Maketū Ongatoro Wetland Society art project sees murals at four schools

The Paengaroa School mural being unveiled.

Local students brought the estuary environment into their school grounds recently.

Paengaroa School is one of four schools involved in an art project initiated by Maketū Ongatoro Wetland Society (MOWS) and funded by Creative Bay of Plenty.

The Ngā Manu o te Wahapu murals bring the Maketū and Waihī estuaries to life.

Ninety plywood birds were cut out by the Te Puke Menz Shed and were painted by classes of Year 5-8 students to depict tūturiwhatu (NZ dotterel), tarāpuka (black-billed gull), tarāpunga (red-billed gull), kuaka (godwit), tōrea, (oyster catcher) and taranui (white-fronted tern).

The students saw these birds while on a MOWS field trip earlier last year.

Several students were selected from Te Puke Primary, Te Puke Intermediate, Paengaroa and Rangiuru schools to attend a workshop with artist Sam Allen to paint the mural backgrounds.

The Ngā Manu o te Wahapu mural at Paengaroa School is one of five that was created.

The workshop was held at Paengaroa School and the young artists spent the day planning their backgrounds, learning tricks and skills with Sam to create a detailed estuary scene on an enormous plywood panel.

The paint was kindly donated by Dulux Tauranga and the plywood funded by Western BOP District Council.

The individual birds were then screwed onto the boards to create a layered effect with the birds standing out against the background.

“The finished products are better than anything I could have imagined,” says MOWS education officer Janie Stevenson. “The students did a fantastic job of capturing our unique estuary environments and the incredible birds that live there.”

The launch of the Paengaroa School mural was a special event for the students to unveil the painting that was covered by a large sheet.

Principal Bruce Lendrum and caretaker Glenn Mora covered the mural on the outside wall, so the artists could pull the sheet down to show the other students.

The students were excited to see their birds on the mural.

Four murals will be up on school buildings, while a fifth mural created by Sam and the students, will be erected at the Bledisloe Park Holiday Camp in Little Waihī.