主播大秀

As part of the 主播大秀 Springwatch campaign in the West Midlands, Thimblemill Brook has been getting a makeover by a SWAT team - which has brought together Sandwell Council, the Friends of Thimblemill Brook and Sandwell Valley Country Park alongside 主播大秀 WM.

Creating art from natural items

Springwatch Festival

Phase 1 of the work was finished by Sunday 8th June, and to mark this stage a huge celebration in the form of a Springwatch Festival was held at the Thimblemill Recreation and Entertainment Centre.

A fun day out

There was a host of wildlife and conservation groups, as well as a funfair, bouncy castle, face painting and loads of entertainment for the kids such as pond dipping, making bird boxes, crafts etc.

The fact that it was such a gorgeous day really added to the event, and everyone got into the Springwatch spirit.

Making a bird box

In the Night Garden Storytelling

For young children there were free storytelling sessions from the hugely popular "In the Night Garden", held in the Lilliput Lodge Children's Day Nursery.

Broadcasting on radio & TV

主播大秀 WM's Carl Chinn broadcasted live from the event and the main Springwatch TV programme was filming at the brook throughout the weekend. This programme will be shown on 主播大秀-2 on 18th June.

The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress

Making the place tidy!

The main reason for the festival was to celebrate the work carried out at Thimblemill Brook.

Giant litter-picks have been taking place over the last few weeks (as well as a lot of heavy duty work).

The final litter pick before the Springwatch Festival took place on Saturday 7th June. Everyone worked really hard, and did a fantastic job at making the site look so good.

Mike Dilger from the Springwatch

Thimblemill Brook

Thimblemill Brook is a Site of Local Interest for Nature Conservation (a SLINC) that runs through a large housing estate in Smethwick.

Sandwell Council, the Friends of Thimblemill Brook and Sandwell Valley Country Park joined forces with 主播大秀 WM to give it a clean-up, remove litter including domestic appliances and cut back overgrown vegetation. Basically making it a nicer place for nature and for the people that live nearby.

Phase one is now complete, but the work doesn't stop here. For more details about the project see the Friends of Thimblemill Brook website.

(Many thanks to Peter Webb, Friends of Thimblemill Brook, for providing many of the makeover photographs, using the Friends of Thimblemill Brook camera).