Months ago I wrote about creating a vermicomposting system
at Brookside Elementary that would be capable of collecting food scraps
generated from the school cafeteria and transform the “food
wastes” into nutrient-rich worm castings. Since then, I have picked up a book
titled The Worm Café which outlines how to establish a mid-scale
vermicompost system of lunchroom wastes. This book was written by a local
author, Binet Payne, who has successfully created such a system in a town 25
miles north of Willits. Binet is a middle school teacher who used her
enthusiasm to support her school garden program and educate children and staff
about the benefits of recycling lunchroom wastes with red worms. Her book
covers each aspect of readying a school for such a program including: a
School-Wide Waste Audit, Creating Understanding with Cafeteria Staff and
Parents, Establishing Bins, and Managing the School’s Food-Waste Flow. I have
found the material inspiring and it has grounded my expectations for creating a
system in this 2006-2007 school year.

The population at Brookside
Elementary School is 450 students; Kindergarten to Second Grade. Each student
spends an hour a week with a Garden Enhanced Nutrition Coordinator (GENC). This
is a special program that ties directly to the mini-farm that is being
developed at Brookside. Once the farm is set-up,
the GENC will have an ideal setting to anchor the context of classroom
discussions about food, nutrition, and environmental stewardship. If all
parties work together, (i.e. farm manager, GENC, school staff, and parents) then
there is real potential to establish a successful vermicomposting system at Brookside in the near future. It is important to begin the
school year with the “recycling” program in place so that new students can
adapt to the cafeteria’s expectations.

At present we are over halfway through the school year, and
it is a little late to work with and coordinate the staff and the kids.
Nevertheless, it does not mean that we shouldn’t move ahead with developing the
appropriate infrastructure. We have been talking with a couple of local
“organic” restaurants who are more than willing to separate their food wastes
and allow us to collect and covert it to worm castings. Furthermore, the school
has an abundant supply of shredded “waste paper” that can be converted into
carbon-rich worm bedding.

This project is exciting because it allows us to make a
strong effort to capture material that would otherwise be thrown out. Instead
of rotting in a landfill, the food scraps can be used to grow more food and add
nutrients to the soil. This project also connects other groups of the community
to the processes of local food and fuel production. In the long term, these
local organic restaurants may become supporting members of the CSA and we will
be able to close a portion of the waste loop and convert it into a form of
useful energy. The vermicomposting system is yet another way that the Willits Energy farm is Reducing Consumption/Waste and Producing Locally.