Let's Talk Dirty...as in Compost

I just finished my first class in my Master Composter program and let me tell you, it was amazing!! The material we are covering and the possibilities for community outreach and education are very promising.

I also attended my first co-op garden meeting this week and I already see that I'm going to fit in nicely there. I like a lot of what they are doing already and I see plenty of opportunities to add my input.

In the coming months I have several more composting classes to finish the program. Part of the requirements include building a composter and getting a heap started as well as 12 hours of volunteer work in multiple different settings. I'm scheduled to help run a demonstration table at both the Greenfest at the zoo and Vegfest, which is being held in Novi this year. I contacted my guy through the Ferndale Environmental Sustainability Commission to potentially get myself on the roster to head up a composting workshop in Ferndale this summer.

Part of my volunteering can come from simply working in the community garden, which is awesome since I sporadically volunteered to lead a Wednesday evening work night at the garden. Hopefully, after I've taken a few more classes, I'll be versed enough to hold a workshop for members of the garden on starting and maintaining a compost system.

As I mentioned previously, there are multiple methods to composting. The method that SOCWA, the organization hosting the master class, uses is primarily cold composting. I have already noticed variations in the way they teach how cold composting works, however. This is of great interest to me, since I plan on studying different methods this summer. My plan is to build several enclosures and test different methods to find out if they work the way they should. Provided I have the time, I will be building 3 new composters in my backyard. One will be a double unit, near the house for kitchen scraps and yard waste. One side will be a hot system, the other side will be cold. I hope to get one going near the chicken coop as well and one on the opposite side of the yard.

I will sketch a site map this week and post it so that what I am talking about will be easier to envision.