Pupils get creative for valuable cause
South Auckland youngsters let their creative flair shine as part of this year’s Eye on Nature expo.
More than $5500 in prizes were up for grabs in a wearable and creative art shows and a cooking contest.
The wearable art contest saw pupils focus their costumes on environmental messages relating to the theme of ‘Edibles: From the Ground to the Table’.
Manukau home-schooled siblings 10-year-old Joel Te Hira and Isabel, 8, earned the $1000 first place prize in the contest’s primary and intermediate category.
Isabel modelled their creation, which incorporated recycled newspaper, plastic tablecloths, and netting. A large bee is attached to the front of the outfit and her hat represents the sun.
A team from Redoubt North Primary School in Clover Park won the $50 merit placing in the primary and intermediate category for their costume, modelled by year 5 pupil Yasmin Dunn.
The cooking contest asks students to design a dish featuring foods with produce from Kiwi gardens. Entrants were put through their paces in a cook-off and served their dishes to a panel of competition judges.
Year 13 Otahuhu College pupils Yamni Rag, Fariya Khan and
Carolyn Phillips received $250 for finishing third in the secondary school category of the cooking competition.
They made a biriyani Indian dish using chicken presented on a banana leaf with vegetables.
The creative arts contest encourages kindergarten and primary school pupils to use their imaginations to interpret important environmental messages.
Teams from Dawson Primary School in Otara and Papatoetoe West Primary School came second and received a merit placing respectively in the primary school category.
Aorere Kindergarten in Papatoetoe won the kindergarten category while second place was awarded to Kotiri Kindergarten in Mangere East. Another team from Aorere Kindergarten came third.
Six New Zealand environmental organisations partner with the Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust to host Eye on Nature. It’s supported by Auckland Council, the six south-east local boards and the botanic gardens.