Class 2 students of Pelican Gate posing with members of the BVI Tourist Board and Principal Lois Freeman-Augustine (first from right) after receiving their prize in the Trash To Treasure competition.

The bags that were created by the Class 2 students that earned them a top prize.

Class 1 students of Pelican Gate created paper weight from sea rocks.

Other creations by students of Pelican Gate.

Pelican Gate School of Towers, West End, were among the entrants for the BVI Tourist Board’s Trash to Treasure competition which recently concluded and came out among the top schools to walk away with a prize for their unique creation of turning old t-shirts into exquisite bags created by its Class 2 students.

The students won a day sail from Horizon Yacht Charters and according to Art Teacher Veronica King, she felt great with her students’ performances as she had pushed them very hard and expected nothing less than the best from them.

Interestingly, the school’s full curriculum art programme only came on stream last year, and Mrs. King has been able to successfully implement and involve all students of the school through her hands-on and fun programme.

Regarding their entry into the competition, the proud teacher said the students were already doing recycling even before the competition surfaced and when it did, was the perfect opportunity for them to display what they were already doing plus create new products that must be suitable for tourists to take home.

Class Two’s winning pieces were done by turning old t-shirts into usable tie-dyed bags and bag packs with the names of the four main islands of the Virgin Islands, fabric painted on them. That class had also submitted cigar boxes that were converted into jewelry boxes and also kaleidoscopes made from potato chip cans.

While the other classes did not walk away with prizes, each of them also submitted exquisite pieces which Mrs. King is very proud of as well.

Class 1 created paper weight from sea rocks with the names and 3D image of the four main islands.

Stage 2 submitted several pieces including a toilet paper role desk caddy, a wooden picture frame where they used pictures from the welcome magazine, wall hangers made from discarded lumber with the main islands pictured and decorated with local sea shells, corals, and granulated sand to give the rough effect.

Stage 1 submitted paper jewelry boxes, decorated with scrap yarn and adorned with shells and corals with handmade jewelry inside. They also submitted paper picture frames which they created using local pictures to form a border around the picture itself.

According to the experienced art teacher, she is an advocate for art who believes that every school should have a structured art programme.

“I know the diverse ways that art can play in a child’s life and allow them to express themselves in unique ways and a chance to have some sort of tactile hands on experience and build confidence and make them feel good when their work is highlighted.”

“I was very happy that they were able to enter and they were working on recycling so when the competition came into play we were in that path as it added a little more flair to our in- school activity and in the end it came out successful and I proud of the students and their achievements.”

Meanwhile, students at the BVI Technical & Vocational Institute swept the top prizes in the competition after placing first and second in the Best Treasure categories, and for claiming the overall title for Environmental Champions with their award-winning recycled entries.

The other recipients of awards apart from Pelican Gate were: BVI Tech Voc Secondary Student De’Vante David won a two-night stay at Peter Island Resort & Spa for his Moko Jumbie made with bottle caps, his classmate Shakinya Lloyd won a cell phone from Varieties & Electronics for her artwork; Seventh Day Adventist School Class Three student Mickaila Newman received a digital camera from Infinite Solutions for her jewelry composed of soda can tops; and Grade One First Impressions students received a day sail from Sunsail for their recycled papermaking project.

“It’s important to continue to provide students with opportunities to learn about waste and how it negatively impacts the environment,” said Carnel Clyne, Product Officer at the Tourist Board. “It was exciting to see the creations made for Trash to Treasure. Everyone chipped in to make this competition a success and the kids really put their energy into making artful pieces that uniquely identify Nature’s Little Secrets.”