Community Engagement

I’ve been reflecting on what “community engagement” really means.

During my time on the project whilst helping to shape and lead the community engagement work for Tir Canol, my focus was always on building genuine relationships – the kind that don’t sit neatly in a strategy document. It was never about ticking boxes or producing outputs. It was about moving at the speed of trust. It was actually genuinely caring for every aspect of the community. Deeply.

Not creating a vision for others to fit into, but exploring the sense of wonder that communities already hold. Doing with, not for.

Those foundations mattered. They still do. I’m proud of the roots we grew together the stories that held movement, the cakes people brought, the time they shared, the way Dyfi Celf was co-created, bringing mentorship and care into everything.

Stepping away wasn’t an ending. It was a deliberate choice. To keep working in ways that stay honest to that vision. Slower. More alive. Grounded in care for all things that give life to the new.

Sometimes the best way to protect the integrity of something is to let go of the structures that can no longer hold it, for growth to root. For our communities and beyond.

From little acorns, mighty oaks grow.