COMPOSTING & WORMS: Really?
Why?
By Emily S.
Okay,
this article is dedicated to my brother, Bradley.
Like most boys, he likes bugs and dirt and
hanging out in the backyard and enjoying both of them. I like the backyard, too but for different
reasons. I like the swings, the
trampoline, riding my bike – but bugs? No, thanks.
Hello
guys. Meet "Afro".
So, a few
days ago Bradley brought home a bean plant, that he named Afro, in a newspaper
pot. Okay?? He told my mom that he needed to put it in soil and put earthworms
in it so that the worms could eat through the newspaper. The worms would provide important food for the plant to grow and one day we could enjoy the beans for dinner. It was this conversation that started an
entire family plan for composting. Worms make
me about as excited as I am about bugs.
Yay. *shaking my head*
I
understood a little about composting, but thanks to Bradley, Afro and the earthworms, I understand even
more now.
Soil is
another wonderful treasure that we have on the earth. Soil gives life. It gives plants what they need to grow. Those
plants provide food for humans and animals.
Soil also provides a place for bugs to live. Yay. Soil is very important in supporting a lot of
lives. Including mine.
We can
turn the food we eat back into soil by composting and earthworms are a big help
in that process. Worms eat the waste and
then excrete waste which is really important in making rich soil. Plants grow well in rich soil.
Watch
this video to learn more about composting and how important worms are to the
process.
Every
year, each of us tosses out nearly 1,200 pounds of organic garbage. Organic garbage is garbage that was once
alive, like food scraps, grass clippings and leaves. If we compost this garbage instead of throwing
it away, we can make new dirt and then grow new plants in it!
I now have
a new love for dirt and worms and bugs.
I don’t plan to join my brother for playing with them in the backyard, but
I am glad that we have them. This is
such a great world that we live in.
Check back
for updates on our composting project!
Much fun
in the backyard,
Emily
