Creatives, educators & cultural professionals are being called to lead in response to today’s intersecting environmental & social challenges.
Haumea Ecoversity offers transformative with
Dr Cathy Fitzgerald
& trusted facilitators
We help you & your team gain clarity & confidence to:
We raise awareness of internationally UNESCO and IUCN-recognised eco-ethic frameworks, like the Earth Charter, for ecoliteracy – systems literacy, for inclusive community engagement, programmes & policies, and whole-of-institution systemic change.
We have many case studies to share how ecoliterate creatives and their activities can inspire individuals, workplaces or communities, locally, bioregionally or nationally, so all understand their contribution to a better world.
We underline why clear, holistic, inclusive language and Irish cultural heritage and language are vital to foster ecological awareness and community engagement.
We share why an ecological worldview is essential for people to help activate their hearts to envision personal, collective, planetary and intergenerational wellbeing.
Ecological literacy involves attending to our emotional wellbeing, so as avoid overwhelm, anger, cynicism and polarisation. We can learn to navigate this eco-cultural turn with sensitivity, warmth and compassion.
We Work with:
Local Authorities Arts Offices | Service Departments, Universities, Libraries,
Cultural Organisations, Bioregional – Regenerative Community Organisations,
Cultural Leaders & Professional Creatives
What We OFFER
Ecoliteracy and Eco-ethics Talks & Guest Lectures, Introductory Webinars
— on ecoliteracy and ecological ethics and values for teams, conferences or BA, MA, and PhD academic programmes.
Drawing on Cathy Fitzgerald’s several decades of work employing eco-creativity for forest and peatland restoration, inspiring community engagement and her work since 2019, developing ecoliteracy learning for professionals at Haumea Ecoversity.
“Cathy, when you stood up to deliver your keynote, something changed in the room. The energy shifted—shoulders dropped, eyes widened, and hearts opened. I truly believe you elevated the Leaders for Nature programme to another level, reconnecting us all to the essence of our work. I’m so excited to build our partnership and collaborate in the future. ♥️”
— Maura Kiely, CEO, Leave No Trace Ireland, 27 Feb 2026, launch of the inaugural Irish Leaders for Nature programme, Borris House, 25 Sept 2025.
“Cathy, you delivered your ecoliteracy webinar so professionally, calmly and clearly. I appreciate you giving us your time & expertise.”
—Rhona McGrath, Roscommon County Arts Officer, 2022.
Half-Day In-Person Training
—to envision ecoliteracy & eco-ethics in strategy & policy*.
Cathy and her facilitator, eco-poet collaborator Grace Wells, regularly offer engaging in-person 1/2-day training for local authority staff across departments. Over 2022-26, they have jointly delivered engaging 1/2-day ecoliteracy training for the Carlow, Kilkenny, Kildare, Meath, Roscommon, Leitrim & Mayo Arts Offices/Depts, and Creative Ireland Wexford. (This pioneering training was developed with the support of the Carlow Arts Officer Sinead Dowling, and Aileen Nolan as part of the Irish Arts Council Invitation to Collaborate’ 3-county eco-creativity for community peatland restoration programme ‘Gnáthóga Nádúrtha | Natural Habitats programme, evolving from Carlow’s Drummin Bog Project.)
*In 2023, Dr Cathy Fitzgerald was invited by the Irish Green Party to frame their Green Party 2023 Arts & Heritage policy around the Earth Charter (2000), endorsed by people’s movements, UNESCO, and the IUCN. The Earth Charter’s language and succinct ecological worldview—and its principles of environmental and social justice, democracy, and peace—enable arts organisations and practitioners to rapidly adopt holistic systems thinking and ecoliteracy. In 2025, ahead of the UN’s 80th celebrations, UNESCO again underlined the Earth Charter for ESD education.
Mentoring (1:1 or group)
tailored and confidential online mentoring for professional curators and cultural workers, policy writers.
Cathy Fitzgerald was a Co-Group mentor for the Glenbower This/Our creative programme for community woodland engagement, with four creative practitioners: Philip Ryan, Basil Al-Rawi, Chris Finnegan, Katie Nolan and Greywood Studios, Killeagh, East Cork, with support from Co Waterford and Co Cork Arts Offices, in 2025.
Cathy is one of the few accredited ESD Earth Charter educators in Ireland. UNESCO in 2025, reiterated that the Earth Charter (2000) is the framework for systems literacy | ecoliteracy for ESD – Education for Sustainable Development. Cathy was involved in framing the 2023 Irish Green Party Arts and Heritage policy with the Earth Charter.
