Vermicomposting

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Each student added two scoops of coconut coir (fiber) into the bin.

The children checked to see that we had covered the bottom of the bin and had enough of a cushion for the worms.

Next, the children tore newspaper into thin strips and added them to the bin.

In order to create a moist environment, each child sprayed the newspaper with water.

What do you think?  Does it look moist enough?  Have we added enough newspaper?

Here is the smaller habitat that the red wriggler worms were in while we prepared their new environment.

The worms are gently transferred to their new habitat.

Everyone observed the worms to see what they did once their soil was added to the newspaper and coconut coir.

Throughout the school year, the children have been responsible for feeding and caring for the vermicompost bin.  We observed that the worms grew in size, the food decomposed, and there were baby worms.  Our vermicompost bin is it's own ecosystem.

Harvesting the castings takes many steps.  We begin by scooping materials from the bin onto the first of two sifters.  This sifter has large grates.

We used our hands to gently separate the castings from the decomposing material.

Next, we poured the castings onto the second sifter which has smaller grates.  We checked for worms as we continued the separation process.

We inspected the castings for any additional worms.

The children worked in pairs to put the 2 ounce scoop of castings into a bag.

Finally, we sealed the bag and added a sale sticker.  We sold the worm castings at our Spring Shuk (Market).