Ecoliteracy: Re-Enchanting Education for a Better World
Welcome to a world of limitless possibilities, where the journey is as exhilarating as the destination, and where every moment is an opportunity to make your mark on the canvas of existence. The only limit is the extent of your imagination.
“Hello, Kia Ora, Dia Dhaoibh! Welcome to my work for Haumea Ecoversity.
From my early days to my current focus on ecoliteracy, my passion is to support creative professionals, educators, change-makers, and cultural leaders in becoming fluent in ecological thinking, language, and ethics.
At the heart of this is holistic transformative learning—helping us all contribute to the cultural shift we need, one that values wisdom, compassion, and wellbeing for ourselves, each other, the planet, and future generations.”
moving from Aotearoa, New Zealand, to Ireland in the 1990s
from science to: rewilding a forest, to deeply understanding the social power of eco-social creative practices
For many years, I’ve been drawn to the power of creativity and the living community of life evolving around us. With a background in biological research, my move to Ireland, the home of my ancestors, led me to collaborate with others in reimagining how we care for forests and hedgerows. My knowledge of science, ecological forestry, and eco-social creative practices has shaped this journey.
Creativity is the thread that helps me weave together many ways of knowing, so we can envision—and live—wiser, more thriving ways of being. The challenges of our time push me to explore how we might re-enchant education and radiate new possibilities. My ideas grow from my intuition and my creative practice research, especially the work of ecological artists like Helen and Newton Harrison. For over 40 years, they showed us how to co-create inclusive, life-affirming ways to develop our potential and live well with each other, our places, and the planet.
About Cathy
Dr Cathy Fitzgerald is an Irish-based ecological educator, artist, and researcher originally from Aotearoa New Zealand. Since 1996, she has lived in Ireland, the land of her ancestors, where she completed a creative practice PhD at NCAD in 2018, titled The Ecological Turn. Her doctoral research examined the rewilding of a conifer plantation and the potential of long-term ecological creative practices to inspire community-led habitat restoration and regeneration.
During a self-directed post-doctoral period, Cathy identified a significant gap in ecoliteracy and values-based learning within Irish creative and higher education. In response, she co-founded Haumea Ecoversity with philosopher Dr Nikos Patedakis. Together, they have pioneered essential ecoliteracy and Earth Charter courses, which have since evolved into an innovative online ecoliteracy learning membership platform at HaumeaEcoversity.com.
Cathy is a sought-after personal and project mentor, and she provides ecoliteracy and Earth Charter awareness Continuing Professional Development (CPD) services to local authorities, including Carlow, Kildare, Meath, Wexford, Kilkenny, and Roscommon, through Arts Office and Creative Ireland programmes.
As Ireland’s first accredited Earth Charter Educator and the Earth Charter Focal Point Communicator for Ireland, Cathy has been instrumental in advancing ecoliteracy nationally. In 2023, she was invited to frame the Irish Green Party Arts and Heritage Policy with the Earth Charter. In 2025, she oversaw the Irish translation of the Earth Charter (translation by Phoebe Cope) and presented it at the 25th anniversary celebration at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. She also attended Pope Francis’ Raising Hope conference, marking the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ ecological Laudato Si’, and recently completed the inaugural Common Purpose| Leave No Trace Ireland | Native Events Irish Leaders for Nature 2025-6 Programme.
Her ecoliteracy facilitation at Haumea Ecoversity builds on her doctoral review of creative-led, transversal practices that empower communities in habitat restoration and regeneration. This work is deeply rooted in her ongoing Hollywood Forest Story—a conifer tree plantation rewilding project in South Co. Carlow since 2008—and her ecoliteracy and Earth Charter initiatives for the Carlow Drummin Bog Project since 2017.
Cathy’s background includes scientific research, work, and advocacy with native tree and continuous cover forestry organisations, Crann (mid-90s) and Pro Silva Ireland (2009-23), and leadership as the first ArtLinks.ie Director (2007-10), where she developed arts professional programmes across the South East.
Her work has been featured in The Irish Times, Minding Nature (US), the Routledge Handbook on Placemaking, and the 2026 Community Wetlands Guide for Creative Practice.
Learn more:
Creative Practice Research publications:
Academia.edu
Instagram
LinkedIn
The values, the ecological ethos in my practice, teaching and mentoring is inspired by:
Affiliations
- Research Fellow, Burren College of Art
- Accredited ESD Earth Charter Educator since 2021
- Ecoliteracy creative practice Advisor & Committee Member for Carlow Drummin Bog since 2017; Carlow Arts Office-led Gnathoga Nadurtha | Natural Habitats Irish Arts Council 2022-2024
- Member of Climate Cultures
- An invited member of the International Network of Eco Artists (established in 1999) since 2016, nominated by Dr Richard Povall and Dr David Haley
- former art.earth network UK
- Visual Artists Ireland
- Create Ireland – the development agency for collaborative arts in social and community contexts
- Member and former committee member of ProSilva Ireland – promoting Closer-to-Nature forestry
