Workshop on Stori Wyllt 2026

Ysgol Llanilar Workshop 5 — Cyanotope covers & ribbon

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:41:33 +0100

Post by Jake Rayson

It was a very chill morning session with not too much to do. Marian showed the students how to create the end covers out of card and patch of cyanotype, then measure up some ribbon and glue it all together.

After the students had finished all their cutting and their gluing and their assembling, we were going to go out for a final cyanotype session, but the summer rain had different ideas.

Ysgol Llanarth Workshop 4 — Painting & clay artefact creation

Fri, 22 May 2026 08:26:44 +0100

Sketch by Jake Rayson

The weather was magnificent but I was feeling under the weather. Fortunately, the students kept me alert with a thousand questions on the walk to Cae Ysgubor, AKA Molly’s Field. I was bringing up the rear and was continually distracted by plants and wildlife.

By the time we reached the quiet country lane, a bountiful harvest of Sticky Willy / Llau’r Offeiriad (Galium aparine) was to be made, which we graciously donated to Molly’s horses. They love the stuff.

Ysgol Llanilar Workshop 4 — Cyanotype collage strips

Thu, 21 May 2026 20:43:28 +0100

Marian showed the students examples of the cyanotype collage strips that they’ll be creating, and then handed out the students‘ negative acetate prints in envelopes. These will form the textured background on the cyanotype. And then we went outside to gather plant material.

Artist Marian Haf with Ysgol Llanilar students

Positive about the negatives

Ysgol Gynradd Aberteifi Workshop 4 — Moths & Butterflies of the Oak

Thu, 21 May 2026 20:04:13 +0100

Guest post by artist Pip Lewis

Group B – Butterflies & Moths!

Patterns in Nature - Introduction

Pip introduced the theme of Butterflies and Moths living in oak Trees and the patterns and shapes they have on their wings and showed an example of the layered artworks of butterflies and moths that live and forage in Oak Trees which the pupils will be making.

The art process involved in making the final image will include tracing, working with colour, black and white and marker pens, patterns shapes and letter stencils as well as incorporating design and layout skills for the final text.

Habitat guidelines — where to put up nest boxes

Wed, 20 May 2026 19:09:54 +0100

We ran a workshop with Harry Smalley from Cardished at Ysgol Llanilar, constructing kit nest boxes. We then walked around the school grounds and village pond, looking for potential sites.

Habitat overview

Mosaic of habitat – pond, river, streams, woodland, marsh, grassland, hedges, gardens, houses, buildings…

Different habitats from satellite photo

Siting habitat

Bat boxes

Bat Conservation Trust

Where bats are known to feed and navigate (close to hedges and tree lines);
Ideally at least 4m above the ground (where safe installation is possible);
Away from artificial light sources (to protect them from predation);
Sheltered from strong winds; and
Exposed to the sun for part of the day (usually south, south-east or south-west).
North Ceredigion Bat Group northceredigionbatgroup@gmail.com & facebook.com/groups/northceredigionbatgroup

Nest boxes

British Trust for Ornithology

Habitat workshop at Llanilar

Wed, 20 May 2026 14:18:54 +0100

Harry Smalley from Cardished ran a fantastic habitat workshop with Year 5 students from Llanilar. He brought two finished Barbastrelle bat boxes, four nest box apartments for House Sparrows and kits for Robin and Starling sizes nest boxes that the students assembled, using a form, a clamp, hammers and nails.

After the workshop, we walked around the grounds to look at possible sites for the nestboxes, and then we had a quick walk around the village pond to talk about habitat and the importance of water and flying insects for bats.

Ysgol Gynradd Aberaeron Workshop 4 — Exquisite Corpses

Fri, 15 May 2026 16:34:07 +0100

Rebecca took full charge of the workshop, creating creatures from all the plants, fungi and animals of the wood and countryside surrounding Tŷ Mari.

More information to follow!

Oriel Gallery

Ready to assemble

Assembling two corpses

Cutting a tree

Multiples

Plenty of materials and imaginations

Ysgol Gynradd Aberaeron Workshop 3 — The magic of Tŷ Mari

Fri, 08 May 2026 16:34:07 +0100

We finally managed to go to the house of Mari Berllan Biter on the Esgair Arth estate.

The minibus arrived filled with students and staff, and we gathered around the entrance to the field, with the song of the Willow Warbler, identified by ecologist Carys May.

We set off across the tussocky pasture, diagonally left toward the corner, where the footpath descends down through the wood. Along the way, we saw voles plenty of spiders, mole hills and evidence of voles.

Ysgol Llanarth Workshop 3 — Flower prints & painting

Fri, 08 May 2026 16:33:30 +0100

Guest post by our forest school practitioner Jo Dainty

On the walk up Joey collected a posey of flowers which was so lovely. There was lots of chatter and excitement. Alfie set the pace and it was a bit of a route march to keep up with him!

We started by introducing Molly’s sister (author of the nature story that has been shared with the class) to the group and enjoyed lots of chat about the characters! We had the circle of mats again – really lovely for everyone to feel like an equal part of the group.

Ysgol Gynradd Aberteifi Workshop 3 — Birds of the Oak

Thu, 07 May 2026 16:30:47 +0100

Guest post by project artist Pip Lewis

Adar y Dderw – birds of the Oak

Pip continued working with Group A, creating layered artworks made with acetate . The process involves overlaying drawing and collage, and adding text, and will be exhibited in the Stori Wyllt Gathering in Stiwdio 3 in Aberteifi on Monday 29th June.

Prior to the workshop Pip selected and printed A3 photos of different birds who live and forage in oak trees. The students drew lots last week to find out which bird they would be focusing on in their final artwork.

