Jack Dromey MP visits Prince’s Trust team working on community project
Erdington MP, Jack Dromey visited Prince’s Trust Team 124 as they worked on transforming an overgrown garden into a community space at Oasis Academy in Short Heath.
As part of the restoration of Oasis Academy’s garden, 10 team members had to cut away areas of overgrown bamboo, place paving slabs and create two large allotment areas for both schoolchildren and the local community to use.
Jack Dromey MP said, “The work that programmes like this offer is absolutely critical in helping young people rebuild themselves and assisting them onto the first rung of the ladder in life.
“After speaking to the team members today, it is clear to see they are hugely aspirational and it shows the degree of positive mentality that they have been given by the programme.”
Jack visited the team members as they were midway through the community project section of their 12 week Prince’s Trust course.
Nathaniel Peers, Team Leader of Prince’s Trust Team 124, said “It is a challenging task for them to take on in the scheduled time frame, but they are all determined to finish and have done a fantastic job.”
As well as the garden work, an adjacent building, formally the caretaker’s hut, is being fully refurbished by the council and will become an area for young parents to finish off their education while their children are in the school.
Ingrid Ludolph, Executive at The Prince’s Trust, said “This project will have a big impact on the local community and complements the work of the local community centre.”
Pam Atwod, Hub Lead at Oasis Academy, said “This has been a great project to be a part of and I’m looking forward to seeing the area grow into a thriving area for the community.
“The garden gives children who don’t have access to their own space the opportunity to experience activities outside such as growing their own vegetables.
“We are also working with the Freedom Project to develop the new building into safe space that domestic violence victims can visit.”
The Prince’s Trust Team programme is delivered by BMet in partnership with West Midlands Police. For information on what the Prince’s Trust can offer, visit https://www.bmet.ac.uk/courses/princes-trust.