Building a Vermicomposter Action Toolkit

Positives

• Students will feel empowered by taking action in their school community to reduce waste.
• The hands-on and experiential learning activities will engage students.
• Students learn to care for worms and treat them humanely, which fosters kindness and empathy.

Additional Prerequisites

• This toolkit is also available in French.
• The resource provides student worksheets throughout the PDF, and there is a link at the bottom of page 3 to access them as Google Docs.
• The Global Goals webpage link on page 5 and the Waste Reduction Week Canada - Resources link on page 39 are broken.
• Some students may not want to work with the worms. Teachers should encourage but not force students to touch the worms.
• Teachers need to recruit other classes to adopt a compost bin to maintain. The resource suggests one class per 1-2 compost bins.
• The appendices provide necessary information about caring for the worms and maintaining the vermicomposter.
• There is some significant teacher preparation and materials required. Teachers must provide red wiggler worms, Rubbermaid bins and lids, garden soil, trays, eggshells, newspaper, wooden splints, string, gloves, sensitive scales, and a power drill.
• The resource includes links for where to buy Red Wiggler worms online.

Differentiation

• This resource was written for use in Canada but can be used elsewhere with minor modifications to the background information and trivia questions.
• Reflection questions accompany many activities, which students can use for independent journaling, small group discussions, or whole class share-outs.
• There are numerous links to additional resources throughout the lesson that can be used to learn more about topics of interest.
• The lesson includes multiple extension activities and assessment options.
• Science and biology classes can use this resource to learn about worms, composting, ecosystems, and biotic vs abiotic factors.
• This resource can be used in Earth science classes when learning about waste reduction, food waste, and sustainability.
• Teachers can make cross-curricular connections with math classes through data collection, analysis, and graphing activities.