Irish based-New Zealand artist, Cathy Fitzgerald, finds it difficult to travel without a camera.



Her background in science, then art, local green politics and an ongoing involvement with publicising sustainable forestry projects in Ireland, means she can't help but observe how these ideas are approached in different countries.



On their holiday in Nepal, Cathy and Martin visited the successful, newly planted community forests that neighbour the Royal Chitwan Park. These new forests support the local energy and economy requirements of the neighbouring villagers, including new tourism ventures (elephant treks for rhino and bird-spotting tourists), as well as sustaining an environment that contains a diverse and rich wildlife.



Cathy believes that so called 'developed' countries should look more to countries like Nepal for seeing working, sustainable community projects. Mind you, many countries would find it hard to compete with Nepal's natural heritage, as a forest walk with an elephant is something rather special.