A huge shout-out to the students and teachers of Whakatāne High School – Te Kura ō Te Mānuka Tūtahi for a project that’s brightening up Kopeopeo.

The WHS Mural Club, under the guidance of kaiako Ms Murphy, recently completed their latest project ‘Puāwaitanga - the seed that blossomed’ and the finished product is outstanding. The mural is on a wall of the Chorus building on King Street.

The project is a collaboration between Whakatāne High School, Keep Whakatāne Beautiful, Chorus and Whakatāne District Council.

Social Studies teacher, Becs MacKay, says the junior students were challenged to undertake a social action project in 2023. The first stage involved interviewing their fellow students about living in Whakatāne and feeding information back to the community's decision-makers - our Mayor and Councillors - as part of Council’s Long Term Plan pre-engagement process.  

The feedback included rangatahi views on what’s good and not-so-good about neighbourhoods like Kopeopeo and things could be done to make them more appealing, safe and interesting for our young people. The mural project is one of the first to be completed following this connection – and the students hope it won’t be the last.

Two of the drivers of the project, Year 10 students Nate Parsons and Esther Ferguson, say the project has helped the rangatahi of Kopeopeo feel more valued, connected and inspired. The social action project is also inspiring young people to become more interested in political and civic engagement to the extent that both Nate and Esther have joined the Whakatāne District Youth Council.

Keep Whakatāne Beautiful chairman Andrew Iles says supporting this initiative was an easy decision for his group as it ticked so many boxes in terms of beautifying our district and being youth-led. He looks forward to seeing what the Mural Club get up to next.