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Three local students were winners in a nationwide competition for art and written work about the environment.
This the first time the competition, called Our Papatuanuku/Mother Earth, has been held. It was launched in May and invited school students to submit a letter, poem or art piece sharing their concerns and hopes for Planet Earth.
Michelle Whitaker, co-director of Christchurch social enterprise Flourish Kia Puāwai, created the competition so that 5-to-18-year-olds could share their voices from Aotearoa to the world.
The works will go into a book that will be presented at the United Nations’ climate change conference, COP 27, in November in Egypt.
The judges and organisers were very impressed with the calibre of the entries and participants’ knowledge of Covid-19 and climate issues.
The team of judges included musician and producer Tiki Taane, freshwater ecologist and activist Dr Mike Joy, double world freediving record holder William Trubridge, as well as writers, poets and artists.
Many entries showed students’ deep concern and knowledge about the environment.
Two KingsWay School students, Karla de Wet and Angelica Zhang, won their respective age categories in the Illustration section, and Lyla Castagna of Silverdale School came third in the Letter category.
Lyla’s letter
“Kia ora Our Papatūānuku I’m sending you this letter to tell you what I would tell the world leaders what I´d like the future New Zealand to look like. In 10 years’ time, I would like New Zealand to have green, lush, pollution free forests with flowing streams where all native animals thrive. Sustainability is important because it improves the quality of our lives, protects our eco systems and preserves natural resources for future generations. That’s why our country needs more sustainable resources, Now, my main concern for climate change is deforestation, as it increases the amount of carbon dioxide and soil erosion as well as destroying habitats for both animals and plants. Something world leaders like you can support is tackling climate change. This will require working towards shared goals such as developing solutions to capture carbon or decarbonise buildings. I hope the leaders would listen to us. Yours sincerely, Tō hoa”
Lyla Castagna, Silverdale School
