Community News

The Woodland Trust has delivered a major boost for communities across the region by providing nearly £300,000 to ramp up tree planting and help the West Midland Combined Authority (WMCA) tackle climate change.

The funding will be used by the WMCA to establish the West Midlands Forest Partnership which will help partners reach their tree planting targets by identifying ways to coordinate different projects and programmes and complete the largest I-Tree Eco study in the UK.

Iain Holloway and his family made the surprise discovery when they were unpacking their food shopping after a delivery at their home in Tamworth, Staffordshire. The tiny 1.5-inch (3.8cm) amphibian, who is now in the care of the RSPCA, was in good condition, despite being inside the bag of bananas which would have been wrapped up for some time.

People in Wolverhampton are being encouraged to join the Race Against Hate at West Park next Sunday (16 October 2022).

The 5km race, equivalent to three laps of the park, marks the culmination of this year's Hate Crime Awareness Week and is open to individuals, families and teams, or all ages and abilities. People can run, jog or walk.

Researchers at the University of Wolverhampton are working in collaboration with Birmingham Children’s Trust to improve the lives of families affected by domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is a significant and widespread national issue which has a profound and long-lasting impact on victims, their children, wider family, communities, and society.

Island Records, the iconic music company, whose record releases made global stars of the likes of Bob Marley & The Wailers, U2, Steve Winwood, Robert Palmer, Grace Jones, Angelique Kidjo and Baaba Maal, and launched the careers of British black music acts such as Millie, Aswad, Steel Pulse and Hi-Tension, is to have its last building as an independent company – 22 St Peter's Square in Hammersmith, west London, affixed with a Nubian Jak blue plaque on Saturday

A document providing a vision and principles to protect and enhance the environment as well as inform future investment of the area around Edgbaston Reservoir is set for approval on October 11. The Edgbaston Reservoir Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was drawn up after the Birmingham Development Plan (BDP), which was itself adopted in 2017, identified Greater Icknield as an area for growth  with the reservoir specifically described as one of the city's most significant areas of open space.

An adrenaline seeking bride and groom enjoyed their dream wedding this week by tying the knot at one of the UK’s favourite theme parks, Fantasy Island.

Self-confessed thrill-seekers Leanne Smith, 33 from Derby, and Lee Churchill, 39 also from Derby, enjoyed the b-ride of their lives on September 27th, as the pair committed their vows to each other at Fantasy Island theme park, Lincolnshire. The newlyweds are huge fans of the Skegness theme park, visiting regularly and enjoying all the thrills on offer from the site’s 30-plus attractions.

From Monday 10th October 2022, every household in the UK is invited to access a free 45-minute workshop dedicated to showing  households how to cut their annual energy costs, courtesy of Utilita Energy.

The free-to-attend ‘Bill Buster’ sessions will be delivered by Utilita Energy - the UK’s only energy supplier created to help households use less energy.

The Royal College of Anaesthetists welcomes Black History Month as an opportunity to celebrate the huge contribution of Black anaesthetists and other healthcare workers to the NHS throughout its 74-year history. 

They value the rich diversity of their membership and recognise that Black healthcare workers are a fundamental part of their specialty, their College and their community.

NESCAFÉ, Nestlé's largest coffee brand and one of the world's favorite coffees, outlined today its extensive plan to help make coffee farming more sustainable: the NESCAFÉ Plan 2030. The brand is working with coffee farmers to help them transition to regenerative agriculture while accelerating its decade of work under the NESCAFÉ Plan.

A far-reaching blueprint setting out what is needed to level up the region was launched by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham. The ‘Levelling Up Growth Prospectus’ aims to fire up the regional economy by driving forward a new, green industrial revolution while attracting major private sector investment.

Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator, an activist for civil rights and women’s rights, a college president and an adviser to U.S. presidents. Recently, a statue of her was unveiled in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

She was born in Mayesville, South Carolina, a decade after the Civil War ended. Her parents had been enslaved.

Every dog owner knows it, autumn and winter are the seasons we dread most when taking our pups out for a walk – and it’s not just getting stuck in the rain and wind we don’t like, but getting covered head to toe in mud!

In fact, new research by personalised pet brand Yappy.com has revealed that two thirds of us don't like our dogs getting muddy on walks and many of us will even choose a mud-free path to avoid our dogs getting dirty.

West Midlands bus fares are to be frozen at current levels until 2025 under a new plan agreed with operators to assist new and existing passengers with the cost of living - saving the average commuter £250 a year.

This means that people will be able to hop on and off the region’s buses all day for the same price they would have paid in 2013 – currently £4.20 for a multi-operator day ticket.

Global climate action NGO WRAP has produced a report for the G7 in support of the seismic shift in international strategies tackling greenhouse gas emissions expected to take place soon, and to help address the massive volume of greenhouse gases linked to ‘consumption’ currently passing unchecked into the atmosphere every year.

The National Pensioners’ Annual Convention heard calls for all four UK nations to have Older People’s Commissioners as more are plunged into poverty.

The NPC’s first public conference since before Covid (yesterday, 21 Sept) was expert given evidence of how our oldest and most vulnerable are facing increasing hardship in the face of soaring prices and growing ageism.