Dreamworld Scarecrow Project is a school community-focused scarecrow building competition that requires entrants to build a scarecrow to a designated theme. The theme for 2024 is “Wildlife Conservation: Ecology of threatened and endangered species”.
We're asking Primary School Classrooms across Australia to participate by designing and creating a scarecrow – some local entries will be on display at Dreamworld in our Scarecrow Lane for our guests to appreciate during Spring County Fair.
Scarecrows are independently judged on 4 criteria: Durability, Innovation of Materials & Sustainability, Design Creativity and Theme Representation. A “People’s Choice” award will be presented to the most popular submission as decided by the public online who have the chance to win one of 2 $500 VISA gift cards!
Keep an eye out for when you can vote in the 2024 competition!
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Prizes up for grabs
There is $5,000 to be won by our entrants, with the funds being donated to the winning school's P&C/fundraising body.
Meet our straw-some 2024 scarecrows!
And now it's your turn! Check out our incredible scarecrows below and vote for your favourite for the People's Choice Award! Voting opening soon
At Upper Coomera State College, we are excited to introduce Captain Conservation and his trusted sidekick, Crikey Kookaburra. Together, they embark on an adventurous mission to protect endangered animals all around the world! Captain Conservation is equipped with a powerful utility belt that helps him save both plants and animals, all while keeping his true identity a secret. Meanwhile, Crikey Kookaburra swiftly soars through the treetops, keeping a watchful eye on animal habitats that are being destroyed. As soon as Crikey spots trouble, he quickly flies back to Captain Conservation, and together, they leap into action to save lives and make the world a better place.
This dynamic duo was brought to life by a passionate group of Year Four students during their lunch breaks as part of our Scarecrow Project. The students began by exploring the importance of conservation and brainstorming what each of us can do to help protect endangered species. Through these discussions, the idea of becoming everyday superheroes emerged.
Next, we moved on to the exciting part—designing our scarecrow! The students worked together to come up with creative ideas for Captain Conservation and Crikey Kookaburra. They discussed how to construct the scarecrow and what materials would be needed. From there, the group designed logos, wrote lists, and gathered materials from the op shop to bring their vision to life.
We are incredibly proud of our scarecrow and the important message it carries. We hope you love Captain Conservation and Crikey Kookaburra as much as we do, and that their story inspires you to take action to protect our planet and its creatures!
Labrador State School is excited to present to you the amazing Wildlife Conservation scarecrow we have made! This scarecrow represents a mix of endangered animals, their colours, and their habitats. Our scarecrow, Mulchisha is made of animal friendly items that can protect the environment. Our scarecrow doesn’t have any chemicals that can harm the wildlife, so instead we used unharmful natural items such as mulch, wool, sticks, leaves, and recycled bottle caps. We crafted a rare, endangered spider, an echidna, snake, butterflies, native koala, a bird, and its nest (with eggs), a native mouse that we hope that you can spot. Up to 48 bird and mammal extinctions have been prevented by conservation efforts since a global agreement to protect biodiversity, according to a new study. Our school and the world’s use of natural items instead of chemicals and plastics can help! We are glad for Mulchisha and glad to represent the animals around her (can you spot them all)! We want the endangered animals to be safe and grow their population. Our school thinks all animals should be treated the same. Thank you for letting us have this exciting opportunity to express our feelings about endangered animals!
Our Year 6 students were part of this project to protect some of Australia's vulnerable creatures. They researched various endangered animals, eventually choosing the wombat, echidna, Bandy Bandy snake, koala, dunnart and Murray River turtle. The students then created posters filled with fascinating facts to raise awareness about these unique animals.
To guard these endangered friends, the students designed a special scarecrow, who stands watch, ever vigilant, to chase away anything that might threaten their safety. This scarecrow is not just any ordinary figure—he’s a symbol of hope and protection, made with care from a mix of reused materials. Old clothes donated by students and their families gave him character, while leftover pine was transformed into the sturdy frame and fence on which he proudly sits, embodying the spirit of sustainability and community effort.
Coomera State School’s commitment to wildlife conservation shines through in our latest creation, celebrating the gifts animals bring to our world. This year, our Prep students delved into the lives of endangered Queensland animals, including koalas, tree kangaroos, the Bandy Bandy snake, as well as frogs and birds. We discussed ways to protect these species to enhance their understanding of conservation in their own backyards.
