Students in Bath are helping to save the environment for future generations by making biodegradable plant pots.
City of Bath College’s Life and Living Skills students are putting old newspapers to good use and producing about 100 pots for people to plant in their gardens.
They will care for the flowering plants including violas and geraniums for about six weeks then sell them to staff and students to raise money for homeless people in Bath.
The blooms can be planted with the pot still on as the newspaper pages will gradually break down into the ground.
The 16 to 19-year-olds want to encourage the recycling of newspapers across the city and hope others will follow their environmentally-friendly lead.
The plant pot project is part of the course’s hobby unit to encourage students to learn new skills, including gardening and environment-awareness.
The eight students have voted to support the Genesis Trust as their chosen charity as they “don’t like to see people going without.”
Lecturer Helen Holt said it was the second year the students had made the plant pots out of rolled up newspapers for charity.
She said: “The students really like this project; they get a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from making the pots and tending to the plants.
“They have learned how to do something that’s good for the environment and have also how to work well as a team.”
The students will keep the plants on the classroom window sill and water them every other day before selling them for charity donations at the end of May.
Student Natalie Thomas, 19, said she hoped their work would inspire others to recycle their old newspapers.
She said: “I’ve really enjoyed doing this. Others should do this with their old newspapers rather than throwing them out.
“The homeless people need our help so it’s good to raise money for them and do something for the environment at the same time.”
Student Uriel Renton, 19, said he had learned how plants needed “plenty of water and sunlight to survive.”
He said: “I didn’t know much about gardening before I did this but now I might try it myself at home.”
The Life and Living Skills course, which combines academic and practical classes, is aimed at students who need a more supported learning environment.
