I’m delighted to share that I’m involved as an advisory ecoliteracy mentor for the wonderful ‘this/Our’ project during 2025, with fellow Haumea Ecoversity member artist Philip Ryan, other artists and advisory mentors, Greywood Arts, Glenbower Wood and Lakeland Committee.

Short film images source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGduRzxs_Lq/

“Glenbower Wood, a community-owned ancient woodland along the Dissour River, is a living, breathing archive that holds centuries of ecological and social history. It is consistently under threat from past and future human and environmental pressures. As a site rich in biodiversity and historical connections, the wood serves as the focal point for exploring the dynamic relationship between people and their environment. Through this project, we aim to document, interpret, and co-create a shared narrative of Glenbower Wood, emphasising its relevance to both the local community and broader environmental conversations.“

—Paudrig Lee (@paudrig.lee), Chair of Glenbower Wood and Lake Committee (@glenbowerwood)

My thanks to Philip, the creative collective, other mentors and Greywood Arts for this invitation. I’m so looking forward to this, as with my work facilitating ecoliteracy for the Haumea Ecoversity community, I rarely get to connect on woodland projects, other than our ongoing Hollywoodforest Story Project.

‘this/OUR’ is a community deep mapping project exploring Glenbower Wood over 2025, in rural East Cork, Ireland through art, history, ecology and citizen science, led by artists Basil Al-Rawi, Chris Finnegan, Katie Nolan and Philip Ryan in partnership with Greywood Arts, East Cork, Ireland.

Deep mapping is a transdisciplinary process that layers community voices, artistic interpretations, historical narratives, and ecological perspectives into a multidimensional narrative of place. This methodology, inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ short essay ‘On Exactitude in Science’, allows us to explore the tension between the precision in defining “THIS” place and the transient, relational nature of “OUR” connection to it.

To launch the project, a series of “artists in conversation with” events will take place over

Thursday 6th and Friday 7th of March, 2025 at Greywood Arts, with the project’s mentors, Jonski Millar, Dr Kevin O’ Sullivan and Dr Cathy Fitzgerald.

These events are free and all are welcome to attend but booking is recommended. 

See the following Eventbrite listings for more information:

Community & Place: “How can we explore the places we live in?” with Jonski Millar

Community & Memory: “How can we tell stories for the future?” with Dr. Kevin O’Sullivan

Community & Nature: “Who else lives here?” with Dr. Cathy Fitzgerald ​​​​​​​

Please sign up for our mailing list to be informed of project updates here: https://thisour.ie/

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