the significance of non-charismatic species (such as beetles) in engaging young audiences with conservation agendas. |
Exploitation Route | The key output publications from this project suggest a new way of considering the theme of cuteness and the genre of ecopoetry that can be taken forward by ecopoets and ecocritics, as well academics working in cultural theory and literature more broadly. Baby Schema is already a key text listed on University curricula at several institutions, indicating its use for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as research at this level. The Key Stage 3/4 teaching materials, as well as the Adorable Animals Young Poets' Network Challenge, provide legacy resources for teachers and self-guided students for years to come. The results from the communications collaboration with The Wildlife Trust signpost methods and strategies for enhancing audience engagement with respect to conservation agendas. |
Sectors | Creative Economy Education Environment Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
Description | The ecopoetry workshops with young people aged 14-21 led to the creation of new poetry that in turn led to performances at open mic nights and one young person winning the Young Poets' Network Challenge with a poem they wrote at a workshop. The location of these workshops - at the Oxford University Natural History Museum and Diglis Island (Severn Rivers Trust) - also led to impact in connecting new audiences to these sites and organisations. The collaboration with The Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust created findings concerning strategies for language and image use in social media advertising. These findings have guided the Trust's recent advertisements and will be used as a resource to share with colleagues. This collaboration led to another collaboration with the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust in which a similar series of tests were made with sensitivity to different demographics, resulting in findings that signpost specific strategies for the Trust to use with regard to their regional area. |
First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
Sector | Creative Economy,Environment,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
Description | Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust |
Organisation | The Wildlife Trusts |
Department | Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I provided intellectual expertise on the aesthetic and affect of cuteness as it applies to environmental rhetoric, which we used to shape social media advertising for the Trust's campaigns. I provided organisation and deliver of an ecopoetry workshop with young people, at a Trust site, aged 14-21. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partner provided use of the EcoPark site for the ecopoetry workshop alongside one Trust officer who helped to deliver the first part of the session by providing a pond-dipping experience. The partner also provided several meetings to discuss social media advertisements and provided facilities in terms of social media accounts, graphic design and stock images. |
Impact | A series of co-designed social media advertisements on Facebook for the Wildlife Trust (Birmingham and Black Country) focused on their City Nature Challenge to test the impact of cuteness on different audiences. From these tests, the partner is aware of how cuteness engages some audiences, and how it may have a detrimental effect on others. An ecopoetry workshop for 15 participants aged 14-21. One poem written during this workshop went on to win the Adorable Animals Challenge (created through another partner). |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Severn Rivers Trust |
Organisation | Severn Rivers Trust |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I provided intellectual expertise on the topic of cuteness, its relationship to ecopoetry and the subject of aquatic environments and species. I designed and delivered a workshop that brought together creative writing students from Worcester University to the site, with which they were otherwise unfamiliar. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partner provided intellectual expertise on local species in the River Severn to guide the workshop and provided practical expertise on the site. The partner provided a tour of the site as well as help with practical preparations and publicity. |
Impact | An ecopoetry workshop with 12 attendees from Worcester University |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | The Oxford University Natural History Museum |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Department | Oxford University Museum of Natural History |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I contributed intellectual expertise by having designed and delivered an ecopoetry workshop for aged 14-21 with the museum's collections on the topic of cuteness, taxidermy and animal representations. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partner provided facilities (a room and specimens for the workshop) as well as intellectual expertise on their collections. |
Impact | An ecopoetry workshop for 7 attendees aged 14-21. A questionnaire sent out after the event suggests impact has been made in terms of sparking new ideas on the relevance of cuteness as well as introducing a new cultural space (the museum) to new audiences. |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | The Poetry Society |
Organisation | The Poetry Society |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I provided intellectual input to the Young Poets' Network Challenge on Adorable Animals by writing the full set of prompts. I also provided intellectual input on the topics of cuteness and pollution for the the Key Stage Teaching Resource that was written by The Poetry Society staff. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partner provided online tools and software as well as publicity and promotion for all outputs; this included the use of Submittable and social media accounts linked to the partner. The partner provided a host space online for the prize ceremony. |
Impact | - The Adorable Animals Challenge for the Young Poets' Network (a competition with mentoring as a prize). This competition received over 1000 entries from across the world including Belgium, Iran, Nigeria and Pakistan. The outcome was six commended entries with four winners who received mentoring from poet Caleb Parkin. This group of four winners have gone on to publish work and explore the subjects of cuteness in ecopoetry. - 'That's cute!' Key Stage 3/4 resource with curriculum links to English, Science and Citizenship. - The Poetry Society then commissioned me separately to write a poem for the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree which led to media interviews with BBC London. |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Warwickshire Wildlife Trust |
