Kinglake “Tree of Life”

The Kinglake "Tree of Life" Project is a community art initiative that brings together migrant and Kinglake youth through a beautiful Mosaic artwork.
This project has been funded by Human Appeal from money that was donated by Melbourne's Islamic community during the bushfires. It is an opportunity for Muslims in Melbourne to express their support and encouragement to Kinglake, whilst also celebrating cultural diversity and "mateship".

On the 25/5/11, 10 girls from Hallam Senior College, of various cultural backgrounds attended a 3 hour mosasic workshop. The base of the tree was provided by the Australian Federal Police, but the girls worked together to build on the branches and leaves. For the 10 young people involved this was their first experience doing such a project. Throughout the session, Anisa taught the young women how to safety cut glass; using a glass cutting tool. The leaves cut, were then applied using a clear silicon to the backing board.   

The following week, the girls attended Kinglake Neighbourhood House and completed the mosaic with the aid of The Kinglake Youth Group. A shared meal was had and they toured of the yet-to-be-unvieled, youth centre. Stories were shared amongst the Kinglake Youth Group and Hallam Senior College students. Many of the students were unaware of how destructive the fires that had ripped through Kinglake in 2008/2009 were.

The Hallam Senior College students were invited to attend the opening of the Youth Centre; to be held over the school holidays.

The "Tree of Life" project is proudly supported by the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY), Hallam Secondary College and the Australian Federal Police Community Liaison Team.