Join us for chat, learn about the Earth Charter and enjoy the community vibes at our Summer Community Get Together!

FREE Event on Wednesday, 18th June between 5.30pm and 8.30pm, but please book below so we know how many to cater for:

Join Us for an Evening of Wood-Fired Pizza & Inspiring Conversation on the Earth Charter

County Carlow Environmental Network (CCEN) warmly invites local environmental groups, activists, and anyone passionate about sustainability to an informal gathering featuring:

• Delicious wood-fired pizzas made on-site with the freshest local ingredients
• An illuminating talk on the Earth Charter by special guest US Professor Emeritus Peter Blaze Corcoran, organised with Cathy Fitzgerald, Haumea Ecoversity.

Meet Our Guest Speaker

We are honoured to welcome Prof. Emeritus Peter Blaze Corcoran, a distinguished environmental educator and Research Fellow of Earth Charter International. After more than four decades teaching sustainability in the US—then Australia, the Netherlands to Fiji, Malaysia, and Kenya—Peter now serves as a Research Fellow at the Earth Charter Centre for Education for Sustainable Development at the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica.

In 2024, he was awarded the Thomas Berry Award for holistic ecological education. Thomas Berry’s ideas through the Earth Charter were inspirational to An Gairdin Beo and its new Cosmic Garden Walk.

Dr. Cathy Fitzgerald of Haumea Ecoversity, a County Carlow resident, will introduce Peter’s remarkable career in international sustainability education. She will highlight his longstanding contributions to embedding ethical ideas with Earth Charter for diverse communities, education and business

Why Attend?

• Discover the “people’s Earth Charter”: The Earth Charter was presented at the first UN Earth Summit in Rio 1992 as a visionary documment and a holistic set of principles for a more sustainable, just and peaceful world. From then, the Earth Charter evolved as a global civil society process and was presented to the world for all Earth’s peoples at The Peace Palace at The Hague in 2000. Hear why the Earth Charter gaining traction at its 25th anniversary in 2025, how it is endorsed through UNESCO and the IUCN, its new translation into Irish, and why its been affirmed as the foundational guiding compass for sustainability goals (SDGs), social justice, peace, for individuals, community projects, education and government. It is also been signalled as an important document for the UN COP30 meeting in Belem, Brazil, in December 2025, for the proposed Global Ethic Stocktake for greater efforts for climate action.
• Be Inspired: Hear firsthand how the Earth Charter activates our hearts, conscience and minds, whatever our interests are, to respect and care for the community of life on Earth, for ecological integrity, social, econmic justice and peace—ensuring a healthier planet for the community of life and future generations.
• Connect Locally: Mingle with like-minded individuals, share stories, and build new friendships—all while savouring wood-fired pizzas topped with County Carlow’s finest produce.

Whether you’re already involved in environmental or community work or simply curious about how integrated ethical principles can drive positive change, this event promises to leave you feeling motivated, informed, and connected.

Reserve Your Spot Today and come celebrate sustainability, community, and the transformative power of shared values. We look forward to seeing you there!

Acknowledgements: Cathy Fitzgerald, Haumea Ecoversity— acknowledges the generous support of Sr Mary Carmody, the An Gairdin Beo Committee, the County Carlow Environmental Network Committee and Drummin Bog Committee.

From its initial proposal at the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio to 2025—when we celebrate its 25th anniversary—the Earth Charter has undergone decades of evolution and is used in many contexts . Over an eight-year drafting period (1992–2000), it emerged from a truly global civil-society process, gathering input from people of all professions, cultures, faiths and traditions. In 2000, the Earth Charter was formally launched as a unified, holistic ethical framework of care, of environmental, social justice, democracy and peace principles designed to guide individual and collective action across all societies.

In 2025, awareness of why we need an inclusive, holistic ethical vision is growing: Earth Charter 25+ is inspiring young and old, communities and businesses worldwide to uphold respect for nature, defend human rights, and foster peace.

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Agenda:

5.30pm to 7.00pm: Arrival, Outside Wood-Fired Pizza and Refreshments, Networking and Chat

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Pizza cooked on the An Gairdin Beo pizza oven and refreshments will be on offer – provided by the County Carlow Environmental Network (CCEN).

5:30pm to 7:00pm

Take a Walk around the new Cosmic Garden at An Gairdin Beo

An Gairdín Beo, Carlow’s Living Community Garden, is now 10 years old. Visit its new Cosmic Walk inspired by the ideas of great ecological thinkers and cosmologist Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme, both contributors and advocates of the peoples’ Earth Charter.

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7pm to 7.10pm

Cathy Fitzgerald – Introductions to Prof. Peter Blaze Corcoran & Earth Charter

Dr Cathy Fitzgerald lives near Borris and has extensive knowledge about ecological continuous cover forestry, is a volunteer for the Drummin Bog Project since 2017, and following her PhD at NCAD, has developed an online ecoliteracy learning platform, Haumea Ecoversity, to help creative professionals, cultural workers and changemakers navigate sustainability, personal, planetary and intergenerational wellbeing. She has shared the Earth Charter in her courses, has been mentored by Peter Blaze Corcoran and is inspired by the many ecological visionaries who have advanced the peoples Earth Charter.

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7:10pm – 7.40pm

Prof Peter Blaze Corcoran-The Earth Charter at 25: History, Action, Possibility

Professor Corcoran will describe the remarkable history of the participatory process by which the Earth Charter was created and then its uses in many fields. During his talk, Peter will take comments and questions and then work with the audience on possible applications of the Earth Charter in their lives and community efforts. Peter will then close with his thoughts on the future efficacy of the Earth Charter nearing its 25th anniversary celebrations.

7:40pm – 8:00pm

Questions & Answers & general discussion

8:00pm – 9:00pm

Community Networking: Tea & Coffee

Looking forward to seeing you there! Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter below to learn about future events.