You may want to think twice before throwing out those plastic grocery bags stuffed in your kitchen drawers and cabinets.

Donna McLean, along with fellow Georgia Perimeter College colleagues Ginny Powell, Karen Greer and Patti Chupp, will lead a two-hour session later this month on crafting with plastic bags as part of the college’s Earth Week celebration.

Plarning (think: plastic yarn) is the art of shredding plastic bags and then knitting or crocheting them into crafty items. McLean has plarned everything from purses and rugs to electronic device holders and soda can cozies. And while some people plarn using only plastic bags, McLean elevates her craftiness by weaving in colorful threads of conventional yarn.

“I just like color,” she says. “I like creativity; I like to see the finished product.”

Dr. Susannah Lomant, coordinator of Earth Week activities at GPC’s Decatur Campus, introduced McLean to plarning a couple of years back. Lomant says she especially appreciates the practicality of plarning.

“Something you’d normally throw out, you upcycle, you kick it up a notch, you turn it into something useful,” she says.

Everyone participating in the plarning, or upcycling, event will leave a with a plarn craft created by their own hands. In addition, attendees will be eligible to win a 3-foot vase or 30-inch rug—plarned by McLean.

An Earth Day Expo also is among events planned for this year’s Earth Week activities on Decatur and Dunwoody campuses.

Expo coordinator Athertina Steinau says it’s an excellent time “to learn about environmental stewardship and sustainable practices for our planet.” The expo also will focus on careers in the sustainable and green industries, as well as what GPC environmental science students are learning in the classroom.

The following are Earth Week activities open to the public and taking place on Georgia Perimeter College campuses throughout April.

Alpharetta

April 15 & 16

Walking Tours

(Explore paved walkways around GPC and along Big Creek Greenway)

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and 1-1:45 p.m. each day

Meet near front doors in campus lobby.

Decatur

April 20

Solar Astronomy with Stephen Ramsden

9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Parking lot next to H building

Upcycling Craft Event

10 a.m.-12 noon

Gymnasium Hallway (SC1000)

April 21

Upcycling Craft Event

10 a.m.-12 noon

Gym Hallway (SC1000)

Literary Event

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Garden near A & F buildings

April 22

Campus Cleanup

(in partnership with Keep DeKalb Beautiful)

1 to 3 p.m.

Meet at Gymnasium

April 23

Gardening Workshop

10 a.m.-12 noon

Garden by A & F buildings

Earth Week Expo

10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Gymnasium Hallway (SC1000) or outside in Quad, depending on weather

Dunwoody

April 21

Earth Week Expo

10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Student Center

Newton

April 17

Organic Vegetable Garden Planting Project

9-11 a.m.

Raised beds near faculty parking

April 21

Earth Celebration Day

(featuring local vendors, electric car demo, bee keeper, upcycling events and lunch, held in partnership with Keep Covington/Newton Beautiful and Keep Walton Beautiful)

11 a.m.-1 p.m.

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