Map Digi Penfro Launched at Theatr Gwaun

A successful film screening and launch of the digital community mapping project Map Digi Penfro was held at Theatr Gwaun in Fishguard on Friday 13th September and attended by some sixty people. The project is part of the Span Digidol project funded by the Arts Council of Wales and the Arwain Sir Benfro LEADER programme. The project seeks to fuse arts and technology to deal with issues such as rural isolation, loneliness and community well-being.

Map Digi Penfro seeks to map the places of Pembrokeshire from many and diverse perspectives by means of an interactive online map, which continues to be open to contributions. The map has been developed by Span Digidol’s Digital Champion Alan Cameron Wills, a retired computer programmer who now lives in Moylegrove. Following on from his work on the Moylegrove History Map Alan was invited by SPAN to develop a mapping tool for the whole of Pembrokeshire. The map was then tested over an intensive weekend at the beginning of July at Garn Fawr, an iron age hill fort on the Strumble Head peninsula. A range of experts including geologist Math Williams, archaeologist Ken Murphy, poet Mererid Hopwood and botanist Shani Lawrence as well as pupils from Goodwick Primary School and numerous local residents were brought together to map this unique place populating the map with images of flora and fauna, rock formations and ancient wells as well as stories of place and even poetry.