Adopt-A-Bin

Adopt-a-Bin

An Easy Way to Go Green in Schools

With Ready-Made Certificates

So you want a WormWatcher kit and can’t find the time to write grants? Many schools want to promote their outdoor garden, and students can help by making their own organic soil (worm castings) out of their food trash right in their own classroom using the WormWatcher. Share the excitement of vermicomposting with your students and community.

THREE WAYS TO USE ADOPT-A-BIN

1. How about including Adopt-A-Bin in your school newsletter? We have stickers and certificates of appreciation too to help get the word out to parents.

2. Get your local businesses involved! Our certificates list donation amounts varying from $5 on up for the “Worm Patrons.”

3. Ask local businesses to help by placing a jar in their store. Print the stickers and a label your jar: ex. "Help Mrs. Hunter get worms in her classroom!" Be sure to list your school name. Think about local bait shops, hair salons, cafes, and churches. When funded, please ask supporters to post a letter/brochure, so they know that the project is moving forward.

When your WormWatcher kit arrives, it is suggested for students to write thank-you letters with donation amount listed and a photo to show donors what they helped make possible. Keep a copy of the thank-you letter for your records. Feel free to send us a photo as well! We would love to hear how your community is supporting you.

LASTLY, hold a parents night (see our You-Tube video) hosting a Worm Sympoosium.

Teaching students about creating healthy soil, reducing garbage and caring about critters has never been more important. Let everyone share in supporting this wonderful activity. By making a simple donation, donors aid the classroom by bringing vermicomposting into the school. You will be shocked to discover how many worm fans there are in the world. Feel free to download, modify, and tailor these certificates from our website to fit your style:

• Adopt-a-Bin Announcement (Formal Style)
• Adopt-a-Bin Announcement (Playful version)
• Certificate of Appreciation
• Adopt-a-Bin (stickers)
  
  

Wormest Wishes,

Misty

Misty@WormWatcher.com

Hey 'yall!

Check out the new updated version of our WormWatcher map, showing that wherever Gina goes, WormWatchers are sure to follow:

Wow, after more than a year, we finally have the WormWatcher trademark! It's nice to see progress. Next week, we are watching the new WormWatcher being made in the factory with some homeschooling groups. Life is good. Love those worms.

I just received 5000 worms from a commercial worm farmer by mail.. I felt so sad to see them dehydrated. Apparently it prevent them from overheating or freezing. Go figure!

Growing and learning every day

Wow! Did you see the newspaper articles (VA Gazette and Daily Press) last week announcing how Williamsburg Montessori was able to get WormWatchers using the HRClean grant. This month four more schools purchased WormWatchers with this simple grant. Teachers in the Hampton Roads area take advantage of this opportunity to purchase equipment that teaches hands-on science.

WormWatcher Tip of the Week: Dig In and Learn! Humor Helps.

WormWatchers,

       We all hesitate at first to dig into the bin. Yet digging in and exploring the work your worms are doing is the most educational part of worm composting! When composting outside, we don't get to see the details, and I believe its why we so often fail at other forms of composting and give up on it altogether. Once you go through composting over 9 weeks, you will find yourself becoming an expert.

        Every two weeks, it helps to get a closer look at your bin. Around the second or third week after you start a new bin, it looks as though nothing is happening. Then, voila! The worms start making babies and black trails (castings) appear throughout the bin.

        I learn from my worms. Depending on the amount and type of food, the soil may be too wet (if an odor is present, then add paper) or too dry (worms need moisture to breathe). Healthy bins are odorless! When I open my bin, I like to mix the soil to see how my worms are enjoying their food. Turning helps aerate the soil on top which speeds up composting. Then I add moist shredded newspaper on top to encourage mating. This also helps food to stay buried - unburied food can lead to fruit flies. I like to limit feeding to once a week and digging a hole along one side of the WormWatcher so the food is easily visible along the sides. Some folks collect scraps in a pot - this helps speed up decomposition as well. The smaller the scraps, the faster the composting.

 EPIC worm video: Worms Gruntin in Sopchoppy Florida



I heard about this contest from a Florida vendor at the American Association of  Aquariums and Zoos: the annual Worm Grunting Contest.  This film clip tells a story about worm farmers and this unusual contest:  a great message and  fun earthworm facts.

Have a good week!

WormWatcher Tip of the Week: Inspirational tips for Teaching!

Quick reminders:  Bury the food, add moist shredded paper on top to create a playground for materials to encourage mating.  The worms will keep processing the compost and make it finer if you forget to feed them.  By the way, melon rinds or whole fruits (bananas) make great vacation food when covered with soil about an inch below the surface.

Can you feel the creativity in the air???  Spring is a great time to get excited about gardening and worms.   Check out the items below for some much needed inspiration!

Video to share with your students:
White House Planting the Spring Garden (March 31st):


VIDEO TO RELAX AND INSPIRE!
No Impact Man:  book and movie (available on Net-Flix): No Impact Man: The Documentary - No Impact Man(2009) NR –(My comment: Lots of  VULGAR LANGUAGE)  Watch first – great discussion primer!!

http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/No_Impact_Man_The_Documentary/70112474?strackid=65f9bc3040156e7f_0_srl&strkid=405018660_0_0&trkid=438381

A Fifth Avenue family goes very green when writer Colin Beavan leads his wife, Michelle Conlin, and their baby daughter on a yearlong crusade to make no net impact on the environment in this engaging documentary. Among their activities: eating only locally grown organic food, generating no trash except for compost and using no carbon-fueled transportation. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Worm font!
http://www.dafont.com/the-worms.font  (thanks HRA!)

 Demonstration Examples:  A special thanks to HRA for these photos!

WormWatcher Tip of the Week: Harvesting Worms and Worm Castings

Fellow WormWatchers,

If you have been composting over 30 days, dig around in the soil once in a while to see how your worm population is doing.  Is it increasing or decreasing? Many of the bins we have been visiting are showing signs of reproduction.  Opening up the soil adds a little extra aeration and helps you get a better sense of what is happening and how happy the worms are.  Just check out the moisture, add paper if too wet or water if too dry (use the squeeze test if you are not sure – a few drops when you squeeze a handful of dirt.)   If you see lots of worms, consider harvesting them for the garden.  Don't be shy about adding paper, worms need fiber in the bedding.

Side note: if your hinges squeak, add a dab of olive oil and turn the hinge.  It goes away.

Many of you wondered how to harvest your worms – it’s simple.  Do not feed the bin for a few days.  Add a very ripe melon or any juicy treat to the top and leave overnight.  The worms will gradually move towards the food and make a “ball.”  Several of you asked what a worm “ball” looks like.  Here is one we harvested for a teacher:

Use a similar method to harvest the worm castings.

1. Move the content of the bin to one side.
2. Put in fresh, moist bedding (I recommend shredded newspaper)  and food in the other half of the bin.  Worms will gradually migrate to side of bin with new food and bedding.
3. Harvest your vermicompost (worm castings or worm compost.)  Don’t worry if you have a few stray worms left in the compost.


Remember that worm castings are very high in nutrients.  Numerous ways to use worm castings include:

· Potting soil (10-15% castings recommended by VA Extension Service, 50% by WormWoman)
· Fertilizer for starting seeds - sprinkle lightly in seed beds or seed pots/trays.
· Fertilizer for transplanting plants - put small amounts in planting hole
· Top dressing in garden (1/4 inch layer)

Happy Spring to you all! Next week, we discuss fun classroom activities.

Best,

Gina