• as featured on Lyric FM
  • Cathy's ecological art forest practice was featured in Irish Times in 2020
  • Cathy was interviewed about 'Why Ecoliteracy Matters for the Creative sector', with Megan Best, Green Room Dublin City FM

Creating and leading for a better, more just and beautiful world– is urgent and rewarding

Online self-paced, transformative learning to empower
Creative Professionals & Cultural Leaders for a better world

Since 2019, the popular pioneering HAUMEA courses offer:transformative learning that can help you or your organisation develop impactful creative practices, exhibitions, events, community art programmes, and insightful cultural leadership for these urgent times.

New Year 2022 Haumea Online Courses!

Two courses and a special book workshop


Wondering how to simply communicate integrated ecosocial values for businesses, cultural institutions, teaching, creative practices, curatorial programmes and especially environmental social community enterprises? Our new Vision and Values for a Better World - with the Earth Charter course is our comprehensive values course suitable for all adult learners in any field

Our flagship and ever-popular Essential Ecoliteracy course is for mid-career/post-graduate creative practitioners, educators, curators, arts administrators, cultural policy and other cultural researchers.

NEW: We are excited to announce a 4-session online workshop exploring Haumea Ecoversity Co-Director and philosopher Nikos Patedakis' new book for educators and artist-teachers –What Will We Become? An Outline and Handbook of Wisdom-Based Learning which will introduce Wisdom-Based Learning, a holistic, ecologically-oriented

Featured Course

Benefits to you:

Haumea Ecoversity courses will help you:

Whether you are a creative, cultural or community development professional, an educator, activist, scientist or business leader...

  • understand that gaining a sustainability worldview for a better world requires us to embrace lifelong, life-wide, head-heart-body transformative learning

  • become fluent in the new integrated ecosocial thinking, language, and values–to confidently communicate and enact an ecological, just and sustainable worldview - this is at the heart of enduring behaviour change for a better world

  •  because our classes are small you can enjoy fruitful dialogue and a genuine sense of community with others from Ireland, Europe, the US, and Australasia, who are similarly passionate about envisioning and acting for radical cultural renewal.

  • our courses are led by experienced ecocultural practitioner educators, ecological artist Dr Cathy Fitzgerald (Ireland) and philosopher Dr Nikos Patedakis (California). We both have backgrounds in science and are professionally accredited in Education for Sustainable Development with the Earth Charter and Permaculture Design. 

Facilitator(s)

Facilitator Bio:

Living in the home of her Irish ancestors, New Zealander Cathy Fitzgerald is a popular educator offering accessible ecoliteracy and values systems change training.

Pioneering doctoral ecological arts practice and research, Cathy is also an accredited ESD transformative learning Earth Charter educator and an alumnus of Earth Charter International which holds the UNESCO Chair for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

With her arts background and previous careers in research science and professional development, she is passionate about empowering adult learners for this urgent era of sustainable cultural renewal for personal, collective and planetary wellbeing.

dr cathy fitzgerald

ecological artist | educator | researcher and student of forests

Facilitator(s)

Facilitator Bio:

Nikos is an experienced philosopher and educator whose transdisciplinary work arises at the intersection of Nature and Culture—the sciences, the arts, and the wisdom traditions (particularly the traditions of the Ancient Greek, Roman, and Hellenic periods, Eastern philosophy, and Indigenous traditions).

Nikos left academia to focus on helping professionals of all kinds learn to think the way nature works, by taking advantage of what he sees as the single greatest untapped cultural resource humanity has: The philosophical traditions of the world, and the storehouse of practical wisdom they contain for solving complex personal and global challenges. Nikos sees art as having a special relationship with philosophy. Both philosophy and art seek to see the world with fresh eyes and an awakened heart, and they seek to offer this insight and inspiration to the culture at large, for the benefit of all citizens and the broader community of life. To bring about a more just and thriving culture in the most direct and intelligent manner, we need to empower the arts by making philosophy as a way of life available to artists and to arts education. Nikos offers training to artists that transforms both their experience of life and their practice of creativity and art-making. Learn more about Nikos and his work at www.DangerousWisdom.org

dr nikos patedakis

US philosopher, mentor, artist and student of horses

What our learners say

Haumea Ecoversity online courses

“I am quite amazed at how much I loved the Haumea course. I didn’t believe that an online course could have such an impact on my life and art. I felt like I landed in ‘my tribe’…ecosocial artists engaging with creativity and climate action with compassion, kindness and commitment.

I loved the weekly sessions and looked forward to going through the amazing material Cathy sent us every week. I was so impressed at how she and Nikos engaged and gave feedback.

I am so impressed with Cathy’s integrity, focus and commitment to this amazing planet, with which we live. I walk the land where we live with a renewed sense of purpose. I have just finished the course and miss it.

I feel that Cathy and Nikos walk the talk and have so much to share. I am very grateful for the experience.”

Lisa Fingleton: artist, filmmaker, grower, Co. Kerry, Ireland

“Cathy Fitzgerald's Ecoliteracy Course far surpassed my expectations in materials and discussions. It is a valuable course at so many levels.

I’ve been a practising ecoartist for 12 years and educator for 25; despite my background, Cathy’s course was rich in knowledge that will continue to aid me in my teaching, personal studio practice, and ever-expanding community-based art & ecology stewardship.

Even in grad school, I never came across eco information or had discussions this rich in content and heart.”

Krisanne Baker, water-centric ecosocial artist | educator, Maine, USA

“I found Cathy's Haumea Online Ecoliteracy course and mentoring inspiring on a number of levels.

Educationally I found Cathy to be a teacher who communicates with gentleness and conviction and the topics covered are varied and interesting with access to the work of many outstanding thinkers and artists. I learnt much and became a lot more ecoliterate (although I still have a way to go).

As a visual artist, I felt I had joined a community of people, a network of artists, both in Ireland and around the world who have a common understanding, who share information and have the potential to act as a support to one another. Personally, the course led me to begin meditating on a regular basis after trying unsuccessfully for many years.

One of the artists/philosophers referred to on the Ecoliteracy course wrote: “When the student is ready the teacher will appear”. I am glad that Cathy and her course appeared when they did. Thank you Cathy!”

Gillian Cussen, Visual Artist, Co. Cork, Ireland

“Just as in her own art, where she is growing a forest, in her teaching she draws together the disparate roots, branches, leaves, seeds and flowers, leaving a healthy forest to flourish for itself.

I am very grateful.”

Shane Finan – Visual Artist, Wicklow, Ireland, 2020

“This course has brought clarity and motivation to my artistic and anthropological practice.

With scientific rigour, spiritual richness, creative sparkle and sensitivity it offers a deeper appreciation of the world and all we share it with. ”

Liz Hingley – socially engaged photographer, anthropologist, curator, Newcastle, UK

“I urgently recommend the Haumea Essential Ecoliteracy course.

Seven weeks of delving into current thinking and practices are held together by Cathy’s gentle committed presence with Nikos’ philosophical support.

What is terrifying about the way the world is now, becomes manageable as we discover there are ways through, and this course is one of them.”

Julie Forrester, visual artist, educator Cork

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Thank You

Haumea is Earth Goddess of fire and creation in the Pacific, who across voyaging and time, became the male God of harvest, in Aotearoa New Zealand, where Cathy Fitzgerald was born.


Haumea is also the first Indigenous name given to a dwarf planet discovered in our solar system in 2004.

Some say the discovery of Haumea corresponds to awakening planetary ecological consciousness and a renewed interest in other non-Western cultures’ more life-sustaining world views.

Find out more