Roedd Ein Natur / Our Nature Was
'Roedd Ein Natur / Our Nature Was' was a community project based in Penparcau. Through the project we looked at how people think about the nature where they live and what shapes their attitudes to the natural world on their doorstep. I'm grateful to Penparcau Wildlife Group who worked with me for a year on 'Roedd Ein Natur / Our Nature Was'.
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Nostalgia became the main theme of our project. We wanted to examine what role nostalgia can play in passing on knowledge of biodiversity and biodiversity decline. Does sharing memories of nature change opinions on biodiversity decline? Can sharing memories of local wildlife galvanise people to take action on wildlife conservation?
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"The more you look the more you love."
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"Disappearing as a hoard of children like Vikings down to the river because it’s a sunny day."
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"Suddenly I come around a corner and there’s the sea and I think my god I get to live here."​
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"I feel I am not who I was as a child, and neither is Penparcau – but we have evolved together."
As a group we explored the local environment. Here's what we did: ​
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a wildlife surveying walks - on the beach and on accessible paths,
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a creative mapping workshop that asked people to map out their important nature memories of the area,
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a creative writing group that asked people to describe found items and their nature memories,
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a group discussion, a bit like a focus group, talking about people’s nature memories in an informal and chatty setting.
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From these sessions a group poem was created using the words of the group and a song by Starhawk. You can read it here.
To leave a lasting marker for the project, artist Maria Hayes joined the project to create a visual celebration of the community of the Penparcau Wildlife Group. Maria created an amazing painting based on the landscape and wildlife in and around Penparcau, is now on display in the Penparcau Community Centre, and was printed on mugs for everyone to have at home.
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Our team:
Phil Jones, writer, Aberystwyth University
Chloe Griffiths, ecologist, Aberystwyth University
Carol Maddock, social scientist, Swansea University
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Roedd Ein Natur / Our Nature Was was an Aberystwyth University project funded by The British Academy and SOS: Students Organising for Sustainability UK.
