Community News

A major campaign which aims to help adults stay connected to nature post-pandemic and promote a love of life-long learning has been launched by a leading environmental education charity in Worcestershire. The Field Studies Council (FSC), which operates its FSC Bishops Wood field centre from Crossway Green near Stourport-on-Severn, has compiled an exciting programme of new introductory nature and biodiversity-related courses which will be delivered through a mix of online learning and unique place-based experiences.

A leading youth charity is appealing to people to give the gift of adventure to school children in the West Midlands this Christmas and help it ensure than no child misses out on a residential school trip. With the gap between rich and poor widening and more families falling into poverty, more children than ever are missing out because their parents cannot afford a school trip.

YHA (England & Wales) now wants to raise £50,000 in order to provide 600 children who can’t afford to take part in a residential school trip, with a fully-funded two night residential that includes outdoor activities and meals.

Thirteen-year-old Olivia Rudge, from Cradley Heath in the West Midlands, has been awarded ‘Young Person of the Year’ at the 2021 Sense Awards, which celebrate the achievements of people with complex disabilities.

Olivia, who is non-verbal and has multiple disabilities, is recognised for overcoming significant challenges since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Victims of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) who have been forcibly displaced have been let down by British authorities and face further abuse and trauma once in the UK says an exclusive report by researchers at the University of Birmingham.

Over the past three years, the Sexual and Gender Based Violence against Refugees from Displacement to Arrival (SEREDA) research team led by the University of Birmingham's Professor Jenny Phillimore, has conducted extensive research to understand the nature and incidence of SGBV experienced by refugees who have fled conflict to seek safety in the UK.

HeadStart Wolverhampton staff have been awarded accreditation from the PSHE Association for developing a teaching resource designed to support wellbeing in children. The team from the City of Wolverhampton Council created the Wellbeing Tooklit for schools to use with Upper Key Stage 2 pupils.

Duncan Barrett, HeadStart Wolverhampton Mental Health and Wellbeing Navigator, developed the programme and said: “To gain recognition from the PSHE Association is an enormous achievement.

The speed limit on Wolverhampton’s Ring Road will be permanently set at 30mph after just three objections to the idea were received during a recent public consultation. City of Wolverhampton Council invited comments on a proposal to make permanent the existing trial speed limit reduction from 40mph to 30mph during a consultation which ended on November 12. 

Haringey residents are being called on to put their stamp on plans for the future of the borough.

This week sees the launch of Haringey Together We Can, an ambitious consultation project that will give residents unprecedented opportunities to share their vision for Haringey as we move forward from the pandemic.

Christmas is coming, and it’s pink! Each year, after a period of hibernation, Lush’s most popular Snow Fairy Christmas range emerges.

Following the success in 2020, Lush has announced they will be bringing back a sweet treat to local high streets and shopping centres as they reveal destinations for Lush’s Snow Fairy pop-up.

The scheme meant to compensate members of the Windrush generation wrongly classed as illegal immigrants has compounded the injustice, MPs say.

Four years after the scandal first emerged, the vast majority of people who applied for compensation have yet to receive a penny, a report by the Home Affairs Committee concluded. The inquiry found "a litany of flaws" in the scheme's design and operation.

A £30.9million redevelopment of the new Perry Barr railway station has reached new heights with the installation of the roof. Work on the significant scheme is rapidly progressing as the roof has now been added to the station. Redevelopment of the site is being led by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the new station is scheduled to open next Spring, ready for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

A popular and much-loved Birmingham councillor has died suddenly, aged 43.

The devastated family of Penny Holbrook, a lifelong Labour stalwart who represented Stockland Green in Erdington, confirmed their tragic loss, whose unexpected death has stunned fellow politicians and community leaders who she represented and supported through nearly two decades of public service, and a lifetime fighting to protect the most vulnerable.

People are being asked to have their say on a draft strategy which sets out the City of Wolverhampton Council’s vision to be an effective and trustworthy 'corporate parent'. The Corporate Parenting Strategy 2022-2025 outlines the key steps the council will take to ensure that children and young people in its care have the best possible outcomes in life.

The only Midlands based cryotherapy clinic, Active Clinic - based on Birmingham’s Hagley Road - recently celebrated 5 successful years of business with a lavish party which included VIP guests, celebrities and sports stars such as, Lord Mayor of Birmingham Councillor Muhammad Afzal, Love Island’s Idris Virgo, BBC Radio Presenter/Actor Noreen Khan, BBC Radio London duo Sunny & Shay, Brummie Take Me Out TV Personality Kirsty Lo, former kickboxing world champion Wayne Turner and international female rugby star Heather Fisher.

77% of plants found in the UK’s city gardens originated overseas according to a forthcoming major study by Professor Jane Memmott, Professor of Ecology at Bristol University and President of the British Ecological Society, and colleagues.

Taking this remarkable statistic as inspiration, Trigger Collective has created the major cultural event and installation PoliNations, which has been commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, as a way to reflect on the UK’s complex histories surrounding migration and diversity whilst celebrating our differences, our roots, and our future, and emphasising the importance of access to green spaces and a healthy planet for all.

As part of our #WipeOutDiscrimination campaign – which aims to raise awareness about what prejudice looks like so we can work together to wipe it out of Haringey, the Mayor of Haringey, Councillor Adam Jogee, has shared his story about the challenges he’s faced as a black 29-year-old Muslim man.

Since being first elected to the council in 2014, Cllr Jogee has experienced both racism and Islamophobia, as he recalls being called a ‘monkey’ and ‘Jihadi Jogee’ because of his race, and religion.

With dog ownership skyrocketing over the past 18 months, the impact of lockdown on puppy buying may be even more widespread than expected, with certain ‘rare’ breeds seeing their numbers increase during the height of the pandemic in the West Midlands.       

New data released ahead of Discover Dogs by dog welfare organisation, The Kennel Club, shows that, since the start of the pandemic, there has been a rise both regionally and nationally in the popularity of more unusual breeds, suggesting that puppy buyers were using the time spent at home to research more unknown breeds that would best suit their lifestyle.