Threatened Species Day Student Art Gallery

Every year on September 7, National Threatened Species Day is commemorated across Australia to raise awareness of the thousands of endemic plants and animals at risk of extinction.

To mark this day, each year we ask students at several primary schools across Australia to draw some of the threatened species found in their region. The resulting artworks highlight that our young people are acutely aware of the threats facing wildlife around the continent, including climate change, declines in biodiversity and habitat loss, and that they want solutions to, and action on, these threats.

Some of the threats facing Australian species are abstract, complex, and oftentimes overwhelming. So, how can we help young people understand and engage with them in a constructive way? Creative arts can help individuals to contextualize information that may otherwise be difficult to process. Likewise, art has been found to foster emotions of hope, responsibility, and care for issues that often trigger the opposite. Children participating in art-based nature-education programs develop more positive attitudes, and an increased knowledge and understanding of the environment. In general, young people are more likely to develop greater awareness of threats facing our planet and engage with the solutions when provided with varied avenues for them to learn about, express and process these challenges.

The descriptions that the students send with their artwork each year suggest that the exercise helps them to develop a greater understanding not only of the threats facing Australian wildlife but also of solutions to them. This is the first step in helping future generations to understand and help address the challenges facing our natural environment.

 – ENTER THE 2022 ART GALLERY –

VIEW THE 2021 ENTRIES

What can you do to help?

• Call for stronger action to address threats like climate change and habitat destruction.
• Provide or support areas exclusively for wildlife. Revegetate areas along creeks and fence lines so that animals can use them to move between bushland remnants. Plant local native trees and make your backyard wildlife-friendly.
• Avoid using pesticides and herbicides.
• Minimise plastic use and take action to reduce pollution, including marine debris.
• Support the work of ecological researchers and practitioners trying to understand and address threats to native species.
• Volunteer for or donate to an organisation working to protect the natural environment.
• Become a citizen scientist and find a project you enjoy!
• Research threatened species in your local region and tell others about them – the more people who know about them, the more people who might step up to help!

If you or your school would like to participate in our Threatened Species Day Student Art Gallery, get in touch with us via .