Young & Wild

Young & Wild was a creative project run for young women at our Mullumbimby Youth space. 44 girls were engaged in creative process that gave them a means by which they could express their feelings on the plight of our native wildlife and the environment.

Prior to the project they had expressed their feelings of powerlessness, anxiety and fear, which were amplified during the floods and prior bushfires. 9 girls attended over 2 days to paint the murals. They worked really well individually and as a group and managed to complete both murals.

For the girls who participated it was an incredibly positive process which began with them choosing a native animal they were interested in, researching the threats to its survival and beginning drawing images and slogans. They began, most of them, saying they ‘weren’t any good at drawing’ but were encouraged to be creative and supported to draw what worked for them as opposed to standard professional google type images. In the process they all remained engaged, worked well as a group, gained a lot of new information and felt really good about what they contributed.

The next phase of the project will be working on stickers, a mural at Mullumbimby High and a social media campaign highlighting the plight of our wildlife.

The murals will be displayed in prominent positions at Global Ripple charity shop in the Byron Bay Industrial estate.

This Project was facilitated by Deborah Pearse and creative facilitator Dale Shaddick