Lesson Plan

This project was originally set up at the Alameda Point Collaborative’s (APC) youth services after-school program. The class had three aquatic turtles (red-eared sliders). The instructor wanted to teach the kids about life cycles. The goal of this project was not only to teach kids about the values of worms and composting, but also to see a natural cycle in action. The composted material and some of the worms will eventually be placed in the raised bed in the kid’s sections of the community garden. Then, lettuce and other greens will be grown in the beds. The greens will then be fed to the class turtles, completing the cycle.

Age Range: ages 6-12.
This project complies with the California Department of Education Applicable Standards for 4th Grade Life Sciences, Part 2, Sections b and c.

Time limit:
The worm bins will take a few hours to prepare, but can usually be finished with a group or class within 2-3 hours, probably 1-1.5 hours on two separate days. The compost should be left to sit from a couple of weeks to a month or two. The planting of greens will also take 1-2 months depending on location/climate. This project would be well suited for either a yearly program, or started at the beginning of the calendar year so it could be finished in time for school’s end in early June.

Materials:
-Buckets or bins with lids, often they can be donated or picked up at a recycling center
-Drill with ¼ inch drill bit
-Acrylic Paints
-Paint Brushes
-Garden Space
-Plant-eating class pet (turtles, rabbits, etc.)
-Worms (amount varies depending on number and size of worm bins, but generally a large handful per 4 gallon bucket will be sufficient).
-Soil (not too sandy or clayey)
-Carbon source (well shredded newspaper, and/or very fine mulch or weed-free straw)
-Nitrogen source (food scraps or lawn clippings)
-Water
-List of items that belong in the compost (attached)

Procedures:
Four gallon square plastic buckets with lids were used as the worm bins. Many holes were drilled throughout the buckets, on both the sides and bottom, for aeration. These buckets were kept outside in a shady area. If they were to be kept inside, they would need to be set on or in something so there would be no leaking onto the floor. One of the goals was to give the kids something that they were responsible for and gave them a sense of ownership. (This project could easily be accomplished without each child having his/her own worm bin, by having a single large worm bin).
After the holes are drilled, the buckets were brought to class where the kids could personalize their buckets with acrylic paint. (*Note: Tempra paint does not stick well to plastic). This will take an hour or so, depending on the kid’s creativity and time constraints. The buckets are allowed to dry and are ready for the next session.
The worms and other materials are brought to class the next time available. It is a good idea, if possible, to get the kids to save their food scraps from snacks and lunches for a week, or even bring some from home with their parent’s permission. If this is not possible to start with, grass clippings can be used. The materials are laid out on a tarp or cardboard to contain the mess. A small layer, about an inch, of mulch can be placed at the bottom of the bin to keep the other materials from falling though the holes. Newspaper (free and usually the most available of the carbon sources) is shredded into strips. These strips are then dunked into a bucket of water for a few seconds. The straw or mulch can be used in conjunction with the newspaper in small amounts, as it will take longer to decompose than the newspaper. The newspaper is placed in the bucket along with about a gallon’s worth of topsoil and mixed well. (A 1-gallon nursery pot, not a gallon jug). The newspaper should occupy about 1/2 to 2/3 of the buckets volume, so that there is room to continually add food waste. The food scraps can then be added to the buckets. To get the kids more involved, it is fun to have the kids dig through the soil to find their own worms. Most places that sell worms do not sell them with much soil so it is best to take the soil to be used in the bins and add the worms before hand. Each bucket will need a large adult-sized handful of worms to ensure the worms will have sufficient numbers to reproduce and multiply. The worms can be placed on top of the material in the bin and lightly covered with more moist newspaper or soil. It is important not to compact the materials as it makes it harder for the worms to do their job. The finished buckets can then be lightly watered, but not saturated. There should be no water leaking from the bucket. The newly finished worm bins should be set somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight.
The worm bins need little maintenance. The children can throw their snack and lunch food waste into the bins on a daily basis. If the worms are not able to decompose most of what is put into the bins, less should be added. The bins should also stay moist, much like a well wrung out sponge, so water should be added when necessary.
Within two months there should be enough compost to add to a bed or garden. This is a project that can be continuous. Once a bin has compost ready, it can be started again. This project can bring up many topics for lesson plans about subjects like recycling, waste reduction, nutrient cycles, and life cycles. It is possible, with proper permission etc, to help the children try to take this project from the classroom to their homes.
A larger compost pile was also set up in conjunction for the worm bins. The kids in the program all got to take home a small compost bucket handed out by the city. With their new found knowledge of compost, the kids will hopefully make a difference at home by teaching their parents about composting.

Things to Put in Your Compost

Apples
Beans
Broccoli
Cabbage
Citrus Fruit *
Coffee Grounds
Corn Cobs/Husks
Cucumbers
Eggshells (crushed)
Flowers
Grapes
Grass Clippings
Hay/Straw
Leaves
Lettuce and other Greens
Melons *
Peanut Shells
Peas and Pea Pods
Potatoes
Rice
Tea Leaves
Other Fruits and Veggies
(* Citrus peels and melon rinds are probably not a good idea in small bins).
(** Some large material should be cut or otherwise made smaller to help in decomposition).

Things That Don’t Belong in Compost
Chicken, Meat, and Fish
Weeds with Seeds
Anything Oily (cooking oils, salad dressing, etc)
Anything Sprayed with Pesticides

Resources

Hemenway, Toby. 2000. Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. Chelsa Green Publishing Company, White River, VT.

Appelhof, Mary. 1976. Worms Eat My Garbage. Flower Press, Kalamazoo, MI.

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