Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce have launched a new ‘Mayoral toolkit’ – providing businesses with guidance and resources for engaging their workforce with the West Midlands Mayor election.

‘West Midlands Mayor: Your Toolkit’ contains easy to use content, images, posters and ideas for how businesses can raise awareness of the election among their staff. It also includes a simple Q&A on common questions about the West Midlands Mayor.

The toolkit is non-partisan and is aimed at raising awareness and encouraging people to vote in this important election, which takes place on Thursday 4 May. The toolkit can be found here.

Paul Faulkner, chief executive of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce said: “The West Midlands Mayor will be a high-profile voice that will shout loudly for the region on a local, national and international level.

“However, for them to be effective, local citizens need to know this election is taking place and have their say on who best represents them by actually turning out to vote.

“The Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce has nearly 2,700 members employing over 175,000 people. We want to play our part in spreading the word about this crucial election.

“Many of the steps suggested in this toolkit are really simple but effective: for instance, sending calendar invitations to all employees to remind them to register to vote and take part on the day.

“I would urge everyone reading this article to take up this call to action and become a champion for raising awareness of this election among your colleagues. Take a look, download the toolkit today and take part.”

Blenheim Palace has been voted Attraction of the Year by the leading UK travel trade association.

The Oxfordshire stately home, which celebrates its 30th anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site this year, was awarded the title by UKinbound, which represents 370 of the country's tourism businesses.

The awards ceremony took place during the association's 40th anniversary Annual Convention at the Plymouth Guildhall.

The winners were chosen by an independent panel of industry experts consisting of David Cianfarani, former chairman of UKinbound, Michael Hirst, chairman of the Business Visits and Events Partnership, and Terri Scriven, head of travel at Google.

“It's a great honour to have been presented with this award by an association which represents the UK's leading tourism businesses,” said Blenheim Palace's Chief Executive Dominic Hare.

“The overseas tourism sector is a rapidly growing and developing market and we recognise its importance, not just to us but more importantly to the economy of both our local area and of the UK as a whole.

“We believe there are still many untapped markets beyond our shores and we will be working with other tourism groups and the government to try and ensure we are able to welcome them,” he added.

UKinbound is one of the leading trade associations and the only one which focuses solely on the interests of the UK's inbound tourism sector.

Deirdre Wells OBE, CEO UKinbound, commented: “Our awards recognise the ongoing commitment and contribution of our members to the UK inbound tourism sector.

“In spite of the challenges faced in 2016, our members continue to excel in every field of the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, and we are delighted to acknowledge a number of their outstanding performances.”

Built in the early 18th century to celebrate Britain's victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession, Blenheim Palace is the ancestral home of the Dukes of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

Severn Trent has launched a new volunteering programme for all its employees which aims to make a real difference to the communities in which it operates.

The Community Champions project aims to clean up to 40 kilometres of rivers in the Severn Trent region, which stretches across the Midlands and into mid-Wales.

Working alongside its partner charities, The Canals & River Trust, Waterside Care, the Severn Rivers Trust and the Trent Rivers Trust volunteers have already been out and about cutting back vegetation and helping clear debris from rivers.

Paul Evans, community communications lead, says: “Employees are given two annual volunteering days of their choice to help out in their local communities, with more than 800 people signing up in the first month, meaning we can send teams out where they’re really needed.

“Our people are clearly passionate about volunteering and supporting local communities. Not only does this programme allow our employees to do this, but it’s also key to building great relationships with key partners and delivering very real environmental and business benefits.”

This month saw Severn Trent, which is currently carrying out a £60 million waste and water improvement scheme in Newark, team up with BNMAlliance to clear a stretch of the River Trent in the town.

Wayne Ball, volunteer development coordinator for the Canal and River Trust, said: “The volunteers did a fantastic job and we’re really grateful for all their hard work. As a charity, the support they’ve given us is invaluable and really helps in our efforts to make the river a more attractive, welcoming place for the local community.”

