Passionate about wildlife and equally passionate about accurately interpreting her subjects Wildlife Artist Pollyanna Pickering has dedicated her life to conservation through art.

And now she is honoured to have received the Association of Animal Artists most prestigious award, which was presented at their Annual Gala Dinner last Saturday. The Inaugural Chairman’s Award is presented to the artist who is considered to have most significantly raised the profile of wildlife art in the last twelve months.

Theatre at the Buxton Fringe (July 6-24) is nothing if not ambitious with many performers choosing to address big questions about how we live our lives.

More than 100 pupils at schools across Derby and Derbyshire have graduated from  two-year vocational study programmes at Derby College.

Year 11 pupils from Heanor Gate Science College, Merrill Academy, Allestree Woodlands, Derby Moor Community Sports College,  Alfreton Grange Arts College, Frederick Gent, Murray Park Community, Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar, Friesland, Brookfield Community, Bemrose Community, Netherthorpe,  Tupton Hall, St Martin’s schools, as well as young people who have been educated at home, were presented with certificates to mark the end of their course.

Staff and students at Derby College’s Joseph Wright sixth form campus have raised £667 for charity during their annual Rag Week.

Activities included a fancy dress competition with a superheroes theme, cake sales, henna tattoos, music performances, games and quizzes. The money will be shared between Cancer Research, Children First and the Derby College Student Union (DCSU).

Level three Countryside Management students have created two important habitats for insects and amphibians at Broomfield Hall.

The students have constructed a hibernaculum and an insect log. Both habitats will provide food and shelter over the coming months and will help various species of cold blooded creatures survive harsh winters.

Businesswoman and motivational speaker Melody Hossaini, a former candidate on BBC Television’s ‘The Apprentice’, visited Merrill Academy recently as part of her national Success Tour in partnership with National Citizen Service (NCS) to inspire young people to achieve their goals.

Derby College’s Broomfield Hall has secured a £4,000 grant to further improve the campus grounds and boost its appeal as a visitor attraction. The support from the Stanley Smith (UK) Horticultural Trust will enable the horticulture team at Broomfield to help restore the Victorian gardens to their former glory – buying new plants, shrubs and semi mature trees.

Over 100 artists of all ages and abilities from the local area and UK have entered The Buxton Spa Prize 2016 to paint the town in the open air (en plein air) during May and June. The prize which was successfully launched in 2014 aims to raise the profile of artists and their work and further enhance Buxton’s national reputation as a centre for arts and culture.  

The Jenson Button Trust Triathlon, which won Event of the Year in the recent 220 Triathlon national awards, will return to Derby on Sunday July 17.

The event, which previously took place near Luton, was held at Markeaton Park for the first time in July 2015 when hundreds of competitors took part – cheered on by thousands of spectators in the park and along the cycle route through the city centre.

165 people took part in the Carsington Water Walk to raise money for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust on Sunday the 8th of May. The wonderful weather and the beautiful scenery of Carsington Water provided the perfect backdrop for a spot of fundraising, with the Trust raising over £2550, which will enable them to take more young people, in recovery from cancer, out sailing to rebuild their confidence.