Cathy recently completed the inaugural Shared Ireland Leaders for Nature programme 2025/6 Cohort
Online Ecoliteracy Learning with Haumea Ecoversity Membership
/im
Upskill your staff, provide learning support and valuable networking for creatives and artists to collaborate in your region.
Haumea Ecoversity online membership ecoliteracy training has now supported 400+ learners since 2019.
Client List
Ireland:
2022-26 ongoing ecoliteracy training with Grace Wells for Carlow, Kilkenny, Kildare, Meath, Roscommon, Leitrim & Mayo Arts Offices/Depts, Creative Ireland Wexford
2025 DCU Climate & Society Conference
2025 Mary Robinson Conference;
2025 Greywood Arts This/Our Mentor
2023 IMMA Earth Rising Seminar
2023 CREATE Climate Justice, key speaker
2019 Cowhouse Studios ongoing;
2016, 2020 Burren College of Art ongoing;
2023 HOMETREE Panel Speaker on Art & Ecology
2023 Brewery Lane Writers Festival 3-day workshop with Grace Wells
2022 Dublin City Arts with The Dock Leitrim with curator Shannon O’Carroll
2021 Limerick School of Art & Design MA Space
2019 NUIG Moore Institute, Maynooth Cultural Geography Dept.
International:
Earth Charter: Prof. Emeritus Peter Blaze Corcoran & Prof. Emeritus Sam Crowell (USA)
Dr Rhys Jones, WINTEC Pukenga (NZ)
Ecoart pioneer Prof Newton Harrison (USA)
London RCA Doctoral Training (UK)
Simon Read, Middlesex University (UK)
Creative Carbon Scotland; Chrysalis (UK)
Valand Art College, Gothenburg (Sweden)
Dr Cathy Fitzgerald, Founder-Facilitator of Haumea Ecoversity (PhD by Creative Practice, NCAD, Art and Ecology Research Fellow, Burren College of Art) is a successful and popular transformational learning guide, lecturer, writer, speaker and researcher for sustainability for the creative sector, a former science researcher and an ecological art practitioner for the ongoing Hollywood Forest Story and advisor for the Carlow Creative Drummin Bog Project since 2017. Her work has been featured in The Irish Times, and in peer-reviewed publications. This makes her uniquely placed to guide other art professionals toward the most urgent challenge for contemporary art today – how can we effectively employ creativity and cultural leadership to inspire societal change for the better world we know is possible.
Reviews
Aine Butler, Creative Communities Engagement Officer, Roscommon County Council, Feb 2026
“The Creative Ireland Culture Team at Roscommon County Council was delighted to participate in the Ecoliteracy Workshop facilitated by Grace Wells and Dr Cathy Fitzgerald. The morning offered a profound and inspiring exploration of how we, as staff across Cultural remits, can work collectively to embed ecological understanding and values-led practice into our everyday work with communities.”
The facilitated discussions throughout the morning were thoughtful and generative, revealing a strong appetite for continued partnership, shared learning, and the development of an integrated ecoliteracy approach for Roscommon.
We are deeply grateful to Grace Wells and Dr Cathy Fitzgerald for leading such a thoughtful, hopeful, and energising session, and we look forward to building on the momentum created during this workshop.”
Mary Butler,
Arts Officer, Kilkenny Co County, 2026
“We were delighted to collaborate with Cathy and Grace on the delivery of the Ecoliteracy sessions for both artists and Kilkenny County Council staff. Their facilitation brought clarity, creativity, and depth to a topic that is central to our climate action work.
At the Arts Office, we believe the arts have an essential role to play in our values‑centred approach to our climate programming. Artistic practices—whether through storytelling, poetry, visual art, music, or our rich cultural heritage—make environmental and social values accessible, emotional, and deeply relatable. Cathy and Grace’s Ecoliteracy session supported participants in understanding the vital connections between ecological and social systems, giving artists and staff alike the confidence to envision community projects that are both environmentally responsible and culturally grounded.
Weaving together Ecoliteracy, the Earth Charter, and arts‑led approaches strengthens our capacity to co‑create a thriving, resilient Kilkenny. It reinforces the values and behaviours that underpin long‑term climate action and helps us build a shared language we can practise together. The impact of this and our current collaboration will continue to support our communities well into the future.”
