Melina Ey

Melina Ey is a Lecturer in the Discipline of Geography and Environmental Studies within the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her academic work focuses on cultural geography with particular emphasis on resistance, care, and repair practices in the context of climate change and resource extraction.

Education:

• Doctor in Philosophy in Human Geography, University of Newcastle
• Bachelor of Development Studies (Honours), University of Newcastle
• Bachelor of Development Studies, University of Newcastle

Melina Ey's research explores community-led and localized responses to environmental challenges, with particular attention to more-than-human reparative openings in energy transition contexts. Her work examines how non-humans survive and adapt in contaminated spaces, and investigates possibilities for human-non-human collaborations that foster care-full, nourishing relationships and inclusive communities. Her research bridges cultural geography, environmental humanities, and multispecies ethnography to address pressing questions about resistance practices, particularly in communities opposing mining and extractive projects.

Her publication record reveals consistent scholarly engagement with themes of resistance, care ethics, and the complexities of resource extraction. Her work demonstrates an evolving trajectory from examining community resistance to extractive projects toward more nuanced explorations of more-than-human relationships in contaminated landscapes. Her methodological approaches increasingly incorporate feminist and decolonial perspectives, with recent work developing 'weak methodologies' for engaging with uncertainty in environmental research.

Scientific Recognition:

• Visiting Fellowship: Biodiverse Anthropocenes at The University of Oulu (2024)
• Artist Residency co-awarded with Dr. Penny Dunstan through LiddellWORKS Upper Hunter (2023)
• Outstanding Contribution to Teaching award from the College of Engineering, Science and Environment (2023)

Melina Ey serves as Associate Editor for Australian Geographer (2024) and Co-Convenor of the Cultural Geography Study Group for the Institute of Australian Geographers (2023-2024). She teaches several geography courses including Introduction to Human Geography, Global Poverty and Development, and Geographies of Development, where she brings her research expertise into the classroom through courses examining development issues from historical and geographic perspectives.

Her academic work contributes significantly to understanding community responses to environmental challenges, particularly through her examination of localized resistance practices and more-than-human relationships in contexts of ecological transformation.