Vision

We chose to start a vermicomposting system because we noticed that there was a lot of organic waste going into the garbage. We are lucky to have fresh fruit available for snacks every day at school, and thought that we should figure out a way to help minimize the waste that we made to “close the loop”.

Action

We went on a field trip to Amazia Farms to meet Mike Kosaka, and got to see his vermicomposting system. The students were very interested in it so I applied for the grant. Mike was even kind enough to pick it up for us on the coast, and supplied us with our first worms to get started.
In class, we learned about how the Squilxw/Syilx people return the bones of fish to the river or lake where they were caught so that the whole animal is used in some way. We connected it to composting because we eat the fruit but usually the peels just get thrown away. We wanted to think of a way to use the whole fruit.

Reflection & Celebration

My students really enjoyed watching the worms grow, and seeing the organic matter get broken down each week. They kept track of how many big worms they were finding, and how many smaller worms they would see weekly. They really enjoyed sharing information with other students who were curious about the worm bin in. We felt proud when other classes and staff could use our worm castings in the school garden, knowing that they were providing nutrients for the vegetables we are growing AND that we were able to divert all of our classroom waste, and some of the school’s organic waste from the garbage.

The only part they didn’t like was harvesting the worm castings because it smelled! But were happy to get their hands dirty in the name of sustainability.

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