Voice of the Teifi | Save the Teifi

THE VOICE OF THE RIVER TEIFI

Llais yr Afon - Festival in Cenarth 9 to 11 August 2024

Are you looking for free fun-filled activities for yourself and your family this Summer holidays?

West Wales Rivers Trust teamed up with Small World and SaveTheTeifi for a jam-packed programme for the Cenarth Llais yr Afon festival! Details and poster below.

Llais yr Afon Festival in Cenarth is a pop-up river festival with a creative programme for all to enjoy. Please help spread the word!

Free entry to all the events.

This programme is in development and some information may change. Times across the programme are to be confirmed.

Please check the list of activities and times nearer the time on this link

Friday 9 Aug
- 2pm - 4pm Exhibition and festival opening talk. 📍 The Vestry, Capel Cenarth.
  - Artworks by pupils from Ysgol Gymunedol Cenarth and Ysgol Llechryd.
  - Idris Mathias’ famous illustrated map. An opportunity to view a replica of the fine manuscript map compiled by the late Idris Mathias of Cardigan (conceived and created 1945 - 1962).

Saturday 10 Aug
- 10am - 4pm Exhibition continues. 📍 The Vestry, Capel Cenarth.

- Guided talks. 📍 The National Coracle Centre. Start times: 10.30am, 12pm, 2pm and 3.30pm.
  
  Talks by owner Martin Fowler on the Teifi coracle heritage and salmon fishing in Cenarth. The centre will be open all day to view the coracle collection from around the world, including Tibetan, Iraqi and British examples.
- 10am - 12.30pm &2pm- 4.30pm
  
  Animation workshop.📍 The Vestry, Capel Cenarth. spacetocreate with Gemma Green Hope.
  
  Drop-in animation workshop with spacetocreate artists and artist animator Gemma Green Hope. Suitable for ages 8+.
- 10am - 12.30pm &2pm- 4.30pm
  
  Hat and boat workshop. 📍 Yellow tent near The Vestry. Small World Theatre.
  
  Hat boat making workshop with Small World Theatre artists. Suitable for ages 5+.
  
  At the end of the workshop, watch your hat boat being released into the river, and hear the new poem created by the Teifi. Free entry. Suitable for all ages.
- 10am - 4pm.
  
  Kick sampling. 📍 Riverside. West Wales River Trust.
  
  An all day drop-in workshop. Kick sampling (collecting samples from the river) with West Wales River Trust.
- Music evening with Ceri and Julie📍 Capel Cenarth. 7pm - 8.30pm
  
  A beautiful, intimate concert performed by Julie Murphy (voice and shruti box) and Ceri Rhys Matthews (flute) with songs and stories.

Sunday 11 Aug
- 10am Welcome Save the Teifi river relay see Source to Sea ! 📍 Riverside. Save the Teifi and friends.
- Forum Theatre performance by Ieuenctid Byd Bach and others. 📍 Riverside. Small World Theatre.
  
  Watch a piece of awesome theatre with opportunities to contribute towards creating positive solutions.
- 10am - 4pm Exhibition continues. 📍 The Vestry, Capel Cenarth.
- 10am - 2pm Kick sampling. 📍 Riverside. West Wales River Trust.

Contact

Sam Vicary, Communications Manager sam@smallworld.org.uk

WWRT CITIZEN SCIENCE TRAINING

Below is the poster for the first West Wales Rivers Trust (WWRT) visual water quality monitoring training and outfall safari session. Planned for Wednesday 5th June 10-14:00. Contact WWRT here for more info on future trainings - or Nathaniel, email below.

Meet at Cenarth Falls Resort at Phat Forks restaurant for the classroom session before heading out for a loop walk round the village and river to identify water quality impacts, outfalls and put survey training into action.

Parking is available free at Cenarth Falls Resort.

Anyone wanting more info can get in touch Nathaniel at WWRT directly: Nathaniel@westwalesriverstrust.org

This project is kindly supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation & Dwr Cymru's Citizen Science Fund.

If you could share the word amongst your contacts and socials it would be much appreciated

Llais yr Afon (Voice of the River) Project (Esmee Funded)

We have received the start up documents from WWRT for the Esmee Fairburn funded Project – it will have a start date in March.

Here is some of the salient information:

A reminder of the organisations involved:

West Wales Rivers Trust (“WWRT”) acting as the “Lead Partner”
Ffynnone Community Resilience (represented by “Save the Teifi”)
Small World Theatre
spacetocreate

Here is a table of how the Esmee grant money is distributed:

Here is a Gant Chart of the Project Plan:

See this link for the steps that were taken over the last year to initiate this project: Fundraising – Teifi-Forum

More details and how to get involved will be forthcoming as soon as possible.

Click here for the Peoples Plan for the Teifi

Images of the River Teifi Contemporary Folk Map

Cllr Clive Davies's Facebook post from 29 Oct 2025

Helping the Health of the River Teifi

I called into Coracle Hall Llechryd to see the exhibition (see below) and speak to Guy Norman (from Space to Create) about the Llais yr Afon project managed by Small World Theatre in partnership with Space to Create , Save the Teifi and West Wales River Trust. A project funded by the Heritage Fund.

Inspired by and responding to the famous Idris Mathias’ fine manuscript map. The maps provide a unique opportunity to reflect on the natural and cultural heritage, what has changed and what’s stayed the same.

As the Chair for the Teifi catchment Nutrient Management Team which is leading on improvement of Teifi ecosystem, the project fits well into the wider vision and aspiration to improve the whole of the river Teifi catchment.

Over the last 3 years a lot of collaborative work has been happening with Save the Teifi citizen scientists being trained and taking samples using equipment provided by Ceredigion County Council and the West Wales River Trust.

The Phosphate Reduction and Mitigation (P.R.A.M.)Project, working with land owners and the river trust to better manage riparian land and private sewerage plants.

Also the work that the County Council have done with automated sensing and sampling systems installed right across the catchment from source to sea. Providing real time data and giving a real insight into possible sources of high levels of nutrients such as phosphates.

This work has been recognised as a leader in Wales and recently won an award as a nature based project.

Currently the work continues with further sensing equipment being deployed by the Council and further collaborations with NRW as it develops its Teifi demonstrator project.

Welsh Water are in the process of upgrading the wastewater treatment plan in Cardigan and upgrading some of its treatment plants on the Teifi to extract phosphates to meet NRW permit changes.

It will take time but we are on the right track.

Here is further information on these projects:

Llais yr Afon has made it possible for smallworldbydbach, savetheteifi and partners to explore the past, present and future of the River Teifi ~ a phrase that has become the project’s motto. 💧

With the support of @heritagefunduk and @esmeefairbairne, we’ve taken inspiration from the late Idris Mathias’ extraordinary folk map, shared with kind permission of the Welsh Place-Name Society and with the support of the Mathias family.

Over two years, the project partners have helped people reflect on how traditions, livelihoods, language, wildlife and place names have changed across generations, and how they might continue to evolve. 🌿

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