New frog statue in Walsall park carries important environmental message

The new statue, depicting a frog leaping from the marshes, was unveiled at Reedswood Park in the Birchills area of the town on Friday by the deputy mayor of Walsall, Councillor Louise Harrison.

It's the latest creation by artist Luke Perry and comes after he was approached by a charity called Frog Life, which works to promote amphibians and wildlife spaces across the UK The charity asked him if he could do something to promote amphibious life in urban areas.

He said the idea for the sculpture had come from trying to make something exciting and dynamic.

He said: "They did some work within the community to work out what it was that people would like to see, given the brief of trying to promote amphibious lives within the urban areas and it was, specifically, the common frog.

"I thought about it and frogs, as an entity, are a bit of a lump when they're sitting down, so you really want some dynamism and you want something exciting to be happening with that as a sculpture.

"I thought it would be best to have the frog jumping as that catches the eye better and, with it being a mid-air sculpture, I looked at the idea of all the local wildflowers that would be around an area where frogs would live."

Mr Perry said he had chosen Reedswood Park due to it being an underused area of land and said he hoped it would bring more attention to an area of land he felt needed protecting.

He said: "I think it's a bit ambitious to say that we're hoping to save the world or change people's attitudes completely towards wildlife, but there are regular encroachments onto the land of these tiny creatures.

"I hope this can, at least, draw attention to the fact there is life in these spaces and that people should protect them."