Gnáthóga Nádúrtha - Natural Habitats
Gnáthóga Nádúrtha (Natural Habitats) was a 2022/2023 Invitation to Collaboration project led by Carlow County Council, in partnership with Kildare County Council, Meath County Council, and the communities of Drummond (Carlow), Rathangan (Kildare) and Girley Bog (Meath). This ambitious, arts‑led initiative focused on climate action, ecological awareness, and place‑based creative practice across three peatland habitats.
Carlow Arts Officer and Creative Ireland Coordinator Sinéad Dowling describes the project as a collaboration between arts services, environmental activists, artists, and community mapping experts, rooted in the unique natural heritage of the participating counties.
Artists Involved:
Jules Michael - A visual artist with a strong community‑based practice, Jules has worked with the Drummin Bog community since 2018. Her work spans painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and small publications. She draws inspiration from peatland ecologies, traditional skills, plant lore, and the lived knowledge embedded in bog landscapes, using these as a basis for shared storytelling and creative engagement within local communities.
Kate Flood - A researcher and educator whose practice stems from a fascination with bog plants, Kate’s doctoral research explored how communities value and interact with peatlands. She volunteers with the Girley Bog Meitheal and has led educational workshops, biodiversity events, oral history sessions, and place‑based activities that deepen local understanding of bog heritage and stewardship.
Monica de Bath - An artist whose work merges ecology, community history, and place‑based storytelling. Her involvement in the project includes community events in Rathangan, Drummond Hall, and Kells Heritage Centre. Monica’s practice aligns with ecological placemaking and cultural mapping, emphasising how collective memory and lived experience shape environmental awareness.
Together, these artists lead an interdisciplinary programme of ecological art, community mapping, workshops, and on‑site interventions across Drummin Bog, Ballydermot/Cluain Rúisc Bog, and Girley Bog fostering creative encounters to support climate action, biodiversity awareness, and renewed cultural connections to Ireland’s bog landscapes.
Project Mentors:
Dr. Anita McKeown - A specialist in creative placemaking and community mapping, Dr. McKeown brings a methodological framework that supports collaborative, community‑centred environmental engagement. Her work emphasises participatory processes that help communities understand, map, and shape their ecological and cultural landscapes.
Dr. Cathy Fitzgerald - An ecoliteracy expert, Dr. Fitzgerald provides training for the project, guiding artists and communities in developing deeper ecological understanding and long‑term, sustainability‑focused cultural practices. Her expertise supports the project’s aim to align creativity with climate action and biodiversity awareness.
The project was supported through the Arts Council’s Invitation to Collaboration Scheme, which since 2017 has funded innovative, ambitious local‑authority partnerships in line with the Arts Council’s ten‑year strategy Making Great Art Work (2016–2025) and A Framework for Collaboration.
Invitation to Collaboration is an Arts Council led initiative which has been funding collaborative projects around the country since 2017. It supports regional and national initiatives in the field of local-authority-led arts development. The scheme is rooted in the policies set out in the Arts Council’s ten-year strategy (2016-2025), Making Great Art Work: Leading the Development of the Arts in Ireland and in A Framework for Collaboration: An Agreement Between the Arts Council and the County and City Management Association. The emphasis is placed on supporting partnerships that focus on developing projects, resources or services that are ambitious and are testing new ground.