Clean and Cozy Penguins!
A group of women in England knit sweaters to help protect penguins.

© PINP/AAT Kings/Spotlight/Rex Features/Shutterstock.com
Sweaters can protect penguins from oil spills. The sweaters in these photos, worn by stuffed penguins, were knitted as part of a contest.
Penguins don’t normally wear sweaters! But that hasn’t stopped a group of women in England from knitting colorful outfits for the little birds. The sweaters (called “jumpers” in England) are meant to help prevent penguins from getting sick if there is an oil spill.
The women, who call themselves the “Knitting Nannas,” live at Hazelgrove Court Care Home, a place where older people live and receive the care they need. The sweaters they knit are being sent to The Penguin Foundation, a group that helps protect penguins and other animals on Australia’s Phillip Island.
“I have knitted jumpers for both my children but have never knit for a penguin,” 94-year-old Joyce Baxtrem told the BBC.
The sweaters aren’t meant to keep the penguins warm. Penguins’ own waterproof feathers can do that.
Instead, workers plan to put the sweaters on the penguins if petroleum (oil) spills from a ship into the waters where the island’s 40,000 penguins swim and hunt. This will keep the penguins from accidentally drinking in the toxic petroleum when they use their beaks to preen, or clean, their feathers. The penguins will wear the sweaters until rescue workers have time to wash out the petroleum.

© Heath Missen/The Age—Fairfax Media/Getty Images
In this photo, from the year 2000, a penguin wears a sweater after it was affected by an oil spill.
This isn’t the Knitting Nannas’ first such project. In 2024, they knitted a blanket for a baby rhinoceros that had been attacked by a hyena in South Africa.
The projects benefit the women as well as the animals, giving them a chance to use their skills for a good cause.
“The [knitters] love getting involved and using their lifelong skills to support others,” Hazelgrove Court Care Home’s activities coordinator Sharon Lewis told the BBC. “It gives them a sense of purpose and pride.”

Did You Know?
Experts say knitting is good for our health. Stitching yarn together into something new calms our brains while allowing us to be creative.

© Ronnie Kaufman—DigitalVision/Getty Images
Hooked on Crochet!

© Courtesy of Jonah’s Hands
Jonah Larson has been crocheting since he was 5. Now age 17, Larson is putting his skills to good use, helping a school in the country where he was born.
Crochet is a craft that’s similar to knitting. Larson, who lives in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, taught himself how to crochet by watching a YouTube video when he was 5. Since then, he has created hats, sweaters, blankets, and much more. Larson sells his handiwork on his website under the name “Jonah’s Hands.”
Larson’s amazing skills have gotten a lot of attention. He has written two books about crochet and appeared on the Drew Barrymore Show several times. He also has almost half a million followers on Instagram.
And now he’s using his fame to help people in Ethiopia, where he lived for the first five months of his life before getting adopted by an American family. Through his website, Larson raised money to build a library and a science lab at an Ethiopian school.
Penguins of the World

© JAG IMAGES/stock.adobe.com
True or false: All penguins live in cold climates. False! The Galápagos penguin lives in the Galápagos Islands, where the climate is warm.
Learn more about penguins at Britannica.

Word of the Day
collaborate
verb
: to work with another person or group in order to achieve or do something


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