Students going undie covered for science

Students at Harvey Primary School have conducted an experiment even Captain Underpants would be proud of. The Year 5 class has planted underwear in the name of science. The students are participating in the Soil Your Undies campaign where they — quite literally — bury their undergarments. Science teacher Paula Johnson said the experiment was not to grow more pairs of undies, but to see if they were able to break down. “It is all about assessing the soil type and seeing whether the cotton briefs will be able to break down,” Ms Johnson said. “We will dig the underwear back up in two months to see how much of it is left.” Harvey Primary School is one of just 205 schools in Australia participating in the experiment. They were also the first school in WA to plant their undies and get their school on the map. The students predicted the underwear would break down and said they could not wait to see the results. If the underwear has broken down, it will indicate good biological activity, which indicates healthy soil.