Team effort to stamp out graffiti
20 October 2020
A group of community minded Wellington students have been doing their bit to get rid of graffiti from hoardings around the city’s latest housing redevelopment.
The three 16 year-old Scots College Year 11 students – Tana, Toby and Joenah – spent half a day painting the hoardings to block out tags and other graffiti vandalism outside the inner city Arlington site in Mount Cook.
Kāinga Ora is building 300 modern, dry and warm state and affordable homes at the former Wellington City Council site, with completion from 2023.
Graffiti crew (l to r) Joenah, Toby, Delly and Tana
Tana says their ‘Three Wise Men’ team wanted to give back to the community and do something positive.
“We chose to paint out this graffiti to help create a better environment – it just doesn’t look welcoming like this. We’ve also grown up with tagging around where we live, and it’s not great for people to have it around in their community.”
They’re also planning to carry out fundraisers, mow lawns and help deliver food to those in need as part of their year-long course activities.
They were working alongside the Council’s Graffiti Volunteer Coordinator Delly Ranginui, who leads volunteer teams to remove graffiti from around the city.
Arlington Project Director Colleen McCorkindale says it was great to see the students’ hard work, as the new housing development gets underway.
“One of the realities of any inner city development is that protective site fencing can be a target for tagging.
“We’re impressed with the actions of Tana, Toby and Joenah to help make that part of our city a little more welcoming for those who live in this area.”
The paint, supplied by Resene, is made up of returned recycled paint, with extra left for painting out any future graffiti.
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Page updated: 20 October 2020