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Composting Worm Farm Project
by Swanson School
Mr. Thomas Heminger's 4th Grade Class at Swanson school found the answer when they
developed a Worm Composting Project. This project was sponsored by the Solid Waste Management District
of St. Joseph County.
Composting is the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to
make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that is excellent for adding to houseplants
or enriching garden soil. Compost is dark-rich earthen in color with no odors, has
a PH of 7.5, and contains many valuable nutrients. It is the way to recycle your yard
and kitchen wastes and is a critical step in reducing the volume of garbage needlessly
sent to landfills for disposal.
The students in Mr. Heminger's class learned to save the environment by
doing composting. They used red wigglers for our project.
One red wiggler will consume half of it's body weight every day! That means that one pound
of worms will eat 1/2 pound of plant-based food waste every day! Food items to use for worm
composting include: peelings of all types (apple, potato, carrot) salad/lettuce waste, coffee
grounds, bread scraps, even grass clippings. All plant-based items can be recycled with worms.
(Food items not to use include meats, animal fats and oils, and bones.) When the worms digest
the materials, they leave worm castings(excrement). When mixed with soil from the garden, worm
castings provide excellent soil nutrients for plant growth. Check this web site or the Internet
for more information and plans on how to build a worm ranch. See pictures of some of the students
who participated in the project (notations, Left-to-Right, are shown above the picture).
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