Local students explore pollinators for new Exhibition

If you take a step into the Orange Regional Gallery, your senses will come alive with the incredible work of our local primary schools’ artistic capabilities.

Orange Regional Museum and Orange Regional Gallery have joined forces with many of the region’s public primary schools to shine a light on biodiversity in a project called Pollinators.

Pollinators is a creative art-making and environmental education project that explores the behaviour of pollinating insects, birds, bats and other small mammals, and the crucial role they play in sustaining biodiversity and human health.

The project culminates in an exhibition featuring artworks by thousands of local students, which will be displayed at Orange Regional Museum until May 9.

As part of the SPARKE Learning Network, to kick off the Pollinators project in 2021, the Museum and Gallery teams prepared art-making templates and an education kit, which were distributed to participating schools from Orange and surrounding areas at the beginning of the school year.

The education kit focused on introducing children to pollination and plant biology as well as the identification of local plants and the animals that pollinate them.

Children have also been learning about the crucial role that pollinators play in our lives.

The art-making activity saw children paint thousands of wings that represent four native pollinating animals found in the Orange region – The Australian Painted Lady Butterfly, the Blue-banded Bee, the Grey-headed Flying-fox and the Red Wattlebird.

Orange Regional Museum Manager Dr Mary-Elizabeth Andrews says the hundreds of wings have been installed to create a colourful collaborative ‘swarm’ display, as part of the exhibition.

“The exhibition will also include educational panels designed for children and families, as well as a pollination game that encourages young people to identify local plant species and the animals that pollinate them,” Dr Andrews said.

“Children can also learn what they can do in their own backyards to encourage pollinating animals and leave their thoughts on the interactive apple tree.”

The exhibition also features a space for those to get involved and  ‘Bee a pollinator,’ getting interactive with the display, as well as getting visitors thinking about how they can help pollinators in the garden at home and/or school, writing down their thoughts and displaying them on the ‘apple tree.’
What a great opportunity to check out a locally produced exhibition featuring the talents of our own local mini artists and also a great chance for families to see their children’s artworks displayed.