Our talented Year 1 and 2 students have taken creativity and environmental care to new heights by participating in the Wyndham Student Litter Sculpture Competition for World Environment Day 2025, which this year is themed Ending Plastic Pollution.
In response to this important challenge, our students transformed trash into treasure — creating a beautiful sculpture affectionately known as the Re-Tree. Using discarded paper shopping bags and used plastic bottles, they have crafted an inspiring artwork that shows how everyday waste can be turned into something wonderful.
Using paper shopping bags and plastic bottles, the Year 1 & 2 Students of Heathdale Christian College have transformed this trash into a beautiful tree. This demonstrates just another way that you can transform discarded and used plastics into a lovely creation.
Students from our Year 1/2 Art Club, a lunchtime activity run by Mrs Ribarsky over four lunchtime sessions, took the lead on the project. The Art Club runs during Tuesdays and Thursdays (first half of lunch) and is a wonderful space where students develop their creative skills while contributing to larger community projects. For this initiative, students worked collaboratively to design, paint, and assemble the Re-Tree, adding vibrant colours and beautiful designs to repurposed plastic bottles.
In addition to making their individual portraits as part of the project, students enjoyed the shared process of building something meaningful together — and for a great cause.
The Re-Tree was submitted to the Wyndham City Council Civic Centre (45 Princes Hwy, Werribee) and will be part of the Student Environmental Sculpture Gallery on display this week.
The competition highlights the creativity of local students and helps raise awareness about the impact of plastic pollution on our environment. We are proud that our Heathdale students are contributing to this conversation in such a positive and imaginative way.
Here’s what some of our young artists had to say about creating the Re-Tree and what they learned about looking after our environment:
"I really enjoyed painting the plastic bottles for our Re-tree because we got to recycle and that feels good." (Amelia)
"Plastics pollution is bad because it can harm sea animals. If you recycle and make something beautiful like artwork, then it's much better." (Stella)
"Fact: In 2050 scientists estimated that there'll be more plastic in the ocean than fish!" (Zac)
"Fact: A person can eat a credit card worth of plastic a year because of microplastics." (Harry)
Through this project, our young learners have discovered that small changes — like reusing everyday items — can help us care for God’s creation and inspire others to do the same.
A big thank you to Mrs Ribarsky for leading the Art Club, and to all the Year 1 & 2 students whose creativity and teamwork brought the Re-Tree to life!
We thank Wyndham Council for organising this valuable initiative. The competition offers great prizes, but more importantly, it fosters important conversations about sustainability and the creative re-use of materials.
Well done to our young artists and environmental champions!