CAER Heritage Podcast
We are delighted to be hosting a podcast series that dives into the CAER Heritage project, an inspiring collaboration between Action in Caerau and Ely (ACE), Cardiff University, local schools, residents, community groups, and many others. Tune in to hear powerful stories of co-production, place-based research, and how heritage can shape inclusive futures.
Welcome to the CAER Heritage podcast!
In this series, you'll hear from the people working together on this inspiring project, including local community development organisation Action in Caerau and Ely (ACE), Cardiff University, local schools, residents, and community groups.
The project centres on Caerau Hillfort, a large prehistoric monument in Caerau and Ely, suburbs in the west of Cardiff. What started as a small participatory project has grown and developed, now boasting a heritage-themed community centre, garden and playground, accredited courses and informal learning opportunities for local people, family fun days, school visits and a host of impressive archaeological and historical discoveries uncovered by hundreds of local people working with the University.
Explore the CAER Heritage journey through its strategies and experiences, strengths, weaknesses and reflections of those involved along the way. Hear the learning from this work around nurturing sustainable community-university partnerships through building mutual trust, respect and creativity.
Listen to the full series using the player on the left, or scroll down for more information about each episode.
Episode 1: Discovering knowledge together
Co-research as community development
The podcast kicks off with a visit to the CAER Heritage Centre, a former gospel hall nestled beneath the Iron Age hillfort in Caerau, in west Cardiff. On a glorious day in May 2025, a host of members of the Love Our Hillfort volunteer group join Dr Dave Wyatt to discuss the importance of the CAER Heritage project to them.
One of the project founders, Dave Horton from ACE, reflects on how CAER can be seen as community development and Ben Lloyd and Anna-Elyse Young from Cardiff University provide insight on the project’s role in fulfilling the University's core functions of teaching, research and civic mission.
Episode 2: Co-creating visions
The role of creatives and community creativity in university-community partnerships
In episode 2 of the CAER Heritage podcast, Dr Dave Wyatt sits down at the Dusty Forge in Ely - a former pub known as the ‘community’s living room’ - with several people to discuss the importance of creativity and creative practice in CAER:
Filmmaker Vivian Paul Thomas who lives locally and has been involved with CAER since the start
Paul Evans, a public engagement specialist based in Sheffield
Nic Parsons, who until recently worked at Action in Caerau and Ely (ACE) on arts-led wellbeing activities
Tom Hicks who has come through CAER from a volunteer with an interest in archaeology to graduating from Cardiff University and now working as Community Partnership Officer and heritage educator for Cardiff University on CAER
Taela-May Davies who has had various roles at ACE and CAER but who is now Volunteer Development Officer
They explore what it means to co-create in and with a community; the need for patience, understanding and trust; some of the challenges faced by projects that want to have creativity at their heart; and look back on some of their personal highlights.
Episode 3: Co-creating new futures
Community-based learning and opening up opportunities
Episode 3 of the CAER Heritage podcast was recorded during the community archaeological dig in Trelái Park, Ely, Cardiff.
The annual community digs are a cornerstone of CAER Heritage project community co-creation and development.
In June 2025 a collective of 430 volunteers, school pupils, university students, community workers and academics came together to uncover the secrets of a Bronze Age settlement beneath the park’s football pitches.
In this episode, we capture the excitement and buzz of that community dig and explore how co-creation is intrinsically interwoven with widening participation to education, culture, heritage, well-being and positive new life opportunities.
Episode 4: Co-creating trust
University 'civic mission' and community partnership working
In episode 4 of the CAER Heritage podcast, Dr Dave Wyatt welcomes guests to explore the more strategic aspects to civic mission and how the higher education sector, including its funders, engages co-productively with communities.
Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford - who is also the Senedd Member for Ely and Caerau - has long been a supporter of the CAER project and ACE’s work and is accompanied on the episode by Sophie Duncan from the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement; Sam Froud Powell, Operational Development Manager of ACE; and Jaideep Gupte, Director for Research, Strategy and Innovation at the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Then Dave is joined by Professors Mhairi McVicar, Claire Gorrara and Rachel Ashworth, each from Cardiff University.
Firstly, the conversation looks at the relationship between Cardiff University and the communities that it serves and then they locate the co-production of CAER Heritage within a wider discourse of global citizenship and mission and touch on some of the themes raised in Rachel’s recent review.
Episode 5: Past, present & future
Reflections on the CAER Heritage journey
The series draws to a close with the host Dr Dave Wyatt chatting with fellow co-director and co-founder of CAER Heritage Dr Olly Davies, senior lecturer in archaeology and civic mission at Cardiff University’s School of History, Archaeology and Religion.
They reflect on many of the themes that the series has covered: the role of creativity in CAER, removing barriers to educational engagement and attainment, and the importance of committing for the long-term if universities want to genuinely co-produce with communities.
