Happy New Year from all of us at Cymbrogi! Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!
So… How was your 2022, and what does 2023 hold for you? What do you want to do more of, less of? What changes will help make that happen? And finally… how can you nurture ‘you’ the individual, and still serve ‘we’ the community? Here at Cymbrogi we answer this last question by focusing on 3 important P’s: People, Place and Purpose. (because that’s what roots us in our reason for being) Last year brought us many joyful P moments, many of them with you… We rocked the People part! Early on, a merry band of Erasmus teachers from Greece and Bulgaria braved a Welsh winter to come learn all things circular and sustainable with us. We peaked in summer with a group of Welsh teachers who journeyed with us on our hottest Educators ‘What Matters’ residential ever! (Thank goodness for those cooling estuary waters..:-) And we ended with a late October Young Change-Maker day full of autumn sunshine and learners learning differently… In between, Cymbrogi HQ has been filled with the happy sounds of both learners and teachers, learning, laughing and connecting with themselves, nature and each other in wonderful ways... It’s also been filled with moments of quiet contemplation and revelation, as educators discover how to put their own wellbeing first, or how to address climate anxiety in the classroom.
And People is not just about you, it’s about us too. I’m thrilled that real change-makers in education have joined the team bringing their energies and talent…amongst them, Ian Chriswick, formerly of Ysgol Bro Dinefwr, and Dr Jennifer Rudd, climate champion from Swansea University… We must be doing something right! We’ve continued to practice our Purpose…to equip today’s learners and educators with the knowledge, skills and mindsets to shape tomorrow’s sustainable world. What a joy it was to host visitors from all over the UK at our 2-day pop up Change-Maker festival at The Big Retreat in June! (Even the teens and parents turned up for some of those sessions!) We also shared our thinking with the Welsh Government on what a Sustainable Business GCSE should look like. The new curriculum has landed, and there’s no time to waste! (We think our Tomorrow’s Changemaker programme for secondary schools might help a bit here - watch this space ;-) Finally, Place. Our Cynefin. Where our story started. With that view, those trees, the silence and birdsong; the enduring spirit of a famous former resident, (Darwin’s cabin-mate)…and the equally enduring spirit of our current resident forager Garry, who’s taught us the importance of local landscapes in shaping our sense of place, past and present… (and, if you’re really lucky, he might share a nip of his homemade sloe gin :-) Finally - I started this blog with a quote from Albert Camus, which very much reflects how I feel about this coming year for Cymbrogi. ‘Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present’… So, yes, we’re going to give it our all. Remember, it’s the decade that has to count. And if you’re a teacher or school leader still wondering how you can best nurture the ‘you’, and still serve the ‘we’ in 2023… then come talk to us.
After 2 years thinking about it, we have a good idea of where to start. Liza Lort-Phillips Co-Founder | Cymbrogi
