README: When Sally Met Sally Project
Title
When Sally Met Sally – Exploring the Scarce Yellow Sally stonefly through Film, Community and Ecology Collaborations.
Creator(s)
Patricia Mackinnon-Day
patricia@mackinnon-day.com
Patricia.Mackinnon-Day@ljmu.ac.uk
Liverpool John Moores University
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8096-1981 
Abstract
When Sally Met Sally is a playful, layered narrative that makes the connection between the stonefly and a fictitious young woman named Sally, living in rural Wrexham in 1959, when the Scarce Yellow Sally was discovered in the River Dee, although the stonefly had been known for over a century in other UK rivers, this was a special moment for the local area. The outcome offers the viewer an opportunity to reflect on the beauty and fragility of our natural surroundings.
Contributors: 
The project involved collaboration with:
* Seren Ambrose-Ellis (artist) – performed part of Young Sally in 1959 and delivered community workshops
* Jane Sutcliffe (artist) – performed the part of Sally in 2024 
* Sarah Hawks, ecologist, Buglife – ecology support and guidance 
* Hannah Thomas & Jo Chattell, ecologist, Chester Zoo.  
Context & Significance
Natural Resources Wales will live-stream the film work ‘When Sally Met Sally’ on 28th May 2025. 
Public research presentations
* Community engagement through film work, workshops, performance, oral histories and storytelling
* A focus on Welsh culture, language, and environmental sustainability
Project Notes:
The Scarce Yellow Sally’s invisibility and ecological fragility successfully sparked discussions with different communities about isolation, well-being, and loneliness. The Art Film 'When Sally Met Sally' straddles the line between scientific reports explaining the significance and importance of the stonefly and the story of Sally, a fictitious character, who recalls, as a 22-year-old woman, the discovery of the Scarce Yellow Sally in Bangor-on-Dee in 1959. Young Sally loves nature, she is carefree and happy, and (just like the Scarce Yellow Sally) loves dancing. 
Today’s Sally compares the fragility and invisibility of the Scarce Yellow Sally to the challenges she now faces in old age and finds that being immersed in nature strengthens her physical and mental well-being. 
The interchange between fiction and reality provided an opportunity for creative intervention with the elderly members of the Rainbow Centre community. Workshops included dance performances and film presentations, followed by discussions, as well as painting, drawing, and sharing of memories. These activities were relaxed and conversations flowed about well-being, invisibility, ecology and environmental changes since 1959.  
Keywords
Scarce Yellow Sally, ecology, Chester Zoo, Buglife, Natural Resource Wales, gender, Wales, Welsh language, sustainability, sound art, environmental art, community engagement, interdisciplinary research
Date of Event / Output
28th May 2025
Location
Bangor on Dee, Wales
Format of Outputs
* Digital film and sound recordings
* Photographic documentation of physical installations and events
* Outreach materials
Additional Information
Language
English / Welsh
Usage Rights / Licensing
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Please cite : MacKinnon-Day, Patricia (2025) When Sally Met Sally. [Data Collection] 
Funding Information
[Arts Council Wales, Heritage fund, Natural Resource Wales, Esmee Fairbairn foundation]
Related URLs
https://www.facebook.com/NaturAmByth/posts/-meet-our-eighth-resident-artist-patricia-mackinnon-day-patricias-residency-will/543457828425591/

https://www.facebook.com/rainbowfndn/posts/a-big-thank-you-to-patricia-mackinnon-day-and-seren-who-came-along-to-penley-tod/960129992812716/

Contact
For further information, contact:
Patricia.Mackinnon-Day@ljmu.ac.uk