Piles of old Vancouver Aquarium fleece jackets and vests, 20,000 metres of thread and sewing students from Eric Hamber secondary-that's all it took to transform discarded uniforms into blankets and hats, which the high schoolers donated to the Salvation Army's Harbour Light centre on East Cordova, Wednesday.

Scott Finestone, Vancouver Aquarium's outreach coordinator, said the aquarium was looking at reducing waste when its sustainability coordinator suggested turning the old staff uniforms into blankets instead of throwing them away. The aquarium considered using volunteers at its Stanley Park location but realized it was too big a job.

"We thought what a great project it would be to get high school students involved from a home economics class," he said, adding that about 150 jackets and vests were turned into dozens of blankets and toques.

Read more: http://www.vancourier.com/travel/Recycled+fleece+helps+spread+Seams+Love/5834838/story.html#ixzz1g3MtVRPs