Budding artists offered chance to go completely wild

The 2025 Wild HeART Student Art Prize invites young Sunshine Coast artists to explore native Australian species and share their ecological stories through realistic art. Finalists’ works will feature in a summer exhibition at Maroochy Botanic Garden. Entries close October 5, with prizes across three age categories.

Young girl standing proudly in front of her nature-inspired artwork, displayed beside a tranquil pond at the Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Garden during the Wild HeART Student Art Prize exhibition.
Mia and her artwork of a green tree frog

Sunshine Coast Council’s Wild HeART Student Art Prize is back for 2025, inviting school-aged creatives to connect with nature and share their eco-passion through art.

This year’s competition encourages students to explore local environments, observe native Australian plants, animals or fungi and create realistic artworks that tell an ecological story.

Whether it’s a delicate wildflower, a timid shorebird, a cryptic skink or peculiar fungi – nature’s inspiration is endless.

Finalists will have their work showcased in a stunning outdoor exhibition trail at the Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Garden, running throughout the summer holidays.

Children and young people across three age categories will have the chance to win awesome prizes, with entries closing midnight, Sunday, October 5, 2025.

Environmental Portfolio Councillor Maria Suarez said the prize is a celebration of creativity and connection to nature in our wildlife friendly biosphere.

“Wild HeART is your chance to tell the story of a place you care about through art.

“We want to see what inspires you – and what you discover when you look a little closer.”

Top tips for young artists

  • Choose a native Australian species, not introduced or invasive species.
  • Be original – both with your subject choice and creative expression.
  • Read the Conditions of Entry carefully.
  • Submit your entry via the online submission form .

Age categories

  • 8 years and under
  • 13 years and under
  • 18 years and under

All entry details, eligibility criteria, and submission link are available under “see and do” at botanic-garden.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au or by searching “Wild HeART Student Art Prize”.

For inspiration, you can check out last year’s finalists online too!

 
 

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Sunshine Coast Council acknowledges the Sunshine Coast Country, home of the Kabi Kabi peoples and the Jinibara peoples, the Traditional Custodians, whose lands and waters we all now share. We wish to pay respect to their Elders – past, present and emerging, and acknowledge the important role First Nations people continue to play within the Sunshine Coast community.

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