Their ideas became part of a recorded dramatic production in response to the Koala Smart project, while student Christa Dale designed the painting for the koala sculpture.

North Haven Public School assistant principal Sarah Dennis said the school was over the moon to win the Koala Smart project's primary school section.

"The children were just ecstatic," she said.

Wauchope Public School placed second in the primary school section.

Wauchope teacher, Cathryn Whiteoak said the result was an outstanding achievement from Brianna Bailey, Tiana Daly, Spencer Mathews, Shyla White, Tori Knox, Abby-Rose Fordyce, Maddy South, Jasmine Ratko and Charlie Molenkamp.

"All of their hard will be on display at the Wauchope Public School Creative and Performing Arts Showcase evening, WILD, next week," said Mrs Whiteoak.

Port Macquarie Public School took out third position in the primary school section.

The judges chose Kempsey Adventist School as the secondary school winner, followed by Hastings Secondary College Westport Campus in second place and St Joseph's Regional College in third spot.

North Haven Public School and Kempsey Adventist School each win a full-size Hello Koalas sculpture and second and third place-getters will enjoy a behind the scenes tour of Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.

Herons Creek Public School, recognised for the most creatively painted koala sculpture, won a set of koala-related books donated by Hastings Macleay Koala Recovery Partnership.

The Tacking Point Lions Club teamed up with the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, Hastings Macleay Koala Recovery Partnership and Hello Koalas to involve schools across the Hastings and Macleay region in the project.

Some 25 schools took part in the educational and creative arts project to raise awareness about the dramatic decline of local koala populations.

The schools presented their ideas to save our koalas and each painted a small koala sculpture.

Koala Smart project co-chair Rob Bruce said the quality of the entries demonstrated the project's success.

"I think the 25 schools have done amazingly well in their research and in their creativity," he said.

Koala Smart project co-chair Janice McGilchrist said the project exceeded their expectations.

"It's very grounding to realise the firsthand lesson in how our children feel about the world around them and the environment around them," she said.

The next step is further exploration of some of the students' ideas to decide which can be applied in the real world.

The entries will be on display at Settlement City until October 27 and then at the CWA Hall at Wauchope until October 31.

A smaller showcase will follow at the Kempsey Shire Council building until November 8.

St Joseph's Regional College pastoral coordinator Claire Goldie said the group of Year 8 students learnt a lot about koalas, working as a team and the design and creative process.

The Nature School Primary kindergarten teacher Jessica Foulkes said their students spent a lot of time learning about koalas and sharing that knowledge.