Winning Lego brick designs reveal Walsall’s hidden history
Amphibian and reptile conservation charity, Froglife, announces their winning Lego brick design and crown the ultimate Layer of Time Display. The displays are made up of individual Lego brick designs made by local people through free workshops with Froglife and activity leaders Bricks McGee.
Community judges awarded a spectacular 3D lizard from the Triassic period, crafted by a local young person, as the winning individual Lego brick design. They also crowned the Present-Day display as the Ultimate Layer of Time, for its variety of creative designs and how well they work together to reflect modern Walsall. The judges included Richard McVittie from Walsall Healthy Spaces, Kathy Wormald Froglife’s CEO, ladies representing the Aaina Hub, Darren Male an environmental consultant and Lego brick enthusiast, and a local young person Alistair with his mum Dav.
“I was delighted to be chosen to help judge the entries for the Froglife Lego brick competition where the young people of Walsall and the surrounding area were challenged to build models of the animals and habitats that were experienced in the five epochs of time. The quality and imagination of the builds was excellent, and it was hard to choose a winner. It was great to see what Froglife is doing to promote amphibians in the area, and particularly the local prehistoric history, I worked in and around Walsall for many years and didn’t realise it had such strong links.” shared Darran Male.
The Layers of Time Displays form part of Froglife’s, “Coalface to Wildspace, Midlands” project which was made possible through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to the National Lottery Players. This 3-year project aims to improve local neighbourhoods for wildlife by building habitats and encouraging people to learn about and appreciate native wildlife.
Over 500 people of all ages took part in workshops in August 2023 at Walsall Arboretum, The Crossing at St Pauls, Walsall Leather Museum and Walsall New Art gallery. Their designs were inspired by the hidden history of Walsall shown through the specially designed 3D short film Frogglebox.
“It’s a fantastic project, combining learning, creativity, and awareness raising of amphibians and reptile conservation. The enthusiasm of participants is great, and I think it is fabulous that some of the work created by the people involved is being displayed and shared with the public. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the supportive staff and all the participants.” says Mim from Bricks McGee.
The designs were brought together and transformed into 5 Layers of Time displays by local artists, Infamous Arts, to create a colourful exploration of Walsall’s prehistoric past. They showcase Walsall’s hidden history from the Silurian, Carboniferous, Triassic, Quaternary to the Present Day. Froglife hopes that they will increase awareness of Walsall’s past and how it connects to the wildlife and people of today.
The displays have been on tour around Walsall and were recently on show at Lichfield Street Hub Library, Darlaston Community Library, Willenhall Community Library, Streetly Community Library and Aldridge Community Library. They can now be seen in the Walsall Arboretum visitor centre.
“The display has proved interesting with members of the public with many unaware of the history of the area. The Lego bricks are eye-catching and draw people to the display.” says Beth Chadd, the Library Work and Skills Manager.
