14 Dec 2022A new mural celebrating the Cantabrian outdoors and telling the story of local culture, completed by students, their parents and teachers, was recently unveiled at Ashgrove School in Rangiora. The primary school was one of ten winners in this year’s Keep New Zealand Beautiful Resene Wall Worthy Competition, which gives youth groups, schools and ECEs from across the country the opportunity to paint a mural with an environmental theme or message, to help beautify an area in their local community. The mural, titled Tūrangawaewae – Our Place to Stand, is a welcoming focal point at the main entrance of the school. Placed so it can be seen by the school community and the public from the street, the mural also celebrates the environment, local heritage, and the kura (school) itself. Ashgrove School Deputy Principal Sue Monson says, “Our mural design celebrates the amazing environment at Ashgrove School. In our design we wanted to celebrate the physical environment of our school and also include the wider elements, both natural and emotional, that make our kura the special place that it is.” The design bought together design concepts created by students, which were refined by an artist. The design emphasises nearby mountains and the local environment, the student House Team colours, and the student gallery pictures “visually illustrate the high value we place on our environment including our nearby Ashley River,” Ms. Monson says. “All of our learning hubs in the design represent the power of what we can achieve together as we collaborate, communicate and celebrate our community. The koru depicted in the sky links to our school vision of Grow Together for Success and our school values are referenced in the stars.” “We now have a stunning mural – which serves more than one purpose. It is a warm and welcoming focal point at the front of our kura, but it also tells many stories relating to our kura, our journey, our cultural narrative and our place in the world – our tūrangawaewae .” The School utilised an extensive selection of vivid Resene paints to create the mural, including Resene Broom and Lightning Yellow; Tree Frog (tropical green) and Bingo (vivid blue/green); Rock n’ Roll and Roadster (both bright reds); and Endeavour and Resolution Blue. As part of the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Resene Wall Worthy prize, the school received $750 in vouchers for Resene paints of their choosing, painting supplies and a $500 cash bonus for the school. About the Resene Wall Worthy Competition Our Resene Wall Worthy Competition, which is part of the Paint New Zealand Beautiful programme, gives early childhood centres, schools and youth groups the chance to tell their local history, celebrate a local hero or communicate a nature or conservation theme via a mural on a wall in their community. The competition helps teach children the importance of Keeping New Zealand Beautiful by getting them involved in creating the design and helping bring it to life. The ten winning schools and their regions are listed below, with their designs visible here. Ashgrove School, Rangiora with Tūrangawaewae Our Place to Stand Craighead Diocesan School, Timaru with Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua, ko au (I am the land and the land is me) Dot Kids, Greytown with Our tamariki, our turangawaewae Manchester Street School, Feilding with Be Kind to Papatuanuku Martinborough Playcentre, Martinborough with Te Whanau Tupu ngatahi Pakowhai School, Napier with We’re More Than Just Apples Rangiora Playcentre with Nature’s Playground Rototuna Senior High School, Hamilton with Kotahitanga Taranaki Diocesan School for Girls with Te Kura Pi’opatanga o W’akaa’urangi Woodend School, Waimakariri with Woodend School Cultural Narrative Share this page
