Environmental history has been a transdisciplinary endeavour from its beginnings. The field developed in interdisciplinary conversations bringing historians into dialogue with scholars from other disciplines in humanities and social sciences, as well as natural sciences, especially ecologists, geographers and geologists. At the same time, environmental history has emerged in tandem with environmental movements and continues to place high value on science communication and public engagement.
These strong transdisciplinary traditions make environmental history a unique field of research, involving actors from diverse backgrounds from within and beyond academia. The complexity of environmental history as a transdisciplinary field is, however, also a challenge. Particularly in times when academic debates face populist attacks and budget strains disadvantage interdisciplinary endeavours as funding is ring-fenced in disciplinary silos, it is important to reinvigorate research practices that transcend such boundaries.