CASTLE Drogo was the location for a contingent from Okehampton Primary School to take part in a recycled art course.

The Year 5 Family Learning Group was invited to Drogo on December 2 to contribute to some of the castle's Christmas celebrations, and they decorated one of the 12 Christmas trees hidden among the castle's gardens.

The group enjoyed decorating the tree and surrounding garden with bunting and 'paper' chains made from plastic bags, snowmen and sparkly elephants made from plastic milk bottles, and baubles made from scraps of felt.

The group, made up of pupils and their parents and guardians, are taking part in a new family learning art course exploring ways of re-using rubbish to create art.

Part of the project involved the group researching and creating Christmas decorations using recycled materials such as plastic bags, milk bottles, and old CDs.

The adults also enjoyed a visit to Rockin' Beads, where they learnt how to knit using yarn made out of plastic bags.

Once the adults returned to school, they then taught the children how to knit with their 'plarn'. It is hoped that in the new year all of the plarn knitting can be stitched together to 'yarn bomb' an area outside Rockin' Beads to highlight the plight of plastic marine pollution.

The decorated tree can be found in the gardens at Castle Drogo along with other Christmas trees that have been decorated by other local community groups.