Some time ago, I made three decoupage cylinders to go in an exhibition on art and the environment. Fundamental to the artwork are the materials that I chose to make these objects, their size and shape. I cut two cylinders the exact dimensions of my kitchen tidy out of recycled heavy cardboard. The remaining off-cut created a trio of forms. It was a fun project that found an unexpected purpose.

I helped out on an school excursion a couple of years later. The excursion was for a group of year nine students from a local College. They were learning about the impact that the ingestion of plastic has on the endangered Loggerhead turtles. These turtles dig nests to lay eggs on our local beaches.
We took down the rubbish turtle made by Susan, from Turtlewatch. The kids thought it was really cool. I’d packed my rubbish bins thinking, I’ll bring them out if the kids are interested. After the reaction to the turtle, I figured they’d like the bins.

The off-cut cylinder was a real tactile experience for them. They checked out the rubbish plastic bits on the outside. Then they felt the rough sand on the inside. The photos of foam that looks like pebbles pasted on the sandy interior intrigued them.

It made my day watching the students reaction to the bins. What’s more they did a fantastic job of cleaning up the beach and pulling weeds. What a great morning. Creating an awareness of environmental issues in the next generation while putting my tongue in cheek rubbish collection to work.