Recycling was top of mind at Blue Route Mall in Tokai this weekend as learners from nine schools competed for the R20 000 prize in the shopping centre’s annual Sustainable Trendsetters Buildathon.
Starting from 10:00 on Saturday 22 April, learners were seen frantically cutting, pasting and “artsifying” their sculptures as the clock ticked down to 16:00 – the time when they had to put their glue guns down.
This is the second year that Blue Route Mall, together with their main sponsor Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB), hosted the competition.
Like the previous year, participating schools were briefed to collect their own recyclable items which they could then use to create their structural design.
While all painting and spray painting of objects had to be done off-premises, the different teams (made up of 6 learners, and one teacher) were required to build on-site for at least four hours with a maximum of seven hours to complete their sculpture. Blue Route Mall provided the platform and basic items needed to create the upcycled design which needed to be between 1 to 1,5m wide and 1 to 1,8m high.
Bronwyn Rabie, Redefine’s Regional Marketing and Alternative Income Manager, says they are blown away by the participants’ creative designs and how the event has taken off.
“Grant Twigg (the City of Cape Town’s Mayco member for urban waste management) opened the event today. When we spoke to Twigg and Coca-Cola earlier, they said they couldn’t believe what was going on at the mall, what the schools were doing.”
Rabie says they are hoping to grow the event in years to come.
“It is going to be an annual event and will always be hosted on or close to Earth Day, but there is a lot that we can do to grow it and now that the City is involved, it is incredible. There are a lot of legs.”
When People’s Post arrived at the mall on Saturday, there were only two hours left to go to the cut-off time. Last year’s winner, Muizenberg Primary, was placing the final touches on their design – a plastic bottle bank made out of recycled bottles.
Pat Antonelli, arts teacher at Muizenberg Primary, said the exercise had been invaluable.
“We are part of a living Earth and we have to recycle. The kids have become more aware of how to use recyclables, in various ways, artistically and also creatively, and to make sure things are used in such a way that there is less impact on the Earth,” says Antonelli.
This was the first year that Wynberg Boy’s Junior School participated in the buildathon. The school entered a mixed team made up of Grade 4 to 7 learners.
Megan McGibbon, art teacher, says the learners were super excited when they heard about the competition. The school’s design, which incorporates live plants, represents Mother Nature. It includes a display stand made out of toilet rolls, which McGibbon said, would be used as display points at future art exhibitions held at the school.
“So many of the learners wanted to participate. They were very enthusiastic, all the preparation that went in to it, they were giving up break times, committing to it.”
Michael Rushby, art teacher at Sweet Valley Primary, says recycling has always been big at the school.
“I went to the school when I was much younger, and we had recycling drives back then.”
Their sculpture took the shape of a giant sea horse swimming through pollution.
Rushby says, problem solving was a big part of the exercise.
“Nothing is a problem unless we think it is a problem. It was them learning how can we make a plan, how can we fix things. And also how to deal with the different materials. Even though it is recycled material, it can still come out looking the same way as something you have bought in the shops.”
The physical sculptures will be on display until Friday 3 May at the shopping centre.
External judges selected by the mall will judge the structures and announce the winning school by the end this month (April).
