Last summer Shropshire Council invited Mythstories to put forward a proposal for storywalks with the Ukrainians who are settled in the County.  We were thrilled.  Our volunteers and the staff at Shropshire Supports Refugees had been talking of this project for a couple of years and now, with funding from the Council, the time was right.

The Ukrainian community is housed across Shropshire, which is a very rural County.  We wanted to showcase the different spaces of Shropshire and its diverse natural beauty, introducing the community to places they could revisit for leisure and pleasure, and provide an opportunity for the families to come together.  But most importantly we wanted to pass on the myths and legends that make these places so special.

We were lucky enough to benefit from the translating skills of Stas at Shropshire Supports Refugees, and he worked closely with our Storyteller Amy Douglas to ensure all the stories were communicated no matter the current English language skills of the listeners.

We held six storywalks over late Autumn, Winter and early Spring:

Ellesmere

Storyteller Amy Douglas at Ellesmere telling a tale
Amy tells a story – Stas translates

Click the link below for a family creativity challenge based on the Mrs Ellis story…

let’s create at home – Story Jars

Carding Mill Valley

Below the reservoir the group cross the stream and head back to the tearoom.

Onny Meadows

The reed-bed was the site for a odd story about a man with bad habits.

Haughmond Hill

On the geo-trail through the woods.

Here’s a film of the story of Sabrina which Amy told…

The Stiperstones

Mythstories trustees and volunteers joined the band to steward the walk at Stiperstones.

Embedded below is a film Amy made for us about Wild Edric of the Stiperstones…

Much Wenlock

Team shot at Wenlock Priory

Click the link below for a family creativity challenge based on the story of St Milburga…

let’s create at home – Milburga

Thank you to Steve, Shropshire Supports Refugees’ volunteer mini-bus driver, who not only brought the families safely to and fro, but was also knowledgeable about the sites we visited.  And to our own volunteers who gave up their Saturdays to steward the walks.

And thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies, we were able to give the community bookmarks and postcards in their native language, with QR codes leading to the Mythstories’ app. which they can download in Ukrainian and use to explore more.

And special thanks to Shropshire Council who commissioned the walks programme

Shropshire Council