CANBERRANS have been pleasantly surprised today (November 17) by a series of botanical displays by floristry students from the Canberra Institute of Technology, who’ve been at four locations installing their creations and encouraging passers-by to take away a “Street Stem” for themselves.

The Floristry Certificate III students from the Bruce campus have planned, created and installed the pop-up displays as a response to covid-related uncertainty around final exhibition opportunities.

Their floristry teacher, Narelle Phillips, says: “Students were researching the work of international florists and came across Lewis Miller, who is renowned for ‘Flower Flash’ projects.

“Miller creates floral installations in the street and invites the general public to take the blooms away. His installations have also been designed to thank healthcare and other frontline workers in New York. This seemed like the perfect solution to our display challenge.”

Phillips added that the students creating this installation were inspired by the pride roundabout in Braddon and wanted to bring a piece of that colour closer to home in their design at Bruce campus.

Floristry student Taisha Granger says: “We designed ‘Canberra’s Bleeding Heart’ at the Canberra Centre in response to the resilience and community spirit displayed by Canberrans throughout 2021.”

Fellow-student Grace Walter says: “My partner Jo and I chose the iconic Canberra bus shelter as our installation site as it is such a recognisable and fun feature of the Canberra landscape. In particular, we chose the bus shelter just outside Calvary Hospital as we hope to put a smile on the faces of healthcare workers who have worked tirelessly over the past two years.”

The four “Street Stem” sites, up until Friday, November 19 are:

• CIT Bruce campus;
• Heritage ACTION bus stop, cnr Haydon Drive and Mary Potter Circuit, Bruce;
• Queen Elizabeth Terrace, (pedestrian area) Lakeside Barton; and
• Canberra Centre, outside, cnr Bunda Street and Scott’s Crossing.