Scrumptious goodies, awesome prizes, extra tickets, lovely art…it’s easy to suddenly find your hands full of things to carry at Big Saturday. No worries, because the new fifth-grade environmental upcycle club, Planet Pals, has you covered! They will be selling tote bags made from upcycled t-shirts (get a retro Big Saturday tote-tee!) for three tickets, plus you can have fun decorating your tote for just one ticket per fabric sticker.
The club grew out of the fifth-grade interdisciplinary project called “We are Charlotte.” For the past several years in December, fifth-grade teachers from varying disciplines pair up to lead eight different groups of students through a weeklong project focused on gaining a better understanding, and then problem-solving, around issues that face our city.
In this case, science teacher Kristi Cooper and art teacher Nehal Morejon paired up to focus on sustainability. Their research began with taking their students on a field trip to the Innovation Barn, a nonprofit focused on upcycling in creative ways. From their research about fast fashion and the volume of clothing that ends up in landfills, they focused on a schoolwide project to collect old t-shirts and turn them into tote bags.
Out of that experience, some students were so inspired to make a difference that they created the Planet Pals Club with Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Morejon as advisors. To prep for their sale at Big Saturday, club members gathered during a recent lunch period to make posters and do quality control on the bags made by their classmates—checking to make sure knots were tied tightly and edges cut smoothly. Once the tee-tote passed inspection it was folded and boxed up for sale.
Proceeds from the sale will fund supplies for other upcycle projects. So be sure to look for the Planet Pals Booth #34 (Blythe Field) at Big Saturday. Special thanks to the Parents’ Association for their assistance in purchasing the fabric stickers.
