Christ the Priest Primary School is calling on the local community to show its support in the final voting round of the Haymes Paint and Keep Australia Beautiful inaugural Paint Australia Beautiful competition.
The competition encouraged primary schools around Australia to get creative and design a nature-based mural.
Christ the Priest students were announced as Victorian winners in May 2023 and using the $750 in paint and supplies prize from Haymes Paint, their completed mural was unveiled last week.
They are now national finalists in the running to be crowned overall winner of the People’s Choice Award with $2,000 in prize money for their school up for grabs.
Christ the Priest’s mural design features a wedge-tailed eagle to honour Bunjil, the creator of the Wurundjeri people, on whose land the school stands. The mural also included a lorikeet, yellow-crusted cockatoos, corellas which are abundant in the area, and the endangered Eltham Copper Butterfly.
Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria chief executive Olivia Lynch said the mural not only showcases the beauty of Victoria’s biodiversity and cultural heritage, but aligns with their vision for a more sustainable, resilient, and beautiful Victoria.
“By nurturing artistic expression that honours our environment and heritage, we inspire a new generation committed to preserving the natural treasures that define our state’s ecological and cultural richness,“ she said.
The People’s Choice Award winner will be announced on Wednesday, September 6.
Christ the Priest art teacher Audrey Buttigieg Cardona said Art Club members have worked so hard to paint the mural by giving up most of their lunchtime over the past few weeks.
“Their dedication and enthusiasm were transferred into a colourful palette to create the beautiful mural for their school and the community to enjoy,“ she said.
“To win the People’s Choice Award and receive $2,000 would be the ultimate recognition for their hard work.“
To vote, people must ‘follow’ Keep Australia Beautiful’s Facebook page and Haymes Paint’s Facebook page, and hit ‘like’ on the mural of their choice.
Voting opened August 28 and will close at noon, September 4.
Details: facebook.com/keepaustraliabeautiful and facebook.com/Haymespaint
