Tile Depot donation engages youngsters in Oasis Hub community garden project

Young members of the community along with staff of The Oasis Hub Enfield have designed and installed a number of mosaic murals in the Hub’s new community garden, with tiles donated by Tile Depot - the UK’s largest independent tile, wood and stone retailer.

A number of young people aged between 12 and 16 as well as Mum’s with children as young as three attended sessions over the summer holidays and during the October half term to design and create the mosaic murals, which have been installed in raised beds for use as a pathway around the garden.

With a branch at Clock Parade on the London Road in Enfield, Tile Depot was ideally located to supply the tiles for the mosaic murals, many of which have been designed by the youngsters to represent the inclusive values of The Oasis Hub.

Oasis Academy Enfield, sponsored by Oasis Community Learning, opened in 2007 with the vision to create both an outstanding school and a community hub and now represents two Academies, a Children’s Centre, Youth & Community Team, Children’s and Family Team and a Church, providing access for both the students and the community to facilities such as adult learning programmes, fitness suites, sports courts and out of hours youth activities. By linking all these activities together, the ‘Oasis Hub’ is able to engage with whole families and to share resources and information for a strong presence in the local community.

The Hub’s youth team works in partnership with local organisations to provide quality care for the community and its youth via a number of youth centres, drop-in clubs and workshops along with a varied programme of school holiday activities, working to transform individuals and communities by promoting inclusion and aiming to allow every developing, maturing young person to achieve their full potential.  

The recently launched community garden is on site at the Academy on the Innova Business Park, around a 15 minute walk from the Tile Depot store, and funding has since been secured to enable direct access rather than the current arrangement of access via the Academy, so families can drop in to use the garden whenever they want.

Kat Simmonds, Youth and Community Team Manager at the Academy, said: “The garden is a large space with social areas and engaging families and young people in the process of the murals’ design and creation has really helped to build a sense of its ownership by the community.”

Matt Barber, Youth Development Worker leading the project, added: “The young people thoroughly enjoyed creating the mosaics; they had lots of fun getting creative over the designs that they would make and learning a new skill. We’re very grateful to Tile Depot – their donation was instrumental in getting the project off the ground and it’s been a roaring success. The garden looks fantastic – it’s brighter, more meaningful and is an enlightening place to be.” 

Tarik, one of the teenagers who attended the sessions, encouraged many of the younger children to become involved and helped them out with their creations and Alethea, also in the photographs, grasped the concept straight away and was inspirational for some of the others – one of Alethea’s designs is of a tree with the sun, representing hope and strength.

Kat continued: “During the unrest back in August, we had two windows smashed and the fire at the Sony warehouse was literally just over the road. We’re extremely proud that a trio of our teenagers featured on a BBC Radio 4 programme on the subject of rioting and looting and most, if not all of our young people avoided being involved. As a result of the trouble though, we have increased our detached youth work sessions in the community.”

Tile Depot is thrilled to have supported the Oasis Hub and the community via the project. The Enfield store opened in June 2011 and occupies a prominent position just outside the town centre, on the London Road opposite the Texaco petrol station.

Tile Depot offers a massive choice of the latest wall and floor tiles in ceramic, porcelain and natural stone to suit all tastes, from budget ranges to designer collections and features inspirational room-like displays throughout to help customers visualise their finished rooms, demonstrating what can be achieved by using combinations of tiles in different sizes and colours with mosaics, borders, trims and decorative tiles for various effects.

The whole shopping experience is easy at Tile Depot with professional staff to offer expert advice, the retailers’ useful ‘Loan a Tile’ and ‘Buy Back Unused Tiles’ services as well as its Price Promise, which ensures the very best value to its customers at all times.

There are now 18 Tile Depot stores throughout London and the south east, all open seven days a week, from 8am till 6pm on weekdays.

For more information on The Oasis Hub’s youth work, visit http://www.oasisacademyenfield.org/community/youth-work/. To check out the latest tile ranges or for further information, pop into the Tile Depot store at Clock Parade, call the store on 0208 363 4400 or visit www.thetiledepot.co.uk.

Tile House
Banbury Avenue
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Tel: 08000 740 720
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Email: info@thetiledepot.co.uk

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