Twelve primary school pupils from across Walsall have been announced as the winners of a borough-wide competition to design banners promoting litter picking and tackling environmental waste. The competition, open to Key Stage 2 pupils, asked children to create artwork for Walsall Council’s Community Litter Watch Facebook page, aiming to raise awareness of litter issues and encourage residents to take pride in their communities. The winning entries will be featured as the page banner image—one each month for the next 12 months—highlighting the importance of community action to keep Walsall clean and green. Winning pupils were invited to a special…

The hunt is on for Wolverhampton’s top sporting talent who will be recognised at an annual awards ceremony. Wolverhampton City Sports Advisory Council is inviting people to nominate individuals, teams, clubs and leagues based in the city for an award. Interested parties should email vicechair.wsac@gmail.com by next Monday 18 August with their details and the name of the award they wish to make a nomination for. The correct nomination form will then be emailed out for completion, including citation. Nomination forms must be returned by Sunday 7 September to the email address found on the nomination form. Shortlisted candidates will…

Depression and anxiety are significant mental health concerns that disproportionately affect women. Biological, social, and psychological factors contribute to this gender disparity. Hormonal fluctuations, such as those associated with menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum periods, and menopause, play a crucial role in women’s mental health. For instance, postpartum depression affects around 10-20% of new mothers, underscoring the link between hormonal changes and depression. Social factors like gender-based violence, discrimination, and the pressures of balancing multiple roles—such as caregiving, career, and societal expectations—can increase women’s vulnerability to anxiety and depression. Women are often expected to fulfill traditional gender roles while also excelling in…

Adults living with obesity who wish to manage their weight can access free support through a new service provided by the City of Wolverhampton Council. Lifestyles service Live Well Wolverhampton offers a free weight management programme for adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30+, or 27.5+ for those of Black African, African Caribbean and Asian origin. To check your BMI, visit NHS. The service provides confidential information, advice, guidance, self-help tools and lifestyle interventions including face-to-face sessions with Slimming World or Gro Health over a period of 12 weeks to enable and maintain positive lifestyle choices. Gro Health…

Three new youth clubs have been launched in Smith’s Wood at a celebration event on Tuesday 17 June. The youth clubs provide new opportunities for young people in the area, and include the Solihull Youth Bus, part of a new mobile youth outreach programme. Jointly funded by Solihull Council and the Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP), the youth clubs aim to provide support and guidance to improve the lives of young people in the area aged 8-17. The youth clubs are run by three local organisations with experience in providing youth support across Solihull, led by Urban Heard and supported by…

With the launch of new air quality webpages and the installation of air quality sensors across the borough, as well as our Engines Off anti-idling campaign with schools, 2025 has been a big year for air quality in Solihull. Council staff hosted an information stall at the Core, taking place to mark Clean Air Day. The annual campaign is focused on raising awareness of the impact of air quality on people’s health and wellbeing. Cllr Mackiewicz said: “We’re working with the West Midlands Combined Authority, Birmingham Airport and many more businesses to play our part in improving air quality across…

Quit with Bella is a free app which has an AI-powered personal stop smoking robo-coach. The coach, Bella, is able to talk in a completely natural way and allows the user to have a human-like conversation. The app supports thousands of people to give up smoking around the world and has already been used across the West Midlands (Birmingham, Dudley and Solihull). Bella uses knowledge from trusted sources, including expert advice and guidance and provides a personalised response to a variety of different situations for users. The app is ready to provide support for up to 12 weeks. Users have…

Walsall Council is pleased to announce the return of the much-loved Arboretum splash pad in time for summer. Starting from Saturday 24 May until Sunday 31 August 2025, the splash pads at Walsall Arboretum will be open daily for everyone to enjoy. On weekends, school holidays and bank holidays, the attraction will be open between 11am to 5pm. On weekdays, outside of school holidays, opening hours are from 11am to 3pm, These times provide preschool children an opportunity to enjoy the splash pad. “ It’s always a fun time of year to reopen our popular Arboretum splash pad for our…

Sandwell Council and Sandwell Children’s Trust are celebrating the launch of Foster Care Fortnight in Sandwell This is when we join a national campaign to raise awareness of the need for foster carers to help us to improve the lives of Sandwell’s most vulnerable children. Over the next two weeks the FosterSandwell team at Sandwell Children’s Trust will be sharing stories from our foster carers, care experienced young people and members of staff about the relationships we have built through fostering. As Councillor Jalal Uddin, Cabinet Member for Children and Families for Sandwell Council reflects; “The theme of this year’s…

Struggling to relax and fall asleep is nothing new and is an extremely common experience. Lack of sleep and disturbance to a regular pattern can cause stress and anxiety, so with many struggling with this nightly problem, it is comforting to know there are ways in which you can reduce these anxious feelings. Not only could CBD support healthy wake and sleep cycles, but introducing CBD into your daily routines could help reduce stress and anxiety considerably due to the substance activating serotonin receptors in the brain, alleviating anxiety and initiating relaxation. Studies like the Cannabidiol in Anxiety…