What about Worm Composting?
In this Zoom class, a substitute for an “in-person” class scheduled with the Clinton Huron Library, we explored the Life of Worms !
We started with our own person WORM STORIES, remembering earthworms from our youth.
A WHITE-BOARD Mapping/Discussion with input from all participants, revealed the Cycle of Life. The 10 year old knew a LOT about it, and was a fabulous contribution to the class !
QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Outdoor Earthworms, Indoor Red Wiggler worms, and what is going on with them! What do they eat? What role do they play in the Circle of Life? How to take care of them and meet their needs? It’s interesting to understand some of the details. For example, because worms breath through their skin, their home needs to be damp but not soaking wet.
WHY COMPOST? Given that it takes about 1000 years to create 1 inch of soil, and since Life is dependent on the decomposition and regeneration cycle and the soil that comes from that… there is great motivation to keep our food nutrients in the cycle of Life. It was fun to explore these ideas with a 10 year old, a 30-something, a 50-something and and a 70-something year old !
VIDEOS taken outside at Strawbale Studio, and inside the main house of the 3 layer Worm Composting unit, in continous use for over 20 years….added to the class.
SHOW & TELL Additionally were lots of show and tells to share visually: Decaying leaves, Redworms from the composter, and their “worm castings”, food scraps and more.
COMPOST JAR….during the zoom I constructed a little mini composter made in a 1 quart jar…to demonstrate and watch how the natural items break down into soil over 2 months. .to put out on the I showed how to layer up a kitchen window ledge and WATCH over about 2 months time as I put in a bit of plastic as well to watch it ‘not break down” ! We talked a bit about that. What is a synthetic and what is its relationship with the Circle of Life?
The subject of Worms and Decomposition is DEEP and FERTILE awareness …that connects us with the fullness, the expression, the miracle of Life itself. Ah.
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