For the 2009 Earth Force project, the 6th graders at Klein School in Harborcreek under the guidance of Mrs. Burrows extended the school-wide recycling program by adding a composting program. The students spent time researching about how to compost, what to compost, the benefits of composting, and how to build a compost. Then they wrote and submitted a proposal to the school administration who approved the project. The circular compost bins were donated by the township.
To spread the word and involve the rest of the Klein Elementary school in this project, the whole 6th grade prepared presentations about this project to educate and encourage students to participate in composting. The 6th graders explained what composting is and how all of the students of the school can be involved at lunch by recycling certain fruits and vegetables. Once the presentations were prepared, students worked in groups to share the information with each classroom throughout the school.
Composting can be defined as the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that is excellent for adding to plants or enriching garden soil. It is a way to recycle yard and kitchen wastes, and is a critical step in reducing the volume of garbage that is needlessly sent to landfills for disposal.
By composting, less garbage is created for landfills and a natural fertilizer is produced for gardens and shrubs with no harmful pesticides to damage the Earth. Many different items can go into a compost such as food items, paper items, grass clippings, and yard trimmings to name a few.
For the school compost the students decided to compost to apple, pears, bananas, carrots, celery, newspaper shreds, and grass and yard trimmings. The students have formed committees of 6th graders, each committee taking care of a different material to be composted. One committee is the newspaper shredding committee, which will make sure they shred old newspapers, and then add them to our compost bin each day. Also, there will be an extra trash can in our cafeteria everyday that is labeled, “compost,” that students will put their un-eaten apple cores and peals, pear cores and peals, banana peals, carrots, or celery in to be recycled and then add them to the compost bin each day. Students on the composting committee will be responsible for taking out the compost trash from the cafeteria and then mixing the waste around in the compost bin each day.
In a few weeks, once the materials have decayed to the point to be used in a garden, we will either use it to spread on our school’s current butterfly garden, start a new garden, or use it on the grounds of our school.
In the upcoming, last few weeks of school, we will continue to maintain and take care of our compost project. We also plan to teach some of the 5th graders how to compost and maintain a compost, so they can keep our project going next year, since we will be going to Jr. High in the fall.
The 6th Grade Students at Klein Elementary School