Tying in with Visit Wales’ Year of Legends we celebrated the fascinating tale of Yr Afanc, which is a story about a mythical creature who made its home in Afon Conwy. According to the legend, local flooding events and disruption to farmers’ crops and livestock were thought to be linked to Yr Afanc’s bad mood.
Ranger, Robert Parkinson said, “As part of this programme we've been visiting local schools and using the legend to explore the question – How can we keep Yr Afanc happy today?”
Over 300 pupils were encouraged to think about what makes a habitat healthy and how healthy habitats upstream, such as bog on the Migneint might affect creatures such as Yr Afanc, people and wildlife downstream.
Activities also included designing Yr Afanc from various animal body parts adapted specifically for the habitat and story.
Robert Parkinson added, “Yr Afanc has been a great metaphor for discussing local flooding and it’s a nice way to celebrate our Welsh heritage as well.”
Yr Afanc rap film
In addition to the school sessions we held a community day at Conwy where we enlisted the help of legendary local rapper, Mr Phormula who worked with local children and families to create a special rap film about Yr Afanc, which can be viewed below.