How many ways are there to measure a tree? - An experiment in cross-disciplinarity

Pahl, Kate ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8840-1121 , Ambreen, Samyia, Badwan, Khawla, Carr, Simon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4487-3551 , Cooper, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6143-3772 , Curtis, Elizabeth, Davenport, Ian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3772-6046 , Hackett, Abigail ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4332-8594 , Kraftl, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7915-4808 , Lawrence, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9809-0221 , Lines, Emily ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5357-8741 , Nguyễn, David Cường, Nunn, Caitlin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3145-3099 , Pool, Steve, Rowntree, Jennifer, Schofield, Ed, Siebers, Johan and Vergunst, Jo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7585-1286 (2025) How many ways are there to measure a tree? - An experiment in cross-disciplinarity. Research for All, 9 (1).

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Abstract

This article takes a transdisciplinary approach to a relatively simple-sounding task – tree measuring. It asks the question, ‘How many ways are there to measure a tree?’, in order to provoke a discussion of our different ways of knowing. It attempts to engage a reader in thinking about disciplines and what they do. It does so by sharing insights from a project in which diverse scholars, practitioners and children came together for the common purpose of producing engaged knowledge. The experience of reading the article should prompt questions about whose knowledge counts and why, and the value of university research that is engaged and grounded. We conclude with a question of what kinds of measurements matter and why. The article takes the reader through different disciplinary perspectives, from science to social science to poetry, and, in that process, engages with the ‘how’ of disciplines in terms of real-world problems.

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	Research for All
Publisher:	UCL Press
ISSN:	2399-8121
Departments:	Institute of Science and Environment > Forestry and Conservation
Data access:	Data supporting this publication are available from the UK Data Archive
Data access URL:	https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDASN-857666
Additional Information:	Simon Carr, Associate Professor in Geography; Ian Davenport, Researcher; Peter Lawrence, Lecturer in Geography, all of the Institute of Science and Environment, University of Cumbria, UK. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY) 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited.
Depositing User:	Insight Administrator
SWORD Depositor:	Insight Administrator
Date Deposited:	25 Mar 2025 12:08
Last Modified:	20 May 2025 10:00
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/8730

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