Proud of my City! Bringing communities together

Talent acts from Spon End lined up recently to show they can match anything the national TV show can put on.

The Talent Show was organised by the Spon End Stakeholders group and was funded through the Council’s Neighbourhood Action Team, Whitefriars, West Midlands Police, Spon End and Chapelfields Community Forum and The Rose Community Centre.

It was held at Coventry Rugby Club at The Butts on Saturday (24 March) from 5.30pm to 9pm and featured about a dozen acts, ranging from an acrobatic magician to a gospel choir.

The Show was won by Yasmin Awome, 2^nd was Kelsey Gamble and 3^rd was Rebecca Scarlett from the local Gospel Choir, ‘Soulful’.

Bethel Church was also involved in lending equipment and staff, and there was also help with staffing from the Council’s Neighbourhood Warden team for Spon End.

Dave Evans, Community Connections Officer (Spon End), said: “Everyone came together to deliver this event, from regular meetings to knocking on every door in the Spon End area to recruit acts. It was a great example of joined up working in practice.

 ”The purpose of the event was to encourage community cohesion through gathering everyone together to celebrate each other’s talents and appreciating other cultures, styles and the diversity of the community within Spon End.”

 The winners received small prizes in the form of gift vouchers and now go on to perform on one of the stages at this year’s Godiva Festival.

Local people in Coundon have come together to form ‘Lake View Park Group’ and work with the Council to help this park  reach it’s potential for Proud of my City. They held their first volunteer task on Sunday 11th of March and Monday 12th of March. More than 50 local people attended on the Sunday and another 12 on the Monday and they were supported by staff from Coventry City Council’s Parks Service as well as local councillors and police officers. People of all ages came to lend a hand and they managed to remove several van loads of rubbish, as well as opening up pathways to make the park safer for everyone.

Corinne Muir, Park Ranger said “I was amazed by the level of support from local people. I hope we can continue the good work in April”

“There is an area of disused allotments which has become a nature reserve at the back of the park, it has become a haven for wildlife and dog walkers, unfortunately the area was need of some tender loving care. Other areas of the park also needed a spring clean.”

For more information please call Corinne Muir, Park Ranger 02476 833372 or e-mail corinne.muir@coventry.gov.uk

20 bird and bat boxes built by Year 5 and 6 pupils fromCharterPrimary SchoolandFriends of Canley Green Spaces have recently been installed in Ten Shilling Woods.

The boxes were built by pupils from Year 5 and 6 and the Friends group over a number of weeks and will help attract wildlife into the woods and provide a safe haven for birds and bats.

Cllr  Linda Bigham, Cabinet Member, City Development said, “The children have made a really fantastic effort in helping the Friends of Canley Green Spaces make these bird and bat boxes. And it’s a great example of what can be done when communities come together to help look after their neighbourhoods. This project is very much in the spirit of the Proud of my City campaign, which is seeing the people of Coventry get involved in preparing the city to co-host the London 2012 games”

With the help and co-operation of “The Woodland Trust” and Coventry City Councils “Streetscene & Greenspace” team, Friends of Caludon Castle Park recently planted free tree whips (Young Trees) from the Woodland Trust to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The Friends group received a free 105 tree pack. Over 1,000 registrations were received for community packs this autumn and as a result, more than 200,000 free trees will be planted.

Event organiser Gary Haigh said “Tree planting is a fantastic and fun way for us to do something lasting in our local area. We hope our trees will help attract wildlife and make a real difference to everyone who will see them. It’s incredible to think that in just 5 years, our trees will be as tall as us.

Our group would also like to thank the Council’s “Streetscene & Greenspace” for their help and support with tools for this project and also the large number of tree whips that they have supplied in addition to those from the Woodland Trust”.

Victoria Hodson from the Woodland Trust added: “We are delighted that the Friends of Caludon Castle Park are using our free tree scheme to plant more trees within the park. Communities are transforming their neighbourhoods, growing their own fruits and food, creating shade and shelter, and providing new homes for wildlife. We are also delighted that local School children will be helping.

Overall Winner: Bridge of Signs - Arthur Haynes

The amazing watercolour donated by artist George Shaw to get Coventry Creating has been won by local artist Arthur Haynes.

His work, Bridge of Signs, stood out because of its resonance and obvious inspiration from Shaw. It depicts a bridge connecting the outskirts of Coventry to the City Centre. Its stunning imagery shows the beauty in the bridge’s graffiti and neglect whilst lamenting about the passing of time and changes in life.

About creating the piece Haynes said “Going back recently was strange having not been there in such a long time. The ever-present spires of Coventry have been joined by the Ikea store amongst other buildings. I hope the bridge, my bridge, has created as much opportunity for another small boy as it did for me”.

Turner Prize nominated artist George Shaw gave the Herbert one of his watercolours in order to inspire creativity within his home city. He said “The works created for this competition have been beautiful, unusual, inspiring and, more importantly, personal. Each piece has said something new about Coventry as seen through the eyes of the artist”.

The competition was created to help local residents participate in the arts and explore and celebrate their local landscape in conjunction with the generous donation by artist George Shaw. 

In total there were over 134 entrants who participated in the challenge to get creative by making and writing about their favourite Coventry Landscape. They can be seen at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theherbert/sets/72157629116946754/

The competition was run to compliment the FREE George Shaw: I woz ere exhibition that continues until 11 March 2012.