I’m honoured this week to be interviewed by The Design Trust (UK) about how my long term ecosocial art practice evolved into a fulfilling, rewarding and sustaining livelihood. This is such a great supportive community for all creatives interested in understanding the business, marketing and strategic side to working in the creative sector!
A free online conversation with Anne-Marie Shepherd of The Design Trust
‘THE DESIGN TRUST DIALOGUES
with Ecoliteracy Educator,
Cathy Fitzgerald on Friday 10 June at 1pm (UK).
The Design Trust Dialogues is our series of FREE interviews celebrating the incredible people in our creative community.
We ask each interviewee the same eight questions and are always enlightened and inspired by their answers.
Our third conversation is with Dr Cathy Fitzgerald @haumea_ecoversity
Cathy is an Ireland-based New Zealander. Since the late 1990s, she has been inspired by the developing art and ecology field.
Through her ongoing creative forest restoration practice, she reviewed ecological art practice research for her PhD. Having a prior background in science gave Cathy an advantage to understand the challenges and potential of bringing art and ecology together in these increasingly urgent times.
Cathy has experienced first hand that key ecological and sustainability understanding for personal, collective and planetary wellbeing are not yet widely understood or available across the creative sector.
She is deeply passionate that more informed creatives are urgently needed to inspire audiences towards more just and sustainable living in ways that science and politics can not achieve.
In 2019, with ecophilosopher Nikos Patedakis she designed an innovative programme of online essential ecological literacy (ecoliteracy) and Earth-aligned values courses. These courses are for mid-career creatives in all fields, art educators, curators and cultural policy developers and became the online Haumea Ecoversity.
Cathy’s online training venture is also a story of a small creative startup, supported by her Carlow Local Enterprise and County Arts Offices.
Hello! Kia Ora! Dia daoibh!
I’m Cathy Fitzgerald, an ecological artist, educator, and founder of Haumea Ecoversity. Originally from Aotearoa New Zealand, I’ve lived in rural Ireland, the home of my ancestors, for over 30 years. Together with my philosopher colleague Dr Nikos Patedakis (USA), we’ve guided over 400 creative professionals worldwide in transformative ecoliteracy training since 2019.
Haumea Ecoversity Community Membership is the next chapter of this work—a vibrant space for lifelong learning, collective wisdom, and creative transformation for a more beautiful, just, and life-sustaining world.
Dr Cathy Fitzgerald
“In these times of great challenge, I’m passionate about bringing ecoliteracy—including new ecological thinking, values, language, and head-heart-body practices—to creative, sustainability and cultural sectors. These areas have a crucial leadership role: they can inspire communities to embrace new values and actions for living well on Earth, together with all life.”
About Cathy
- Ecological Artist: Creator of the ongoing Hollywood Forest Story with new-to-Ireland continuous cover forestry (begun 2008).
- Educator & Advisor: Accredited ESD Earth Charter educator, Creative Drummin Carlow Bog project ecoliteracy advisor.
- Researcher & Mentor: Specialist in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at Haumea Ecoversity.com
In 2022, I was honoured to be nominated by Earth Charter International and UNESCO Chair for ESD as Earth Charter Focal Point Communicator for Ireland
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