Creative engagement

Creative engagement is the use of activities such as drawing, painting, drama and sculpture to raise awareness about the causes of, and solutions to stream pollution whilst having fun. There are three strands to our creative engagement:

Environmental arts activities at Project Twin Streams events such as community planting days and festivals. Examples include the painting of clay fish, paper making from weeds, weaving, badge and clay model making.

Long term projects - large and small - which span months and at times, years and draw together various groups, schools and sections of the community are the cornerstone of our creative engagement.

Project Twin Streams Song Quest receives Commended at ARC Awards

Project Twin Streams Song Quest Organiser with ARC Councillor Bill Burrill.

Project Twin Streams Song Quest success

First prize winner - Abootu

Swanson Primary School Mural comes with a message

Swanson Primary School kids with Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse and Mandy Patmore next to their mural

'Working together for healthy streams and strong communities' is what Project Twin Streams is all about, and it's a concept the new mural at Swanson Primary School embodies fully. Created by over 50 schoolchildren, the large fauna-emblazoned mural - a collaborative effort between Swanson Primary and St Dominic's College in Henderson - was officially unveiled mid-August.

The project was driven by the students from Swanson who drew up a concept design for the mural. This was passed to the Year 12 students from St Dominic's, who painted a forest and stream background as part of their Community Service programme.

"It was fun the way we got ideas from the younger kids," said St Dom's student Noma Dube. "It was neat they could dream up something like this." Her classmate, Tessa Fuhrer, agreed. "It was great being able to channel our creativity into something that benefits the community and helps the environment at the same time."

The students from Swanson Primary (aged 5-12) each created a stand-alone painting that was mounted on the painted background. These were either of the flora and fauna they'd like to see in Waitakere's streams, such as eels, native bird, frogs and insects, or those pests and weeds they'd prefer weren't there.

Many of the children commented on how they enjoyed working with Mandy and learning new skills. For her part, Mandy is delighted with the finished artwork. "I think it looks fantastic!

"When you work on a project like this, you usually have to choose between aesthetics or learning, but when you get both, that's brilliant. I think it worked out really well."

"We hope people who see the mural will know we care about our streams and that we know what's good for our streams and what's bad."
Talia Ball, 12, Swanson Primary School.

Urlich reserve sculpture

Click to enlarge

Te Herenga Tangata

Members of contract organisation Teukaipo with sculpture

Project Twin Stream's biggest and largest art project to date, sculpture - Te Herenga Tangata was unveiled on 27 June 2009.

The unveiling celebrated over two years hard work by Project Twin Streams Art Coordinator Janet Holt and the Ranui-Massey community.

The sculpture project grew from the original idea of an identity marker for groups involved in restoring Urlich reserve to one representative of and involving local cultures. The sculpture has become a true testament to the local community, incorporating and celebrating the traditional designs and motifs of the local Maori, Croatian and Pacific Island communities.

The sculpture consists of three components, each with its own significance and meaning. The first is a concrete base with a band of mosaic tiles referencing traditional Maori designs, created by students from Te Piataata Trust and Birdwood Primary School.

The second section is decorated with mosaics made by the Croatian community, Liston College and Agape Trust. These panels represent the growth of plant life in the area with alternate segments representing Maori eel traps. The top section features a native wood pigeon made out of concrete and mosaic tiles, surrounded by stainless steel leaf-like designs that can be interpreted in a variety of ways; as a Pacific flower, waka paddle or planting spade. This section plays homage to the local Pacific culture and has been designed and constructed by Engineering Industry Training students.

Whakaorangia, Kia Ora Ai / Replenish the Stream

Zara Santamaria, Samah Seger, Megan Holley and Robyn Olivier.

Photographer Lynn Houghton collaborated with five young photographers, Samah Seger, Megan Holley, Robyn Olivier, Zara Santamaria and Christine Finlay from St Dominic's College to create photography exhibition Whakaorangia, Kia Ora Ai / Replenish the Stream, shown at Waitakere Central Library from 29 May to 21 June.

The students attended various Project Twin Streams events including community planting days and art work blessings, documenting both the stream and the efforts of the communities working to restore it, Lynn followed their progress and gave the students artistic and technical suggestions.

Whakaorangia, Kia Ora Ai / Replenish the Stream featured over 40 prints from the project that have been chosen by Lynn and the students. Future plans for the exhibition included showing at Zeal Global cafe and possibly taking the exhibition to Wellington or Christchurch.

