Mercy Justice Team Wins Runner-Up in 'From Waste to Art Competition'

Recently, the Mercy Justice Team entered the From Waste to Art Competition which was part of the Captivate Capel Festival.

Working collaboratively, the team had to create a large marine animal out of waste items, not exceeding 1m wide, by 1.5m long by 1m high.

They had to work within a tight timeframe and spent most lunch times over two weeks planning, gathering waste materials and assembling the marine animal.

It was really exciting when the results were announced – with Our Lady of Mercy College being awarded runner-up for their entry.

As a result, we will receive $2000 worth of waste consulting and infrastructure from the Shire of Capel and Cleanaway, which includes the following:

Incursions on waste and how to embed sustainability in the school/organisation
Worm farm setup
Soil and native tubestock

Report from the Service Captains:

The marine creature we chose was the jellyfish. This was because they are such an important part of the ecosystem, and so many animals eat them, such as turtles, sharks, whales, crabs and birds. This means that protecting jellyfish won’t just benefit that species but it will also benefit so many other species as well.

The waste material we used included: bottle lids which we collected from the Containers for Change initiative at the College, plastic (such as Glad Wrap and plastic bags) and straws that we collected from students during recess and lunch. We also collected a lot of bread bags from the canteen. This was amazing because it meant that we were reducing the amount of waste going into landfill from our school.

We chose to use plastic bags to make our jellyfish because in the ocean plastic bags are often mistaken for jellyfish and are eaten by turtles, causing them to suffocate.

Making the jellyfish was a wonderful experience for the Mercy Justice Team. It helped build teamworking skills as we worked with people we hadn’t even really talked to or met before. It also helped draw attention to what the Mercy Justice team is and what it does.

It was also incredible to see how the Jellyfish changed over the construction process. At the start we weren’t even sure if it would end up looking anything like a jellyfish, and as we continued making it, we started seeing the vision and, in the end, we were all so proud.

Udari, Gabe, Lilli and Caitlin