The Mosaic and planters have arrived!

After months of planning and hard work, the mosaic and planters have been installed. Measuring 3m high by 2m wide, the mosaic depicts an oak tree teeming with life, refecting the colour and vibrancy of our area. An oak was chosen because one features in the Coats of Arms of the former Boroughs of Hornsey and Wood Green (whose areas joined at the mosaic’s location): the oak is also depicted on Horsey Park’s road signs. In a forgotten form, the oak was also the symbol of Wood Green Shopping City, when it was opened by the Queen in 1981.

The mosaic was designed and made by Heartlands High School’s Year 8 pupils under the direction of art teacher Jeanette Sylvester and local artist Hannah Griffiths, and installed by the team who built the school back in 2010.

We congratulate the school for having produced such a fine piece of art to brighten up the area and lift our hearts. We owe particular thanks to Chem, Nick and Stewart of Willmott Dixon who generously gave their time for free in the complex task of installing the mosaic, to Michael Thompson and Mohammad Farooq of The Mall, for all their assistance and support, to Peter and his friends who built the timber planter and to members of Harngey Council’s Area Forum, whose ‘Making the Difference’ donation helped fund the project. We also say thank you to the 20+ residents who turned out to shift soil and plant the flowers and shrubs.

The mosaic and planters are an important part of our project to create a northern gateway to our area, improve the quality of the environment and strengthen our community. They will, of course need our continuing help to look after them in future.

There will be a celebration on Saturday, 14th July, 2012 at 10.15am. Refreshments will be provided and all residents, our neighbours and friends who support what we have done are welcome.

Community Gardening is on the first Saturday of each month: find out what’s happening by looking at the Events tab on the PMRA web site.