Elizabeth Howard, Creative Communities Engagement Officer, Wexford Co County, Dec 2024
“The session encourages thought & consideration about our value systems. Attendees from Wexford Co. Council’s Libraries, Arts, Environment, Housing & Town Management gave very positive feedback:
‘It was fascinating to hear from two practitioners—my knowledge has expanded. I plan to explore how I can inform staff work and also use the knowledge gained to guide the Tidy Towns group.’
‘The session reaffirmed the connection between creativity, culture, climate action, and biodiversity. It is all linked, and a holistic approach is essential.’
‘I now appreciate the critical role the creative sector plays in shifting attitudes and perceptions at an almost subconscious level. I especially liked the examples about the river, folklore, and mythology, and how to involve community and stakeholders in projects”
“Starting my role as a WordPress administrator has been a joy, thanks to its intuitive interface, security, and plugins, making websites a breeze.”
“Starting my role as a WordPress administrator has been a joy, thanks to its intuitive interface, security, and plugins, making websites a breeze.”
Dr Iain Biggs – Educator, Artist, Researcher, Bristol.
“Haumea is a valuable resource for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the relationship between art and ecology.”Dr Kate Flood – Cultural Ecosystem Services Advisor, Strategist for the Irish Community Wetland Forum
“Cathy’s work gives us the language and tools to keep going at a time when our hearts are close to breaking.”Dr Marilyn Lennon – Artist and Full-Time Lecturer – , Munster Technological University, CorK
“Cathy tailored critical eco-learning to our professional group, engaging and provoking in equal measure.”Nikos Patedakis, PhD – Consulting Ecological Philosopher, DangerousWisdom.org, California
“If life gifts you the chance to work with Cathy Fitzgerald, consider yourself lucky. She is a warm, ethical, and wise resource.”Frank Abruzzese – Owner, Cow House Studios
“It was evident in the work produced that Cathy had a significant impact on many of the artists.”Dr Paul O’Brien – Research Fellow, NCAD
“Cathy’s work offers a practical antidote to the threats of climate change, species extinction, and ecological degradation.”
Book a FREE 15-minute call with ecoliteracy & accredited Eco-Ethics Earth Charter ESD (Education for Sustainability Development) educator Dr Cathy Fitzgerald.
Read more about our previous clients below.
How Haumea Ecoliteracy Training Evolved:
Read more…
Cathy Fitzgerald’s ecoliteracy training developed from her doctorate, which reviewed the emergent ecological creative practice field and how ecological insights present an immense educational shift for all society and art education.
Her work to empower the creative sector with holistic ecoliteracy curricula to support professionals working across the creative, cultural and education sectors began in early 2020, just as the pandemic began, with her colleague eco-philosopher Dr Nikos Patedakis (California).
Since then, many organisations, educators and professionals in the culture and creative sectors have invited Cathy to talk in webinars as she was developing her popular comprehensive Haumea Essential 7-week ecoliteracy and Earth Charter courses with Nikos. In 2025, Haumea Ecoversity developed as an ongoing ecoliteracy membership programme for creative professionals, researchers, educators and policy writers. In small cohorts, Cathy and Nikos have supported close to 400 creative and cultural professionals with essential ecoliteracy since 2019.
Cathy has also developed bespoke in-person half-day training with her colleague and facilitator, the award-winning eco-poet and author Grace Wells, since 2023.
Cathy is available and continues to enjoy delivering introductory and more advanced ecoliteracy webinars and is also available for private 1-to-1 ecoliteracy mentoring for individuals and groups.
Cathy and Grace can also deliver transformative 1/2 day training sessions, with particular experience with Local Authority Staff with strategic responsibility for Climate Action and community engagement.
Please contact Cathy for more details.
LOCAL AUTHORITY & CREATIVE IRELAND TRAINING
2025: Ecoliteracy Mentor for This-OUR Glenbower Wood and Killeagh Village project supported by the Irish Arts Council & Cork County Council.
2024: Ecoliteracy and Values Training for Local Authority Staff and Creative Ieland Staff with Strategic Responsibility for Climate Action and Community Engagement: Dr Cathy Fitzgerald with Ecopoet, Author and Facilitator Grace Wells
December: 1/2 day ecoliteracy and values training for Wexford County Council, organised by Creative Ireland Wexford
*November: 1/2 day ecoliteracy and values training for Meath County Council, Kells
*May: 1/2 day ecoliteracy and values training for Kildare County Council staff, Lullymore Wetlands Centre
*February: 1/2 day ecoliteracy and values training for Carlow County Council staff, Blackstairs Ecotrails Barn.
