Discovering The Natural Richness of Wales

The latest project I had the privilege of leading was quite different from the usual, for several reasons.

Firstly, I had the opportunity to work with adults rather than children and young people. I have previously worked with adult Welsh-language learners, but most of the participants in previously held workshops held have been between nursery school age and their late teens. Every experience is valuable, but there was something quite special about working with people who were either from my generation or older

I should start by explaining a little bit more about the project itself. I was invited by Literature Wales to compose a poem based on Natural Resources Wales’ staff’s experiences during the pandemic. It was great to see Literature Wales working with another of our country’s public organisations again, as I myself experienced when working on Plethu/Weave (a partnership project between Literature Wales and National Dance Company Wales), where I collaborated with the graceful dancer, Joe Powell-Main. The pandemic and the current international political climate have highlighted the importance of collaboration, as well as the past five years’ considerable divide and conflict.

The poem composed will be used during an internal staff day, held annually by Natural Resources Wales. Of course, the current circumstances are challenging in terms of attempting to run a day designed to respond to staff’s well-being needs, and to attempt to bring them together. However, I feel that I was able to hold a series of sessions for staff that was very beneficial for them. The intention when running a workshop usually is to include some fun as well as challenge the participants, whilst also holding a creative dialogue between myself and those present. Since the goal was for me to compose a poem at the end of the series of workshops, the nature of these workshops were different.

This was an opportunity for me to listen more than anything, and that’s exactly what I did. That, and take plenty of notes about that which was discussed; from each individual’s expertise and duties, to the reason why they do what they do for Natural Resources Wales, and their passion to sustain and improve ecology, nature, and our country’s incredible landscape. More importantly, it was an opportunity for the staff to share some of their deepest reflections on the last year and a half in a safe space.

The next challenge was to distil what was learnt from the 25 members of staff, who are both specialists in their field and are extremely passionate about their subject. I had a pleasant surprise when I understood that most of the organisation’s staff are individuals who live their roles every minute of the day, genuinely caring about those matters that we might never think about as we go about our daily lives; from how waste is controlled, to how Wales’ waters co-connect with the challenges posed by attempting to ensure that nature and man can flourish side by side.

I mentioned at the start that this project was unusual for me. Another significant reason for that is because the poem I composed was primarily through the medium of English. It was a natural step because most of the staff that came to the sessions (voluntarily) were not Welsh speakers. But it was also nice to be able to tie Welsh into the poem and create a poem that is inseparable (hopefully) when the two languages are in question. I also enjoyed going back to my days as a multi-lingual rapper, where I used to compose more in English, as well as in Welsh, Breton, French and Spanish. I realised when composing that internal rhymes appear naturally in the process. This is a combination, possibly, from being used to rapping and being able to use cynghanedd – and of course, a few cynghanedd hits had to be in the final poem! You can try to find the cynghanedd that is in the piece yourselves.

The final part of the project was the pleasure of working with Mike Harris from Optimwm production company. Mike came in to create a video of the poem, and it was great to invite some of the staff involved in the sessions to recite some of the poem on camera. The staff’s passion is projected brilliantly in the final film, and I hope you will have as much enjoyment reading the poem as I had during this unique project.

Yes, we have a reason to celebrate Wales’ natural wealth, and a need to worry about losing the natural wealth that we are so lucky to be surrounded by. Let us all be aware of the wealth of ideas, understanding, and passion that is had by the staff of Natural Resources Wales.