Howick College and Papatoetoe Intermediate have even more to celebrate for Matariki, coming away as the big winners at the Eye on Nature Wearable Arts competition in Auckland.
Auckland school students wowed the sold-out crowd at the Vodafone Events Centre yesterday evening (Thursday June 22) with a spectacular show of eco-friendly wearable art. The youngsters were challenged to design their garments around the theme; ‘Incredible Kai’; exploring the food cycle and how it impacts the environment.
Year 9 students Casey Ferguson, Eva Malez, Sophie Hunapo and Kayleigh Thistleswate from Howick College won the coveted first place in the Secondary category with their garment, ‘The Witches Garden’.
Using foraged, found and recycled materials, the young designers created a magical showcase of kai growth in their back garden. The judges were blown away by their beautiful execution, style impact and representation of the various stages of growing kai.
Papatoetoe Intermediate’s Kulraj Singh and Suega Poutea formed an impressive duo to take first place in the Primary category, with their twin garments ‘Rongo – The Hero and the Alter Ego’.
The pair made their garments to represent two sides of Rongo, the Māori god of cultivated and underground food, with recycled materials. According to the judges, the construction effort and incorporation of contemporary New Zealand and Māori tradition made them a stand-out.
The Beautification Trust hosts the annual competition for Auckland schools as part of its award-winning children’s environmental education programme, Eye on Nature. This year there were 78 entries, with the winners taking away a total prize pool of $3,500 for their schools.
Young designers took inspiration from a wide range of social and environmental issues around the Incredible Kai theme, from rainforest destruction, to the cultural importance of kai and the impact of food waste on our planet.
“Reducing and diverting food waste from landfill and lowering the environmental impact of
food production is a vital part of solving the climate crisis,” said Beautification Trust community manager Dawn Crispe.