Stream of Dreams

Stream of Dreams - Click to enlarge

Henderson Primary School's fence has been transformed into a Stream of Dreams with the installation of over 350 'dream fish' created by the students and in collaboration with Project Twin Streams Henderson Creek and local kindergarten Te Rito.

The students created their "dream stream" by making 'dream fish' - painting brightly coloured wooden shapes representing three native fish; the bully fish, kokapau and torrent fish. Each of these 'dream fish' acts as a symbol of the student's dreams for their local stream and the creatures that inhabit it.

Project Twin Streams art awards

The inaugural Project Twin Streams Art Awards went of with a bang with over 40 pieces of original art work entered. Ann Uerata and Rachel Bebbington Sheary were both awarded first prize in the sculpture and painting category. Artists were asked to use the questions What have we done? What are we doing? Whose streams are these? as the starting point for their research and works. The awards were held in conjunction with the Waitakere Trust Art Awards.

Art Awards Sculpture	Art Awards Painting	Art Awards Sculpture	Waka kura mo nga tangata

Te Pou Arahi - tree stump carving

Stump blessing

Students from local schools Nga Kakano O Te Kaihanga and Sunderland School worked with Project Twin Streams Henderson Creek and Te Kawerau a Maaki carver, Sunnah Thompson, to turn an old burnt out stump into a colourful identity marker on the Henderson Creek.

The students created pictures of stream creatures, and the drawings, along with representations of the native plants found directly around the stump, were carved onto the tree. The students were then invited to paint the carvings.

Our Streams, Our Dreams art exhibition

Exhibition piece from Our Streams, Our Dreams Art Exhibition

Pupils from Green Bay Primary School, Kaurilands School and Konini School have been worked on a variety of pieces for the exhibition, including photographs, clay models, paper-mache and masks.
The exhibition first highlighted the aspects of the streams the students didn't like before turning the focus onto the students' "dream stream".

Project Twin Streams Glen Eden's Community Coordinator Teremoana Jones spoke about the exhibition "Not only was the work of the highest standard but also the students showed a high level of learning as was evident from their comments. All the teachers who took on the project were also finalists in the 2008 Eco awards."

Bruce McLaren Intermediate School mural

The Mayor with Bruce McLaren Intermediate School pupils and their Mural

Project Twin Streams Oratia and Bruce McLaren Intermediate created a three dimensional stream mural showing the students vision for Oratia stream.

With the help of arts coordinator Mandy Patmore, the students chose to show suburbia and nature co-existing, and demonstrate how with a bit of work, the stream and the surrounding bush could again become a habitat for amazing native creatures.

Mayor Bob Harvey helped celebrate the student's hard work by helping to unveil the mural in May.

Flanshaw Rd Art Book

Flanshaw Road Primary School have been involved in Project Twin Streams since 2004. They have been planting and maintaining an area near the school and, as part of their curriculum, have been learning about the causes of stream degradation.

The school has created and published a book, which not only showcases the wonderful stream art created by the students involved in Project Twin Streams, but also records their thoughts on the future of stream. The book is beautifully presented and also has an educational component - each page poses an environmental question for further consideration.

Flanshaw Rd Primary School pupils with their colourful stream artwork		Cover of 'Our Place' book	Linda Shepard with the completed publication

Birdwood School DVD

Birdwood School pupils recording their rap song

In 2005, a brainstorm session between Janet Holt, Arts Advisor to Project Twin Streams and the children at Birdwood School came up with the idea of a rap song - telling the story of what has happened to the streams in their local area and reinforcing the solutions that must be implemented.

The rap song (performed in both Maori and English) took a total of 3 months to complete and involved about 30 children ranging in ages from age 9 through to 12.

AUT film and TV students filmed a performance of the rap and edited the footage into a music video.

The 5 minute video is creative and engaging and shows children taking an issue and responding to it in a way that resonates with them.

It is a youthful and innovative local response to a 'big picture' problem i.e. environmental pollution.

Creative logs

For more information about Project Twin Streams' creative projects,  check out our creative logs available below.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents.  For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

Creative Log 2007 (Size 1.6M)

Creative Log 2006 (Size 1.2M)

Creative Log 2005 (Size 1.0M)