Shorebird artworks have swooped onto the industrial vista which has previously greeted the flocks of users of the Great Taste Trail’s Waimea Inlet section.
The four sculptures, which includes wading matuku, tern, oystercatcher and spoonbill paintings etched into corten steel, are the brainchild of Nelson artist Virginia Watson.
They are part of a Nelson Tasman Cycle Trails Trust plan to beautify the highly used trail section which borders the internationally recognised wetland.
Virginia says sustaining the Waimea Inlet spins her wheels, and her artworks along the section should get the users sustainability gears shifted.
“It is easy to fall in love with the fabulous wading birds, and the daily rhythms of the Inlet,” she says.
“Many of the world’s migratory and wading birds are now rare or endangered due to development and degradation of coastal habitats… so in this way, my paintings tell a serious story, but they’re fun and observant of quirky birdy behaviours.
“My drive to paint these incredible characters comes from a place of wanting to share their beauty to help preserve and protect them.”
Virginia’s artworks were installed on 11 February and were made possible by funding from NPD, Higgins, OneFortyOne, the Lion Foundation, Tasman District Council and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
