Walsall wildlife celebrated with new interactive sculptures

They form part of Froglife’s, “Coalface to Wildspace, Midlands” project which was made possible through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery players. This 3-year project aims to improve local neighbourhoods for wildlife by building community habitats and encouraging people to learn about and appreciate native wildlife. Additional funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Westham House Fund was also invaluable for the creation of these sculptures.

The sculptures have been installed at Walsall Arboretum, Caldmore Community Garden, Park Lime Pits, Palfrey Park, Pelsall North Common, Pleck Park, Reedswood Park, and Swannies Field.

The Coalface to Wildspace project at large, and the Speaking Sculptures specifically, aims to encourage local people to get out into the wonderful parks and natural spaces around Walsall, whilst celebrating their connection to nature. Getting out into nature is known to have a range of physical, mental and emotional benefits, including improved mood, increased physical fitness and greater overall life satisfaction.

Coalface to Wildspace Project Manager, Christina says “These sculptures are designed and made by local people so there is a real sense of ownership. We hope that the sculptures will not only serve as a celebration of nature for people to enjoy but also encourage people to go out and use greenspaces they haven’t been to before.”

Sharon Hammonds from the Stan Ball Centre shares that “Individuals [who took part] are proud of the structure created and are happy they can take family and friends to see it.”

Over 400 community members attended 32 free art workshops with artist duo, the Juneau Projects, during Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024. Participants included students from St Giles C of E primary School, volunteers from Goscote Greenacres Community Garden, service users from the Stan Ball Centre, community members at The Mindkind Project, residents of Walsall Housing Groups Austin House, members of Aaina Community Hub, language learners from Simple Steps CIC, and the women’s group at Caldmore Community Garden.

“It’s so rare that local people have the opportunity to create art for their own local green spaces, so I am delighted that over 400 people have worked with Froglife to create such fantastic sculptures in Walsall parks. As well as looking unique, they are a wonderful way of celebrating local wildlife, particularly reptiles and amphibians.” Kathy Wormald, Froglife CEO.

Participants learnt about their local environment and created designs inspired by native wildlife species. They recorded their nature memories and combined them with their favourite wildlife sounds to form innovative soundscapes, which aim to start a conversation around the importance of Walsall’s wildlife and conserving nature for everyone’s benefit. These can be accessed through QR codes on the sculptures or through froglife.org/speaking-sculptures/. A habitat pile and a bird box made by the Caldmore Community’s Gardens’ Men’s Shed on each sculpture ensure that they help wildlife as well as people.

“We greatly enjoyed working with Froglife to help create the Speaking Sculptures. Seeing the world of amphibians, reptiles and local wildlife through the eyes of the participants has given us a greater appreciation of them. It has been very rewarding to see the enthusiasm of the participants for creating artworks based on this theme and we hope they are as proud of the sculptures as we are” say Ben and Phil of the Juneau Projects.

By Elsbeth Leighton – Contributor