Engaged witnessing: Researching with the more-than-human

Despite increased recognition of the need to explore the ways in which non-humans are entangled with the social world, the practicalities of how to use research methods to engage with non-human actors are often overlooked. This paper explores methodologies for researching with and writing about the non-human and contributes to literature focusing on the co-fabricated nature of research. Drawing on empirical research conducted in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Australia, we develop the concept of engaged witnessing as a way of attending to the performative and creative nature of encounters with non-humans. We argue that learning to witness and be affected by surroundings and non-human actors in order to glimpse the web of human and non-human performances enlivens research engagements with non-human actors. We show how this "learning" can occur, firstly through following the movements and impacts of animals and secondly through practising the Indigenous concept of Dadirri with trees, in order to research with the more-than-human.