Restoring Native Woodlands with Patrick Cavanaugh

Patrick Cavanaugh, a student at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, shares his wisdom on restoring and ecological spaces on the podcast and demonstrates how caring for our common home is integral to his faith. Patrick has had incredible mentorship from his teachers, including Katie Collins, a great friend of ISN, who has taken her students to the IFTJ, Arrupe Leaders Summits, the first Student Eco Summit, and has even participated in the Eco Educators Summit. Read about her participation in the Eco Educators Summit: https://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2023/06/30/integral-ecology-comes-alive-at-first-ignatian-eco-educator-summit/In this episode, both Patrick and Katie talk about the outdoor classroom space at St. X. Read more about how that incredible space came to be both the location and the primary material for the course Katie designed, Faith in the Wild: https://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2024/08/29/faith-in-the-wild/Listen to Patrick’s speech in front of Capitol Hill, galvanizing the participants of the 2024 IFTJ Advocacy Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb8JyXie7QA&pp=0gcJCcEJAYcqIYzvPatrick participated in ISN’s first Student Eco Summit. Read more about that program: https://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2025/03/13/catholic-ecology-rooted-in-gratitude/In June 2025, ISN co-organized the Jesuit Integral Ecology Assembly, bringing ecological leaders across Jesuit apostolates for strategic action planning. Read about that assembly here: igsol.net/jiea