Women in Nature
National Photography Campaign
Women in Nature is a national photography campaign celebrating women leading nature restoration, biodiversity action and community-led environmental change across Ireland.
Ireland is undergoing a profound shift. Our ecosystems are under pressure and degrading rapidly. As we move toward a low-carbon future, we must not only restore degraded landscapes but we must also ensure the transition is fair, inclusive, and community-led.
Every day, people all over the island work hard to halt biodiversity and climate crises and reverse the trend. Women are playing a vital role in this transformation. They are restoring peatlands and wetlands, regenerating farms, protecting rivers, building local initiatives, shaping policy, educating communities, and reimagining what stewardship can look like in a changing Ireland. Many do this work without public recognition, quietly fighting for their environment and community, leading the way in nature restoration and building resilience for the next generation.
Presented by Tóchar Midlands Wetland Restoration in partnership with Photo Museum Ireland, the project will create a new photographic record of the people and places shaping Ireland’s transition to a nature-positive future.
Through a free public programme of exhibitions, community conversations and a publication, Women in Nature brings greater visibility to the people helping to shape the future of Ireland’s landscapes, while creating a lasting photographic record of this important work.
Artist Evanna Devine has been awarded the Women In Nature Photography Commission
Evanna Devine was awarded the €15,000 Women in Nature Photography Commission.
Over the coming year, Devine will create a new series of portraits of 12 nominated women working in nature restoration across Ireland, photographed in the landscapes and habitats connected to their work. The resulting body of work will be presented through a major public programme including an exhibition, publication and nationwide tour.
The women driving nature restoration across Ireland are doing extraordinary work, largely without public recognition. This campaign is our way of changing that. Evanna’s practice is rooted in deep listening and long-term engagement, which is exactly the approach these women’s stories deserve.
The Project
The commissioned series will document women working at the frontline of Ireland’s biodiversity and climate challenges.
Twelve women working in nature restoration will be selected through a public nomination process, reflecting the breadth of work taking place across the landscape and the communities responding to the climate and biodiversity crisis.
The final work will include:
- 12 portraits of nominated women in nature restoration
- Photographs of the habitats and landscapes connected to their work in Ireland’s biodiversity and climate challenges
- A public exhibition at the national centre for contemporary photography in Dublin
- A bespoke publication recording the project
- Community conversations and public programming
- A nationwide exhibition tour
The Irish landscape is shaped by histories of labour, extraction, ownership, care, memory and survival. Today, it is also central to urgent public questions: how Ireland responds to the climate and biodiversity crises, how restoration is delivered, and who gets to shape that future.
Women in Nature highlights the often-overlooked role women play in restoring landscapes, protecting biodiversity and strengthening communities. In doing so, it considers whose contributions are visible, whose expertise is recognised, and how we record this moment of environmental change.
Across Ireland, community action, legislation and policy are being directed towards restoring damaged ecosystems and building a more sustainable future. Women in Nature documents the people at the heart of that work, creating a record of environmental change as it unfolds across the country. Through portraiture and landscape photography, the project creates a public record of the individuals, communities and places shaping Ireland’s environmental future.
Photography has a powerful role to play here. It can make policy visible. It can connect national change to real people, real landscapes and real communities. Through portraiture and landscape photography, Women in Nature creates a public record of restoration as it is happening now, led by women, rooted in place, and shaped by care, expertise and action.
Exhibition & Publication
The completed commission will be premiered by Photo Museum Ireland in 2026 through a major exhibition, publication and public programme before touring nationally.
As Ireland’s national centre for contemporary photography, Photo Museum Ireland will bring this work to audiences through its established exhibition, publishing and engagement programmes. The project will present Evanna Devine’s portraits of women working in nature restoration alongside photographs of the landscapes and habitats they are helping to restore, creating a significant photographic record of environmental change and community action in Ireland today.
The accompanying publication will create a lasting record of the project, extending its reach beyond the gallery and contributing to wider conversations around nature restoration, environmental stewardship and the role of women in shaping Ireland’s future.
Further details on the exhibition, publication and national tour will be announced in the coming months.
Tóchar is co-financed by the EU and Government of Ireland through the EU Just Transition Fund and coordinated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Photo Museum Ireland is funded by the Arts Council, Dublin City Council, and the Heritage Council.