By Charlene Macaulay
Point Cook College P-9 students have mastered the art of plarning – plastic yarning – and have used it to create sleeping mats for the homeless.
College P-9 environmental leaders have spent the past two terms creating the sleeping mats and last week donated their collection to Onevoice, which will distribute them to people in need.
Environmental science teacher and sustainability co-ordinator Robyn Cairns said the project began as a way to repurpose single-use plastic bags.
The Western Plarners group taught students the tricks of the trade and from there, they crocheted the plarn into sleeping mats during lunchtime workshops.
“A couple of grade 6 girls were doing all the crocheting, all the other kids were making the plarn,” Ms Cairns said.
“There’s a bit of a process – you’ve got to cut the plastic bags, loop it and create it into balls for them to crochet with. We had a lot of kids come in to make plarn.”
Ms Cairns said Point Cook College P-9, which is a three-star Resource Smart school, had a passion for community projects.
“It’s good to see the kids taking community action for the environment, but also for people in need,” she said.
“It’s providing a real-life learning opportunity.”
