We went to the Eisteddfod

Heledd, Lucinda and Manon (excellent translator/excellent human) went to the Eisteddfod this week. It was a good sunny Thursday to spend in a field.

Heledd launched a book

As mentioned last week, our Heledd is a published writer!

This week was the official book launch event held by CDPS in the Eisteddfods Maes D.

To quote (or copy and paste) James’ and Paul’s notes last week:

‘Trio writing is a new approach to designing better bilingual services. It pairs subject matter experts, content designers and translators to design content in English and Welsh from the outset.

Traditionally many organisations have worked hard to get everything right in English then passed the content for translation. The translators often had no context or background about the design decisions, and limited opportunity to suggest any changes because they were only involved in the final step.’

Didn’t even try to say it better myself.

The event opened with a speech from the Minister for Education and Welsh Language Jeremy Miles. There was an activity, then Heledd and Manon took to the stage.

A keen eyed attendee may have spotted Heledd giving Rob and Christine a run for their money:

Our Heledd is a true crocstar.

So, you want to read the book…

Don’t stress.

Heledd will be giving a physical copy to the NRW library, Lucinda has a copy you can borrow, and the ebook will be released later in the year.

Invasive species playing cards and eDNA

After the book launch Heledd and Lucinda explored some of the science stalls and stumbled across something familiar…

That’s right! Invasive pink salmon!

Their first instinct was to report the sighting on our website using our report an incident service, but before you start protectively clutching your best native salmon to your chests - rest at ease.

It was only a PICTURE of the invasive species. It’s alright, we can tell, we’re professionals.

Heledd and Lucinda eventually found the source of the salmon (again, just a picture) at the North Wales Wildlife Trust stall. There they got a fascinating lesson about eDNA and how through taking a sample from a water course, and putting it through a high tech science machine/cardboard box, you can find out if an invasive species is hanging about.

But the excitement didn’t stop there, they went on a treasure hunt matching up the invasive species to the correct species fact.

The prize was a pack of invasive species playing cards - get in touch if you want a game.

Permissions - What is next?

Laura, Sam and Lucinda are finding permissions very exciting at the moment - there is so much to explore.

The trio have put a lot of work into a horse riding slither and it’s looking really good. They are full of hope they can publish a brand new Newborough horse riding application service (with added online payment) in the near(ish) future. In time, this could be for all horse riders that need a permit (not just Newborough) but hold your horses! They want to get evidence and feedback first.

Launch and learn if you will.

In the meantime, Laura, Sam and Lucinda checked in with the all Wales permissions team and asked them what they think the biggest problems are for them and their users. The hope was to understand where to focus their energy next. Is it maps, filming, big events?

After an open discussion about the problems, they shared an anonymous survey with the team. The aim is to understand how hard it is to process applications as the service currently stands.

They hope the survey can be something that can give them something to measure against in the future. Further along, after more changes, will the team feel their job is getting easier? Are they getting better applications?

We certainly hope so, and also hopefully, this will help them be able to tell.

Other things we have been working on

  • James met with the replacement Flood Warning Service project team to discuss Welsh language requirements
  • James, Owain and Lucinda are meeting to see how we can improve gathering and sharing our analytics across NRW
  • Heledd spent the day with Christine and Isobel. Making a bit more sense out of ‘services’ and how we talk about them. They brought a fresh perspective, with their experience of seeing many organisations attempt (and often fail) to focus on services from the perspective of users.
  • Sophie’s been busy reviewing and correcting accessibility faults in the National Peatland Action Programme Annual Report to ensure it can be published onto the NRW website on time.
  • Kim and Sophie have created a work-flow map to capture the types of requests we receive into the Digital Team inbox. They’ve also been in touch with different key contacts to share feedback to improve the clarity of the requests we do receive. As always, if you have a request for the Intranet or website, please submit a content request form to let us know about any changes needed.
  • Sophie and Lucinda have also worked with the Education team to update the resources offered in the Resources for Educators and Teachers section of the site. You’ll find a new section ‘Curriculum for Wales’ with new content to help students learn more about their natural environment. Lucinda is keen to point out Sophie did most of the legwork here!
  • Shaun started the week intending to concentrate on some technical guidance for complying with intensive farming environmental permits but as so often happens got sidetracked with numerous ad hoc queries and amendments. We’ve revamped the Groundwater investigation consent application form; amended guidance on water discharge permit fees as the customer hub reported confusion amongst users about the application fee versus the subsistence (annual) charge; updated the reservoir risk designation guidance and continued work on three pieces of content for planning authorities in river SAC areas.

And now for something completely different

It’s fun fact Friday

As we have already mentioned, it’s the National Eisteddfod this week. This festival of culture, language, music, craft and art – and a lot more. The location alternates between north and south Wales every year.

There are hundreds of events, performances and competitions throughout the week, as well as non-official festivities that carry on through to the early hours.

One of the most prestigious events is the Chairing of the Bard Ceremony.

A chair is presented to the Prifardd (which literally means ‘the main bard’) during the Chairing of the Bard Ceremony for a poem written in strict metre form known as ‘cynghanedd’.

A new chair is especially designed for each Eisteddfod, and this ceremony is considered to be one of the most important events in the Welsh eisteddfod tradition. The ceremony includes dancing flower-girls in green druidic costumes celebrating as the poet is invited to sit (eistedd!) on the stage in his new chair.

The ceremony is closed with the words “A Oes Heddwch!” spoken by the Archdruid meaning “Is there Peace!” to which everyone fervently replies, “Heddwch!” (Peace!)

To make this Friday fact even more fun, Heledd got to see the chair that Gerallt Lloyd Owen won in 1975 this week, which was actually created by her father in law.

Meet Blake

Blake is Shaun’s loyal partner in crime and closest confidante.

Coming from working Aberystwyth farm stock, he’s a collie, deerhound, greyhound mix and as such is a little conflicted between the collie work ethic and the hound lethargy. He’s serious about his job responsibilities, diligently ensuring all cats are kept out of the garden and all squirrels are kept on the top branches of trees. He’s a natural-born guardian (particularly of youngsters of any species), a job he can carry out a little too voraciously. When away in the camper-van, he will spend the whole night sitting on the driver’s seat scanning the windscreen for danger, regularly going three days without sleep.

His favourite things are returning the constantly escaping bouncy ball, females (of any species but particularly golden labs and Welsh collies), pizza crusts and swimming.

His least favourite things are cats, rats and ambiguous, overly-complex legislation due to the effect it has on Shaun’s equilibrium when attempting to draft clear, user-centred, task-focused web content.

Here he is hogging centre-stage as an unpaid member of the old NRW digital and translation (Bangor) crew:

…and suspiciously eyeing the wild Carneddau ponies, whilst asking the perennial canine question - “Is it friend or food?”:

Weekend Wellbeing

“One is a great deal less anxious if one feels perfectly free to be anxious, and the same may be said of guilt.” — Alan Watts