Organisation | Warwickshire Wildlife Trust |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | I helped to deliver an ecopoetry workshop for young people aged 14-21, which was a new type of event to offer for the Trust in this location. I helped to show how current practices involving macro-photography could be used in collaboration with writing practices to help wellbeing and consider nature anew. On the basis of my communications collaboration with the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, I then collaborated with the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust on a parallel study concerning the testing of advertisements on social media. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partner provided equipment in the form of macro-photography lenses as well as facilities and expertise in considering oak galls, insects and other findings at the Reserve. This benefitted the participants in the event. The communications partner provided the funds for the social media advertisements and recorded data concerning interactions with advertisements. |
Impact | The partnership resulted in one ecopoetry workshop with six participants aged 14-21, some of whom went on to submit their work to the Young Poets Network Challenge (a collaboration with another external partner) |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | BBC 4 Radio Woman's Hour |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I was invited to speak about cuteness on behalf of my project and the exhibition Cute at Somerset House. Questions arose about gender and cuteness. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001vs7x |
Description | Baby Schema book launch |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This was a book launch event for my book Baby Schema with approximately 40 attendees. The reading was followed by a Q&A event that sparked ideas on cuteness and its relationship to ecology and climate change messaging. I received an invitation to be a guest speaker at a local school following the event. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Best Books of 2024 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The Sunday Times named Baby Schema as one of the best poetry collections from 2024. I had several invitations from universities and festivals inviting me to be involved in events. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/best-literary-non-fiction-books-2024-tm5fg86d0 |
Description | Bookshop talk and reading |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 25 people attended a bookshop talk and reading from Baby Schema. It was the bookshop's first poetry event and the fact that it 'sold out' influenced them to create a series of poetry events. The audience questions sparked debate on the pros and cons of cuteness and engaged personal feelings in the audience towards the aesthetic. One lecturer at Bath Spa University and one lecturer at Cardiff University invited me to give talks at their universities. A postgraduate student at the University of Bristol contacted me for research guidance following the event. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.greatwestway.co.uk/see-and-do/festivals-and-events/award-winning-poet-isabel-galleymore-... |
Description | Cheltenham Poetry Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I gave a poetry reading from Baby Schema and spoke about elements of my AHRC project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.glos.info/whats-on-festivals-in-cheltenham/something-old-something-new-contemporary-and-... |
Description | Cute Ecologies Symposium |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | I hosted an online symposium with 23 international speakers on the topic of cute ecologies. This gathered over a 100 attendees and included a roundtable which comprised a nature writer, artist, natural history curator and art curator. As well as providing opportunities to present work and network, it has also led to preliminary stages of a new research grant focused on the topics of the symposium. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cute-ecologies-online-symposium-tickets-894424597047?aff=oddtdtcreato... |
Description | Doctoral Workshop on Environmental Humanities |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | I hosted a one-day doctoral workshop for the environmental humanities that brought together 15 postgraduate students from the M4C consortium to share their research. Invited guests were involved in a roundtable. Discussion concerned the future of environmental humanities, the relevance of creative practice and interdisciplinary strategies. The workshop resulted in new collaborations between students and plans for a 2025 workshop, co-hosted by postgraduate students. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.midlands4cities.ac.uk/event/ecological-networks-creative-critical-approaches-to-the-envi... |
Description | Interview for BBC Radio 4 The Verb |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I was invited to speak on The Verb BBC Radio 4 programme to discuss my book Baby Schema, resulting from my grant. The theme of the show was 'cute', taken from my research and the BBC hosts invited other speakers to discuss their work with regard to cuteness. This was aired March 2024. I was then invited to speak on BBC Radio 4's Animal series to discuss how cuteness relates to slugs and snails and to read a poem from the book. This will be aired December 2024. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001w8jr |
Description | Manchester Poetry Library reading |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This poetry reading was hosted by The Poetry Library Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan Library on the theme of ecopoetry. I read from Baby Schema, the central publication related to the grant, and we discussed the role of cuteness and ecopoetry within the Q&A. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
Description | Planet Poetry Podcast |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This podcast invited me to speak about my book Baby Schema and the role of cuteness in our relationships with the nonhuman. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://planetpoetry.buzzsprout.com/1414696/episodes/16051062-cuteness-weirdness |
Description | Verve Poetry Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I read from Baby Schema and discussed my project at the Verve Poetry Festival in January 2024. 100 attendees were present and students present reported interest in the topic of cuteness. Daljit Nagra, who was also reading, then hosted my book as his Poetry Collection of the Month on BBC Radio 4. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/daljit-nagra-isabel-galleymore-marjorie-lotfi-tickets-759087078887 |