B-CU Freshmen Earth Day "Plarn" Project for the Homeless

Daytona Beach, Florida - The College of Undergraduate Studies, in partnership with the Department of Integrated Environmental Sciences, and several community churches will celebrate Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22nd.  Hundreds of students will volunteer, in shifts, to help cut recycled plastic bags and create "plarn" (plastic yarn). Women from the church community have volunteered to help B-CU freshmen use the "plarn" to crochet blankets and mats. The finished products will be given to the homeless in the community. Students from different academic programs will also prepare poster presentations to emphasize the importance of the environment. The two-part event is from 9:00 a.m. - 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22nd; and will resume from 12:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.  The students and church volunteers will gather at the Centennial Gardens (Dr. Bethune's Statue) of the Performing Arts Center for this project. 

All B-CU freshmen must take Freshman Seminar, a class that teaches the CORE values.  A key component of the course is service.  As a part of the class, professors try to connect the students by establishing a community to help them transition to the university.  "Garbology - Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash" is one of the freshmen's required, common readers; and introduces the complexity and possible prosperity of trash.  Throughout the last semester, the students put out recycling bins to collect paper and plastic bags.  The paper is being taken to a recycling center and the plastic bags will be used on Wednesday for the Earth Day "plarn" project.  The group plans to present the "plarn" mats and blankets to the homeless next month, once they are completed.