Our design vividly represents the proactive efforts needed to restore endangered ecosystems. A young girl plants trees, symbolizing the nurturing of future forests and biodiversity. Surrounding her are bird and butterfly houses and bee hive, highlighting the importance of habitats for pollinators and avian species. A First Nations Elder is sharing Dreamtime stories, emphasizing the cultural significance and conservation of Australian wildlife.
Our scarecrow includes recycled timber and branches from our old playground, repurposed bottles and foam for birds, seed pods for insects and lizards, and rocks painted as frogs. Chicken wire and hessian from past projects form structural elements, while figures of people are made from donated styrofoam, straw, and clothing. Our project embodies both ecological restoration and the active role each of us can play in wildlife preservation each day.
Our annual ‘Spring Outdoor Learning Day,’ saw the students tend gardens and explore living ecosystems, deepening their connection to conservation.
Introducing Beenleigh Special School’s latest scarecrow, Barry Stavcam – Scarecrow Wildlife Warrior.
Barry was born from a fence at Miss Jan’s house. His love of wildlife came from animals that would come and sit on him. Kookaburras, possums, kangaroos, and other birds would sit near the fence and sing.
The land behind Miss Jan’s is bushland and in recent years, houses have taken over the bush. More and more animals came and sat on the fence. Barry decided to become a wildlife warrior to protect the animals. Barry prefers to sit on a chair so the animals can still sit on him. Barry loves all types of weather. Rain, hail or shine he will protect the wildlife.
Barry started life as a wooden fence protecting wildlife for forty- three years. He`s been transformed using recycled fence wood including recycled screws and nuts and bolts. His clothes are from the local op-shop. Barry was a fence for forty-three years and now he will be a wildlife warrior scarecrow for another forty-three years.
Barry was named Barry Stavcam- Scarecrow by Beenleigh Special School (BSS) Junior Secondary 4 class. Stavcam comes from the first initial of each students’ name in the class: Slater, Tyler, Austin, Vann, Chloe, Anthony and Maynard.
Hendra State School is a small inner city primary school with 30 students. Our entry is inspired by our partnership with the Tangalooma EcoMarines Program. The EcoMarines Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation providing free environmental education programs to schools and learning centres across Queensland to support our community in creating positive behaviour change for marine and terrestrial eco-systems. Our Scarecrow is depicted rescuing a turtle who is snagged in plastic rubbish.
"Through education, collaboration and commitment our programs inspire environmental leadership. Our schools and businesses become change agents with a shared aim to play their part in making our planet a better and safer place for all." Louise Yates - Board Director EcoMarines Foundation.
Each year, our two elected Tangalooma EcoMarine Ambassadors work together to implement positive environmental changes with the intent to reverse and prevent further damage to our planet. We know damage to our planet impacts our wildlife and their habitat so conservation is extremely important. We teach and encourage recycling for reducing landfill and preventing rubbish ending up in our oceans and over our land. Our EcoMarines this year have turned an overgrown garden into a flourishing flower garden to support our local bees and butterflies.
Our students at Ipswich Special School explored the vital role of bees in food and fibre production. Through our investigations, we learned how important pollinators are to the environment, particularly bees, and how they help grow many of the foods we eat. Inspired by this, we created Polly the Pollinator Protector to raise awareness about the need to protect these small but essential creatures.
Polly is crafted using sustainable materials to emphasize the importance of recycling and caring for our planet. Her frame is made from recycled wood, while her clothing and accessories are thrifted items donated by our school community. We even used hay from our veggie garden to fill her body, linking back to the natural environment that bees help sustain.
To highlight Polly’s mission, we attached handmade bees, crafted from recycled bottle caps and pipe cleaners, representing pollinators at work and a native bee hive made by one of our students. Polly stands as a symbol of sustainability, durability, and creative use of materials, while embodying the theme of protecting the pollinators that keep our ecosystems thriving.
At Coomera State Special School, we’ve taken on a big mission to learn about taking care of special places such as forests, and habitats and how this can help endangered animals like koalas, Grey snakes, and the McIlwraith Leaf-tailed Gecko. Using our Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, we’ve shared our ideas about how to protect these amazing creatures and their homes and how to take care of the environment.