In addition to the general maintenance work, the Community Champions will be helping with tasks such as water quality testing, invertebrate surveys, and vegetation management and erosion control.

As well as the new programme, Severn Trent also supports WaterAid and Comic Relief. This year, volunteers from the company took donation calls for Red Nose Day helping raise record breaking amounts for the charity.

Less than twenty-four hours after celebrating its inaugural Birmingham-Vienna service, German low-cost carrier Eurowings, has announced it will launch another new route from Birmingham to Salzburg in December.

Already operating Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Vienna, the new Salzburg flight will operate twice weekly from the 9^th December, catering for the ski community and city breakers.

All services are planned with an A320 aircraft configured to 174 seats.William Pearson, Aviation Director for Birmingham Airport, said, “It’s fantastic to see Eurowings expanding its list of routes from Birmingham Airport so rapidly.

Eurowings is headquartered in Cologne and serves a network of domestic and European destinations as well as some long-haul routes.

Ivan Orec, Manager Network Development & Airport Relations for Eurowings said: “We are pleased to add a new Salzburg route to our Birmingham schedule, which will operate twice weekly, every Wednesday and Saturday, starting from the beginning of December.

“We are also looking forward to bringing more ski passengers to Salzburg and offer them free of charge transport of their ski equipment.”

Ready, steady ...grow! Gardeners and would-be gardeners are being invited to kick-start their gardening year with fun green-fingered gardening activities at the Big Dig Food Growing Event (on national Big Dig Day), at Martineau Gardens on Saturday 22 April, from 2pm – 4pm. The Community Garden in Edgbaston, Birmingham  is hosting the free event to encourage people to grow their own food, no matter how big or small their grow space is or how much or how little experience they have.

Caroline Hutton, Director of Martineau Gardens, explains why the charity is hosting the event: “We want to inspire people to make a move towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Growing your own food is a step in the right direction. It’s great fun, low cost and you get to eat delicious food.”

Martineau Gardens, just two miles from Birmingham city centre, is a green oasis teeming with wildlife and is looked after by volunteers, many of whom have mental health issues and learning disabilities. Hundreds of school children visit the Gardens to learn about science and environmental issues. Every year Birmingham people visit the gardens to explore its woodland, glass houses, formal garden, orchard, demonstration food growing areas, wildflower meadow, pond and wildlife area with SLINC status.

To celebrate the return of the Natural History Museum’s 52nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition Wolverhampton Art Gallery has launched a competition to find the city’s best wildlife shots.

Talented photographers and filmmakers can now enter their work - and the winners will see their images and footage on the Lichfield Street gallery walls as part of a series of events to celebrate the exhibition.

Last year Wolverhampton Art Gallery hosted the touring show, which attracted thousands of visitors keen to see some of the most incredible images of the natural world’s most astonishing sights.

The critically acclaimed 52nd exhibition, featuring awe-inspiring images of fascinating animal behaviour and breathtaking landscapes, runs from July 15 to October 8 in the City of Wolverhampton.

Councillor John Reynolds, City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “The exhibition attracted a great response last year and we are really looking forward to seeing the Natural History Museum’s 52nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

“To celebrate it we are on the hunt for talented, homegrown City of Wolverhampton photographers of all ages to submit their best wildlife images or short films taken in and around the city. So, get snapping and send us your images and footage.”

Photographers or film-makers entering the competition must have a WV postcode and are encouraged to capture wildlife photos in and around the City of Wolverhampton.

Winners will be announced at the official launch of the exhibition on Saturday, July 22, and prizes include afternoon tea at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and free entrance to the Natural History Museum’s 52nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

The competition is open to anyone living, working or studying in a WV postcode.

Photography entrants must be aged five and above and will be split into three categories 5 to 11, 12 to 18, and over 18s. A winner will be picked from each category.

Film entrants must be aged five and above – and there will be one winner selected.

All images and film must be the work of the person submitting them, must not have been published anywhere else, and be available until the close of the exhibition.