Liz Getsinger BCPS Green School summit EEK! Worm Composting 101? Liz Getsinger BCPS Green School summit

25% of food Americans buy is thrown into a landfill 12.7% of our waste stream is food waste According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)… Methane (CH4) is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide and contributes more to global warming.

Due to BCPS Rules, we can’t put vermicompost on edibles, only butterfly gardens, classroom plants, etc.

Worms are just so cool! Plus!

In Canada and the Northern US, most native earthworms got wiped out by: disease drought floods glaciers Did you know most of the worms in our soil currently are invasive species?... During the last ice age, which happened 10,000 years ago (Pleistocine Era), glaciers swept across the US and Canada and wiped out most native earthworms. Most of the earthworms we have now were brought here by Europeans starting in the 1600s.

What is the longest earthworm in the US? 3 feet 7 feet 9 feet 12 feet The Oregon giant earthworm is 3 feet! Tremors

Male Female Male and Female Male Changes to Female Most earthworms are… Male Female Male and Female Male Changes to Female Each worm has testes and ovaries. One worm still passes sperm to another worm.

How many hearts do earthworms have? 10 3 5 1 Worms have 5 hearts/arches that pump blood, located in their anteriors 5 hearts means 5 times the love!

Not all worms do well in compost bins. Compost worms Special Features Eisenia fetida Tiger worm, manure worm, brandling worm Dendrobaena venta Dendras, blue noses Lumbricus rubellus Redworm, blood worm, red wiggler Eisenia Andrei Red tiger worm Live in top 12” of soil Don’t build permanent burrows Just burrow randomly Other worms like the ones we find in our gardens burrow down deep and just come up to feed at night. They eat mostly leaves and some soil Their vertical burrows go down a few feet deep. Leave their poo (castes) at the entrances of their burrows.

Worm Factory 360 by Nature’s Footprint It comes with everything you need, online $80-100, fancier ones come with test kits, etc. Grants (21st initiative grant), ask Admin or PTA

How it Works Newspaper Minerals Food Water Show real bin here

Build Your Own Vermicomposter https://www.diynatural.com/ve rmicomposting-worm-farm- diy-easy-and-frugal/ http://www.in.gov/idem/iee/236 7.htm http://www.wikihow.com/Make -a-Worm-Compost-System Drill air holes into any plastic container. Use newspaper for bedding, get worms online,

X Most people think all food can be composted but…that’s not true.

AVOID! Salty foods citrus spicy foods oils prepackaged foods with preservatives meat and dairy products Meat and dairy smell Worms just won’t eat the other foods

What to Feed Worms Add food when engaged in older food Add equal portions of greens and browns: Greens: Vegetable and fruit scraps, bread, pasta, coffee grounds and filters, teabags, dead plant matter from houseplants Browns: Paper, junk mail, paper egg cartons, cardboard, dry leaves Chop food up Worms eat half their body weight. One pound of worms can eat ½ pound of food a day. If they don’t have enough food, they will start eating their waste and then get sick. They die and eat then eat each other.

Curricular Connections: NGSS Elementary K-5: From Molecules to Organisms Middle School Life Science High School Life Science Topics Organisms’ needs Using animal mimicry to solve problems Life Cycles What structures do animals have to grow and live? Decomposition Design investigations (invertebrates) We all teach life science at some point and usually you can make any species fit.

Vermicomposting Lesson http://bcpsgreenschools.pbworks.com Lesson Kids research to learn about worms to design a habitat for them. Show them the composter and teach them how to Vermicompost Handout for them to make one at home

Kids really do love worms once they learn about them.

You can also really get students involved in caring for them You can also really get students involved in caring for them. They can collect the food in the café, cut the food, shred the paper, keep the worms covered and moist, and help collect the compost.

egetsinger@bcps.org bcpsgreenschools.pbworks.com