Rubbish into wonder.

The premise is simple and a little bit wild. Teachers and tamariki collect recycled materials through the year, then design and transform them into wearable garments. Children take part at every stage, from gathering and sorting to the conversations about how a milk-bottle lid or an old uniform shirt might be given a second life. By the time the pieces are finished, every garment carries a story the children helped tell.

This year the finished creations were worn by our teachers in a runway show in front of all the Bear Park staff, and for the first time we invited parents to come and see what their tamariki had helped make. We were delighted to have Katie Higgins from Enviroschools join us. In her words, she was "still buzzing from the Bear Park event on Saturday. It was so uplifting, joyous and inspirational."

With your support we raised $1,250 from ticket sales, and Bear Park matched it, for a total of $2,500 donated to Hato Hone St John. We are already looking forward to hosting Wearable Arts again, bigger and warmer than before. Here are a few of the garments, and the thinking behind them.

Ko au te Whenua, I am the Land

Bear Park Epsom · hessian, chicken wire, paper, natural resources

Through the story Papatūānuku has a Tummy Ache, the children learned how our earth mother has become unwell, her puku and her friendly worms suffering as landfills fill with rubbish that will not break down. That led to real conversations about what tamariki could do to care for Papatūānuku. The answer became a garment: a dress to re-cloak her and restore her mana, echoing the land's own forms and made from natural taonga, crafted with traditional techniques.

Conversations of Tāwhirimātea

Bear Park Remuera · bubble wrap, bottles, ribbons, LED light

Inspired by Tāwhirimātea, the atua of wind and storms, this piece grew out of the children's own experiments. They tested materials for movement, colour, transparency and sound, then reimagined traditional forms such as the korowai and piupiu using recycled contemporary materials chosen to float and catch the air like the koru. In motion, the garment even makes sounds, a soft mimicry of wind and rain.

Tapestry of Voices

Bear Park Kohimarama · fencing, ribbon, fabric, milk bottles

This garment shows how the centre imagines the voices of its community woven together. Ribbons running through the base carry the children's spoken words, while papers woven through the skirt hold their non-verbal voices, the hundred languages. A layer of fabric began life as a tablecloth used during atelier sessions, brushed with a year of the children's mark-making, then offered to whānau to share their hopes for their child. Kaiako pieced it all together, a visual record of listening closely and shaping the programme as a collective.

An Ode to an Old Friend

Bear Park Hobsonville · old ribbons, bears, uniforms, CDs

Surrounded by water and fond of a winter puddle, this centre leaned into reflection. The old Bear Park logo, the little bear in overalls, features in the bodice as a nod to humble beginnings. Metal service bears twinkle on a skirt sewn from old uniform shirts, the very shirts teachers once wore while comforting and cuddling children of years past. A belt of CDs catches the light like sun on water. The hope is that you see happiness reflected back.

Kotahitanga Couture

Bear Park St Heliers · food and yoghurt lids, nylon, ribbon

Built around unity and the everyday rituals the children treasure, especially mealtimes. Noticing how many pouch lids end up in the bin, the centre invited families to collect them for repurposing. The piece echoes the korowai that graduating tamariki are honoured to wear, a symbol of respect, mana and the duty to care for people and place. As the garment sways, you can almost hear the warmth of the children and teachers who have made the centre feel like home.

Other centres brought their own garments and stories too, from Mt Eden's Puriri tree to Albany's Fibonacci-inspired piece, Herne Bay's Essence of Ujima and Henderson's Great Forest of Tiriwa. Every one of them began with a child's idea and a pile of materials headed for the bin.