Thank you to all clubs, schools and students who participated in 2024 SISEAP Environmental Art Competition.  Your work was skillful, varied and thoughtful.  The evidence of local themes was illustrated in unique ways, so all entrants should be very proud of your creations.  We can only showcase the finalists, but pleased be assured that the judges considered all your work in detail, so that we could appreciate your individual style and environmental messages.  Judges were coming in blind without any context of your home, your lessons with teachers who guided you, or your local concerns.  So please appreciate our different backgrounds in curating your works.  Every entry was unique.

Winner:  Aged 8-12

Commended:   (1) SI Invercargill Water Sprite: water colour – human interaction with water purity.  SDG 14, SDG 6,  (2) SI Invercargill - Angel - healing the world: unsure of the medium but a strong message in focussing on one section of the piece.  SDG 13, SDG 14, SDG 15 

Winner: aged 13-18

Background

After a success 2023 inaugural Environmental Art competition we decided to carry on as part of the Programme responsibilities.   We learned much during the 2023 round and finally announced later in the year.  The entries were received from a range of ages, a range of medium, and a range of formats.  So, in 2024 our plan was to recognise each of those separately.

The age ranges were extended to under 8, ages 8 to 12 years, then 13 to 18 years. The categories were extended to visual art expression, video and poetry, with separate prize money and recognition.

There were many changes during 2024 for SISEAP, including the biennium International President, SISEAP President, biennium theme, club leaderships, and school teacher contacts.   The process asks our clubs to form partnerships with local schools – often Art or English or Social Science or Science or multi-media teachers.

These teachers introduce environmental themes into their curriculum to ensure a deeper understanding of stewardship of nature in all its forms: joy of growing things, climate change, need for biodiversity and endemic species, pollution prevention, waterways/ beach/ ocean care, energy efficiency, and how to help students express their concern or joy as they participate in environmental education.  Art has a lasting personal impact for students, so the value of such expression cannot be underestimated.

What happened in 2024?  

Our competition must be introduced early into clubs and schools. Some clubs don’t meet until February. Some schools don’t incorporate new themes to the curriculum in the first term – especially with new teachers taking over. So, second term is the first opportunity to engage in the classroom. Furthermore, Easter and school holidays were in April.  The deadline for entries was May – so we could award winners on World Environment Day 5 June 2024 and share the good news on social media.   This was more important as our new themes for SI and SISEAP are “Save Mother Earth” along with the 2024 UN theme of Restoration.

There were no entries for Video or app, or special effects, or poetry, or music or other cultural expression. The quality of the images made judging interesting.

Rhonda McCormack & Donnell Davis 

2024 Environmental Art Competition Team