*For the Irish Arts Council ‘Invitation to Collaborate’ Award 3-County Creative Wetland Engagement programme: Gnáthóga Nádúrtha: (Natural Habitats) – Ecoliteracy and Values-based ESD training educator County Carlow Arts Office-led community engagement for Carlow, Kildare and Roscommon Arts Officers.
For this project, Cathy also mentored the 3-lead artists: Jules Michael (Carlow), Monica de Bath (Kildare) and Dr Kate Flood (Meath). The project and the lead artists’ community engagement work were exhibited at the 2024 IMMA Earth Rising Festival.
IN-PERSON TALKS:
- 2025: Panel Speaker at Earth Charter 25+ conference, Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands
- 2025: Mary Robinson Conference, Ballina, May 26-7
- 2025: DCU Climate and Society Annual Conference, April 29
- 2025: Drumshanbo Tidytowns Methodist Church—Wildlife, Art and Ireland, , March
- 2023: Co-panellist with John Gibbons for CREATE‘s Climate Justice Annual Gathering
- 2023 HOMETREE.ie 2nd Ardnaculla Summer School. Dr Cathy Fitzgerald led an art & ecology panel session with Grace Wells, with a presentation on ‘Why ecoliteracy is important for creatives and the Irish creative sector’, on 9 July.
- 2022 Invited speaker for Web of Life celebration workshop for international ecological art practice pioneer, Prof Newton Harrison, UC San Diego.
- 2022 Speaking of Which: Series 2 ecoart interview & talk for curatorial scholar Shannon Carroll, Dublin City Arts + The Dock, Co. Leitrim
- 2022 Guest speaker for Irish Arts Council Climate Action Policy Roundtable, July
- 2023 3-day Brewery Lane Writers Festival on Vision, Values and Values for a Better World –
Co-facilitator with ecopoet & writer Grace Wells for Carrick on Suir 14-16 April 2023, organised by writer and workshop organiser Margaret O’Brien. - 2022 Burren College of Arts Symposium: presentation on Earth Charter values for the Rights of Nature
- 2019 What is Ecoliteracy: Cork School of Architecture
- 2019 onwards: Cowhouse Studios, Wexford: Cathy Fitzgerald has provided ecoliteracy talks in the wood she lives in in South County Carlow from 2019 onwards
ONE-TO-ONE MENTORING
Cathy Fitzgerald, PhD, has offered bespoke private mentoring for creative professionals for many years.
See details of her popular ecoiteracy mentoring services here:
See the testimonials of the many creative professionals mentored by Cathy Fitzgerald here
WEBINARS
2025: Hosted USA Prof Emeritus Sam Crowell’s talk for Haumea Ecoversity webinar; ‘Unpacking the Earth Charter: Re-enchanting Education’
2023: March 27 Creative Carbon Scotland / Edinburgh Botanic Gardens Invited Speaker: Stories for Wiser forestry: the Right forest practice in the right place
2023 Introductory talk for Leitrim Arts Office: Why Ecoliteracy is important for creative professionals and the Irish creative sector, 28 Mar 2023
2023, 2022 Introductory talk for Kilkenny Arts Office: Why Ecoliteracy is important for creative professionals and the Irish creative sector
2022 Introductory talk for Mayo Arts Services: Why Ecoliteracy is important for creative professionals and the Irish creative sector, Aug 26, 2022, with musician/composer Carole Nelson and ecopoet/writer Grace Wells
2022 Roscommon County Council Arts Office. Introductory talk for Mayo Arts Services: Why Ecoliteracy is important for creative professionals and the Irish creative sector,
2022: London Royal College of Art Doctoral Training Programme for Dr Catherine Dromor
2020 Webinar, Crawford Art College MTU EcoArt Level 9 course, Crawford Contemporary Applied MA by Research programme,
2020 Interview Carlow – Our Thriving Tribe, VISUAL research EU project and book.
2020 Tree TV Leitrim Dock Art Centre,
2020 What is Ecoliteracy? For Dr Marilyn Lennon, Limerick School of Art & Design, MA Space,
2020 Dublin IMMA -Breaking Cover Collective,
2020 What is Ecoliteracy for Curatorial Online course, Gothenburg VALAND art college (Sweden)
2020 Yorkshire – Chrysalis Arts (UK) Conversation with art & ecology professor Dr David Haley
