Together we grow

By Bonnie, aged 14 from Woodford House

I have chosen to do ‘Prayers for all that lives’ because I strongly believe that everything has its place in the world and has a part to play in keeping our ecosystem alive.
In Hinduism animals are linked to the divine, and act as vehicles for the Gods.
Buddhists discourage trades that involve harming or killing animals.
Jainism is known as the most ‘farm-friendly’ religion and they do all they can to not harm even the smallest organisms.
My artwork is of a Tui bird sitting on the branch of flax (harakeke) plant surrounded by korari, the yellow-pink flower of the flax. This is what each of the bright colours in the flowers and feathers of the tui symbolize: Yellow – happiness, hope. Orange – enthusiasm. Bright red – passion, confidence. Bright blue – dependability, strength, Spirituality. Turquoise – Heaven and Earth, Spiritual Protection. In native American tribes and middle Eastern cultures turquoise is seen as being protective, and in traditional Middle Eastern and Iranian cultures it is symbolized as heaven on earth. In many cultures blue also represents heaven. The prayer is about being grateful for the native plants and birds of New Zealand. It also takes the golden rule and applies it to animals and how we should take care of the environment and plant native trees for the birds to live in and feed off so that they can continue to come and live alongside us. We can pray as much as we like for God to take care of our native wildlife, but nothing will truly be done or change unless we take action and help it ourselves, such as helping plant more native trees. The Tui is also a vital “ecological engineer” as it acts as a primary pollinator for New Zealand native trees and plants such as Pohutukawa, Harakeke and kowhai. After eating the fruit of native trees, it also spreads their seeds across the ground as it flies. This actively helps in planting more trees. We have to be like the Tui and proactively help sustain and replant our environment just like it does on a day-to-day basis.