We made a special scarecrow that looks like a wildlife ranger. This ranger is holding a clipboard with important facts about some of our endangered friends. We are working hard to make sure the ranger knows all about koalas, Grey snakes, and McIlwraith Leaf-tailed Geckos so we can teach others how to keep their habitats safe. The scarecrow embodies our school mission that by looking after our local environments and special places we are creating happy memories that last a lifetime within our local community.
Our goal is to show everyone that no matter what school you go to, everyone can make a big difference. By spreading the word and sharing what we’ve learned, we hope to inspire others to join us in protecting these incredible animals and their homes. Our scarecrow ranger is just the beginning of our journey to save wildlife and make a positive impact on our world.
Nungurner Primary School is in the beautiful East Gippsland region of Victoria and has 32 students. Upon learning that the theme for the 2024 Scarecrow Competition was “Wildlife Conservation: Ecology of threatened and endangered species”, we worked to understand and define the terms ‘wildlife conservation,’ ‘ecology,’ and ‘threatened and endangered species’ as well as the purpose and properties of scarecrows. We explored species that were threatened or endangered and then created a design for a screcrow relating to the theme and what we had learnt. Everyone voted on which design we should use. A large majority voted for the Eastern Snake-necked Turtle - one of our lovely, local reptiles that are threatened by habitat loss and climate change.
We gathered items for recycling/reusing so as not create any further waste and consumption. Our turtle was made from items including a toddler shell-pool, bottle lids, compact discs, pool noodles, sarking, a toilet seat and chicken wire. Compact discs were used as the reflective properties are known to scare away birds. The turtle fins were attached so they would flap in the wind, scaring away birds and local animals such as kangaroos, that are known to steal produce from our veggie gardens!
Terms & Conditions
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Competition Terms & Conditions
COMPETITION TERMS & CONDITIONS – VOTER PARTICIPATION
1. Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these conditions.
2. By completing the online vote for People’s Choice, you (the entrant) agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.
3. The Promoter Coast Entertainment Operations Limited (ABN 22 104 529 106) trading as Dreamworld and is located at Dreamworld, Dreamworld Parkway, Coomera, QLD, 4209
4. The promotional period ends at 11.59pm AEST on Sunday the 6th of October 2024.
5. Entry is open to Australian residents.
6. An eligible entrant who is under 18yrs of age must obtain permission from a parent or guardian and provide evidence of the permission. Dreamworld reserves the right to verify the validity of any entry or entrant (including an entrant’s identity, age and place of residence) and to disqualify any entrant or entry which is not in accordance with these terms and conditions.
7. The directors, management and employees of Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, SkyPoint and their immediate relatives (including children, niece, nephew, grandchildren or siblings) are ineligible to enter the competition.
8. To enter, entrants must complete and submit an online vote for People’s Choice and fill in all required fields.
9. There are two (2) prizes to be won of one (1) EFTPOS Gift Card at a total value of $500 (total prize pool is $1,000).
10. This competition is a Category 4 trade promotion and the selection of the winners will be selected randomly. The winners will be selected at Dreamworld Parkway, Coomera QLD 4209. The winner will be notified by email or mobile by the 31st of October 2024 and the prize will be sent digitally. The selection of the winner is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
11. Any component of the prize, which is forfeited cannot be exchanged for another prize, transferred or redeemed for cash.
12. All Prizes cannot be exchanged or redeemed for cash. In the event the winner does not take the prize by the time stipulated, then a redraw will occur and the next random drawn winner will be contacted.
13. The promoter shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever which is suffered (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss).
14. Entries must be received by the Promoter during the promotional period.
15. The promoter reserves the right to verify the validity of entries and reserves the right to disqualify any entrant for tampering with the entry process or for submitting an entry which is not in accordance with these conditions of entry, or if the entrant is engaged in any unlawful or other improper misconduct calculated to jeopardise the fair and proper conduct of the promotion. The Promoter’s legal rights to recover damages or other compensation from such an offender are reserved.
16. By entering this competition, you consent to the collection of your personal information by or on behalf of Dreamworld for the primary purposes of enabling it to administer the promotion and publicise its winner(s) and to market its products to you. The personal information of each winner may be provided to others assisting in the conduct of the promotion, including the promotion administrator, prize suppliers and deliverers, and to regulatory authorities. You may contact the Promoter by post at the address stated in condition 3 to request access to, or corrections of, any of your personal information that is held by Dreamworld. If you do not provide accurate personal information, Dreamworld may determine that you are not eligible to win a prize.