Since 2025, Anita Staaden and the Woodlands Community of Christ congregation have been bringing together creativity, community and care for creation through Ghost Net REEFormation, an outreach and education program grounded in the Sacredness of Creation. Born from Anita’s passion for environmental advocacy, the project has grown through her vision, persistence and the involvement of a widening community of participants.
Through fortnightly community crafternoons, members and friends have been transforming discarded ghost net, rope and other reclaimed materials into a large outdoor sculpture designed to provoke conversation about coral reef conservation and climate action. The project has already drawn more than 30 non-members and around a dozen church members into the creative process. Its 5 x 1.8 metre sculpture, Ghosted, has also been accepted into The Castaways Sculpture Awards at Rockingham Beach, where Western Australian artists are invited to create works from recycled and repurposed materials.
At National Gathering in August, Anita shared the story of Ghost Net REEFormation with attendees, speaking about both the environmental concerns behind the project and the community that has formed around it. She also brought craft packs so attendees could help sew the “rocks” that form part of the sculpture, giving people a tangible way to contribute while listening and participating in sessions.
The project has also continued to grow into advocacy. Last Thursday, Anita and members of the Ghost Net REEFormation team met with Federal Member for Curtin Kate Chaney MP to share the story behind Ghosted, discuss the environmental concerns that have shaped the project, and ask for support in helping its message reach a wider audience.
Among their requests was assistance in finding a long-term public home for Ghosted, where it could continue to serve as an environmental education piece, as well as the possibility of displaying a smaller ghost-net artwork in Kate’s office. The group also called for stronger action on renewable energy and plastic reduction, and raised concerns about fossil fuel expansion, deep-sea mining, bottom trawling and krill fishing.
What began with Anita’s vision and a group of people gathering around tables to sew, weave and create has become a growing expression of mission, inviting conversation, building community and speaking into some of the urgent environmental issues of our time.
Read the document Anita shared with Kate Chaney, outlining the purpose of Ghosted and the actions the group is asking leaders to consider.