Ysgol Gynradd Aberteifi Workshop 2

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:29:17 +0100

The class was split into two groups (Group A & Group B ) and Pip worked with Group A, with the students initially studying Oak leaves and making observational drawings drawing of them with pencils, identifying the midrib tip, shape and margins of the leaf. The students also worked with white charcoal pencils drawings of Oak leaves on black paper, and black charcoal pencils on white paper, and graphite sticks to create rubbings of the leaves.

Ysgol Llanilar Workshop 3

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:00:52 +0100

A cyanotype is a monochrome print made by placing objects on a pre-prepared light-sensitive surface†

What I have absolutely loved about the Stori Wyllt workshops so far is the range of activities and the different types of engagement (clay making, charcoal baking, bubble blowing, story telling, crayon rubbing & more).

At Ysgol Llanilar, I am entranced by making cyanotypes, the Prussian Blue tinted proto-photographic method of objects on light-sensitive paper, and artist Marian Haf has already helped the students create some truly gorgeous pieces.

Ysgol Gynradd Aberteifi Workshop 1

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:09:19 +0100

Underlining the variation in the different schools, settings and people across Stori Wyllt, we didn’t have an ecologist for Ysgol Gynradd Aberteifi for the first two workshops, as Yusef Samari has a very full calendar with the Your Wild Patch / Eich Darn Gwyllt project.

This meant I was leading the first session, very ably aided by teacher Mari Roberts (who has a Zoology degree!) I gave a very brief introduction to ecoystems, and talked a bit about the wildlife benefits of the Oak, and the amazing array and number of species it supports. And then out to the seating area under a pair of Oak trees, beyond the playground and playing field, newly garlanded with a shining green fence.

Ysgol Gynradd Aberaeron Workshop 2

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:58:06 +0100

We were still waiting for the go-ahead to the house of the witch Mari Berllan Peter in Esgair Arth woodland, so Plan B was put into operation, a trip to Allt y Graig woods, just the other side of Jewsons where the Twr Gwyllt (Wild Tower) is situated, with storyteller and artist Rebecca Wyn Kelly and ecologist Carys May.

The walk up Bro Allt yr Graig is steeply wooded banks, a single track road and swathes of plant life. At the beginning of the track in the woods we found a book. Under a saucepan. The book is called “A Scary Adventure” and it’s discovery was a strange and happenstance.

Ysgol Llanarth Workshop 2

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:32:49 +0100

Jo Dainty is a forest school practitioner and she crammed an incredible amount into the two hours on the Ysgol Llanarth school field, in a very entertaining and high-octane workshop.

First of all, she set up a big circle with carpet mats for all the students, and had them sit down around the fire bowl. This is such a good tip, as it was a damp April day in a damp field. Jo had brought some lengths of willow with her, and there was a large patch of willow (Grey Willow, Salix atrocinerea?) at the bottom of the field as well.

Ysgol Llanilar Workshop 2

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:03:52 +0100

For the second workshop at Ysgol Llanilar, the class of 23 was split into two groups of a dozen. One group went with Sheena the ecologist, and the other with Marian the artist. Sheena was also joined by mycologist and educationalist Louise Tranter

Sheena talked about ecosystems, the tree of life and then took the group outside, showing different habitats around the pond and the river.

The students with Marian were sketching the shapes and outlines of leaves, and then went outside to take photographs of patterns in nature. These photographs will be used alongside plants in the cyanotype printing process, which uses ferric ammonium citrate/oxalate and potassium ferricyanide and water to develop and fix.

Ysgol Llanarth Workshop 1

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:50:24 +0100

NB: The notes before Easter have been written in retrospect, which means they lack detail. In future, I’ll be writing notes immediately afterwards, and also asking for immediate & short feedback from students and participants.

This workshop was a riot, in the best sense of the word! I made a quick introduction about Stori Wyllt but I was a bit worried about the rain, so we headed off to Molly‘s field Cae Ysgubor. The route is via a public bridleway by the side of the nursery and campsite. However, it was very wet, with some localised flooding! The path also turned muddy going uphill, with some surface water. But everyone seemed very positive.

Ysgol Llanilar Workshop 1

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 20:19:33 +0000

The workshop started with a fantastic session in the classroom with ecologist Sheena Duller, who had brought in a veritable cornucopia of lichens, native plants and tree buds and flowers. The students seemed really enamoured of the lichen on the branches (with a couple of examples on rocks), particularly when using the hand lenses. The sheer diversity of species really hit home.

Ysgol Gynradd Aberaeron Workshop 1

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 20:17:47 +0000

Ecologist Carys started in the classroom with an exercise around food webs and different living things (plants, animals, insects, fungi etc), and was drawing suggestions from the class and discussing the relationships between them.

We walked along the south bank of the Afon Aeron, past the allotments, and to the small garden south-west facing garden at Jewsons where the separate project Tŵr Gwyllt is being built by artist Rebecca Wyn Kelly. When we arrived, Rebecca was at the controls of a mini-digger, prepping the site!

Aberaeron site reccie

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 20:17:25 +0000

Last year, we ran the Grassland ID workshops at Penmorfa with Ysgol Gynradd Aberaeron.

Students from Ysgol Gynradd Aberaeron on Grassland ID workshop 2025

This year, we’re hoping for another magical spot, with a witch’s house, but this has yet to be confirmed. I had a chance meeting with my colleague, Tree Officer Norman Birch, and he explained that there is a public foot path in Aberaeron that runs on the south bank of the river Aeron, past the allotments an up to Jewsons.