Montgomery County "Worms" Its Way Into Schools
With National Achievement Award

VermiLab, a unique hands-on worm composting program developed for schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, recently won the National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award for its innovative environmental contributions. VermiLab is a multidisciplinary program which utilizes hybrid redworms to demonstrate the process of composting.

According to program creator Joe Keyser of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, The program aims to bring the natural act of composting closer and more graphically to kids, who then serve as emissaries, encouraging their parents to compost. More importantly, the program strives to raise a child’s awareness and curiosity about soil ecology and the web of life which surrounds them. Today, almost 10,000 students in over 325 public and private classrooms in the county are participating in this interactive program; in 1996, children composted more than 60,000 pounds of cafeteria surplus for use in their school gardens.

In VermiLab, children fill a special wormbox with shredded, dampened newspaper and leftover fruit and vegetable parings. One pound of live redworms, or about 1,000 worms, are then added to the bin to begin the composting process. Children observe and record daily as the worms devour the 50 to 60 pounds of organic material added during the school year, leaving behind castings, a composted matter rich in essential nutrients. The children then return the composted material to the school’s garden where the beneficial nutrients aid in growing more fruits and vegetables.

William H. McDonald, the school system’s elementary science coordinator, commented on how effectively the program draws in students. We were surprised at how many students took immediate interest in the worms’ activity. Children are intrigued by the cycle, especially when they eat the food, place the parings in the bin, and watch as that matter converts to a different type of material that eventually goes right back where it started - the earth, so the whole process can begin again, McDonald said.

Although the program may sound like fun, it has more scientific applications. Students learn the science of composting by weighing the food scraps placed in the bins, monitoring the activity in the bin and conducting various scientific experiments. Elementary students record decomposition rates of various fruits and vegetables, while older students measure compost pH and test comparative plant growth rates of potting mixes using worm compost. At the end of the school year, students prepare Worm Reports, or essays, which often include art, music, poetry, plays and even Internet worm sites.

The success of the program has extended beyond the classroom; a dozen schools have large-scale worm bins, or courtyard Worm Gardens , for composting cafeteria food scraps. Many schools are growing plants in the compost that are then sold to help fund the program. In addition, many children take sub-colonies of worms to establish their own worm boxes at home; county officials estimate that more than 1,000 residents are composting at home using worms. Many county offices have set up worm bins to encourage their employees to compost fruit peels and coffee grounds. Digger Worm, the program’s lovable, huggable, 7-foot mascot, visits schools to help children overcome their squeamishness of worms.

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, responsible for implementing grasscycling and composting education programs in the county, plans to continue expanding the VermiLab program into more middle and high schools, day care centers, and private institutions. The programs’ proponents hope that this concept of teaching children environmental values through hands-on learning catches on in other areas.

TO VISIT A VERMILAB CLASSROOM PROGRAM OR TOUR A COURTYARD GARDEN, CALL JOE KEYSER AT 301-217-2361. MONTGOMERY COUNTY RESIDENTS CAN ATTEND COMPOSTING WORKSHOPS AND PURCHASE DISCOUNTED WORMS FROM THE COUNTY. BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE.

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