Composting for Teachers and Students

Helpful Links

The Adventures of Vermi the Worm
Animated, interactive game about vermin-composting.

Agriculture in the Classroom
Established in 1985 as a partnership between Cornell University, the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, the NYS Education Department, and the New York Farm Bureau, NY AITC educates youth, teachers, and consumers about agriculture and the food and fiber system. The site offers information, lesson plans, helpful links, awards, and grants.

Backyard Magic: The Composting Handbook
K-6, students, teachers
Produced by the Department of the Environment of New Brunswick in Canada, the site offers a range of information for turning organic household waste into a valuable soil conditioner. Some of the sections include: The Compost Container, Can I Compost This?, Composting Indoors, and Worm Composting. The site is also available in French.

City Farmer: Worm Words
Dictionary of composting terms.

Compost and Fertile soil building
A series on the Mother Earth News Website

Composting at School
The ABCs of establishing an effective composting program at schools in Chittenden County, Vermont

“The Compost Story” by Kiss the Ground
Have you ever looked at a banana peel and thought, “Is that it?” Does life go on? Could this humble peel serve a greater purpose?

Cornell University
Composting curriculum with K-12 lesson plan

Environmental Home Remodeling: Recycling and Composting
A page about sustainability, composting and many ways to recycle.

EPA: Composting Basic Information
Basic definition of compost with acceptable bin materials.

How to Compost
all ages, students, teachers
This site serves as a hub of information for anyone interested in composting, with an online composting handbook, as well as tips for managing yard waste. This site also offers links to a compost quiz, a bumper sticker, publications, children’s activities, an online resource for microbial science, and sites that provide tips for successful maintenance of the various types of compost piles.

How to Make Compost
Barbara Pleasant (compost writer) in the Mother Earth News explains basic compost principles

Life Lab
Farm- and garden-based education

Marin County Office of Waste Management Compost Curriculum
A Teacher’s Guide To Composting

MasterComposter.com
Wide range of lesson plans, project suggestions.

School Composting: A Manual for Connecticut Schools
How to implement a school-based composting program

“The Soil Story” by Kiss The Ground
Science meets inspiration in this tale of nature’s best hidden innovation: soil.

Vermicomposting – a 5th Grader School Enrichment Curriculum,  by Rhonda Sherman, NC State University

Vermicomposting curriculum for middle schools students
Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP)

Vermicomposting for Keep America Beautiful by Rhonda Sherman
Excellent graphics and lots of good questions are asked and answered in this webinar recording.

The Worm Guide: A Vermicomposting Guide For Teachers
This guide explores vermicomposting–the practice of using worms to transform food waste into a nutrient-rich finished product called vermicompost.

Educational Videos

National Geographic –Green Home Makeover – Compost

Lee Reich writer for Fine Gardening Magazine- Making Compost

Composting 101–  basic video for backyard composting

Composting Made Easy – video for backyard composting of grass clippings and yard waste