When I was a
child, I remember cutting strips of newspaper to soak in a chunky flour,
water, and glue mixture that I never quite understood. I would end up making a mess and had no idea
what it was I was making. To top it off,
if it made it home intact from the journey on the school bus, my parents always
found a “special place” for it that made sure no one ever had to see it again.
Today,
we have a ton of options for things we can make. Back in the day, one of the purposes of
utilizing old newspaper in crafts was that it was cheap, available, and
repurposed something we were throwing away.
That still holds true today. Now
we can actually have a little fun and make something that will benefit the
earth while giving our children an education in environmental sciences they
will be interested in. Sound to good to
be true? Well, hang in there and read
on.
I
have always known paper was made from trees.
“How” was a little beyond my educational level before I started working
with youth. To teach them about paper
making, recycling, plant science, and community service, we have a neat project
we do in 4-H called making grow cards.
The idea is simple. By utilizing
paper you are going to recycle (newspaper, printer paper, construction paper),
you can make paper pulp and then add flower seeds to make grow cards that can
be given as gifts, to someone who might need a smile, and so much more.
First,
have your child shred the used paper product into tiny pieces or put it through
a paper shredder. The smaller the paper
shreds, the better, because the next step is to put the paper with water in a
blender to pulverize it together and make a mushy mess. This mushy mess is your paper pulp. You can make it a certain color by the type
of paper you use. Construction paper can
add colorful flecks to grey (newspaper) or white (copy/printer paper). If you use one color of construction paper,
you can make some brightly colored cards; just remember, the point of this is
to recycle.
The
next step is even more fun. Place a window
screen over a bucket or plastic container.
If you want to make a sheet of paper, pour the pulp onto the screen and
press it into the rectangular shape until it is very thin. What works better, especially for youth, is
to place cookie cutters on the screen over the bucket and poor the pulp into
the cookie cutters. Have your child
press it into place making sure the pulp touches all the edges of the cookie
cutter, so it will have that shape.
Press as much water out as possible before removing the cookie
cutter. Let the pulp dry on the screen
for about 30 minutes to one hour before pressing flower seeds (sunflower seeds
or some kind of seed that will not immediately sprout from the water) in the
grow card. Let the card dry overnight or
longer depending on the amount of water that was in it. Once dry, the cards can be handed out to
friends or family. You can punch a hole
in it and tie it to a present as an added gift.
Once
receiving one of these cards, all the person has to do is plant it and water it. The card is biodegradable, and the paper will
act like a mulch to the seed, eventually dissolving back into the dirt. The seeds will sprout and grow, and the
person who received it will be impressed with this environmentally responsible
gift that keeps giving. Personally, I
like it much better than my Paper Mache creations, which eventually also got
planted (at the landfill), because this one brings joy no matter what it looks
like.
For more information, please contact
Shea Ann DeJarnette, Extension 4-H Youth Development Agent with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center,
at 910-671-3276 or by E-mail
at shea_ann_dejarnette@ncsu.edu. North Carolina State University and North
Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to
secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin,
religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability. In addition, the two Universities welcome all
persons without regard to sexual orientation.
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