The Birds, the Bees and the Worms
Worm Bin for Composting Food Scraps
I have kids and people always ask me “Aren’t your kids terrified of Global Warming and Climate Change?” Luckily these Cascadia kids have great communities, teachers and schools. Kirkland, WA, where they pioneered residential food composting, is home to Community Elementary School – an alternative public school. Last fall students at the school spent time planting bulbs all over their campus and this spring they have been making nesting boxes for orchard mason bees, and building/decorating a worm bin for food waste scraps. This summer students, parents and teachers will have an opportunity to create a garden to use the worm compost, and grow food that will later be donated to Hopelink a local food bank. The teachers including a wildlife biologist are creating sustainability curriculum for all ages. The school recently won a Pepsi Refresh Everything grant and will use the funds to expand their garden, renew their habitat and create curriculum. The garden harvest will be celebrated with a community Stone Soup celebration.
This unique, innovative and creative education is designed to prepare kids for a sustainable future, what could be better? When I see kids so optimistic about reusing, recycling and reducing, I become hopeful for a greener future. Interested in educational gardens in schools? Check out those cool folks at GOOD.is and their call for garden designs with the LA Unified School District here: Design a School Garden with LAUSD.
It is good to hear that climate change is apparently not scaring the children, but I would need some convincing. The scientific case for alarm about CO2 is so thin, that it tends to get shrouded in alarmist rhetoric. I suspect this rhetoric could be very harmful for children.
Agree that alarming children regarding climate change is a bad idea. But instilling responsibility and understanding of cause and effects/consequences is essential. Doing good stuff should not be driven by fear but an empowerment that they can influence their environment positively.