A schoolboy from Toxteth has revealed plans for a new project after winning a national award for his community garden on Mulgrave Street.
Khan Odita, 16, ran a campaign to transform a fly-tipping hotspot on the street into a beautiful garden and thriving community space.
This week he won a National Crimebeat award for the ‘UrbanScape’ scheme, after being nominated by the High Sheriff of Merseyside, Ruth Hussey.
His new project, named ‘Stories of Mulgrave Street’, will see a mural introduced to the garden bearing local residents’ tales of the community.
He told MerseyNewsLive: “To create the mural we’re going to be engaging with the local community even more.
“We want to find out the views they have on the past, present and future of the area and what make it great.”
The remarkable young community leader started campaigning in 2021, at the age of 14, setting up the Mulgrave Street Action Group (MSAG).
“It all started when my mum told me she thought I should be more productive, and that’s what got me outside.
“It helped me realise the state the community was in, not just in the fly tip, but in the street just seeing items dumped.”
Other projects that brought attention to the efforts of Mr Odita and MSAG were schemes such as community skip bays and ‘Flood the Streets With Flowers’.
After receiving a national accolade and plenty of media attention, the teenage campaigner has no plans of slowing down: “We have more things on the way later this year.”
