Botanic Gardens Week 2025

2024 Winning Scarecrow
Get ready to show off your creativity in this year’s Scarecrow Competition, part of our Botanic Gardens Week celebrations! Whether you’re a student, a family, a local business, or an individual with a great idea, this competition is free and open to everyone.
Competition Guidelines:
  • THEME: Cooktown and Cape York Icons 

  • Free to enter – no cost, just creativity!

  • Open to all – prizes for kids category and adults category.

  • Your scarecrow must be self-supporting and freestanding, with a maximum height of 1.5 metres.

  • It must be built from scratch – no commercially made scarecrows or pre-moulded face masks.

  • All materials are welcome, as long as they’re securely attached and can withstand the famous Cooktown wind.

  • Be tasteful – any scarecrow designed to deliberately offend will be disqualified.

Judging Criteria

Judges will award points based on:

  • Theme – how the scare crow best meets the theme of ‘Cooktown and Cape York Icons’

  • Construction – Is it self-supporting and well made?

  • Durability – Can it survive the weather?

  • Originality – Built from scratch with no commercial parts.

  • Creativity – Unique use of materials and presentation.

  • Crow-scariness – It is a scarecrow, after all!

  • All entries must display the name of their scarecrow and what category they are entering – kids or adults
Key Dates & Details:

  • Delivery: Bring your completed scarecrow to the Cooktown Botanic Gardens between 7:00am – 9:00am on Sunday, 25 May 2025.

  • Display Period: Scarecrows will be on show in the Gardens for up to two weeks.

  • Pick-up: Scarecrows must be collected by Friday, 7 June. Uncollected entries will be disposed of after this date.

We can’t wait to see what you create!