FACTS AND FIGURES

Growing your own garden can help the environment in many different ways such as:

• Growing your own food can reduce packaging and pollution needed when you buy groceries 

• Growing flowers and other plants can create habitats for wildlife especially birds and insects

• Gardening can help clear the air from pollution and create more green spaces 

​

Composting is also important! It reduces the amount of food scraps that ends up wasted in landfill and it also creates nutrient-rich soil to help your gardens grow! Did you know that:

• About 50% of the rubbish Australians put in the general waste bin could be composted or put in a worm farm 

• 3% of the greenhouse gases produced is from organic waste in landfills 

• Worms in a worm farm can eat 2-4 kilograms of organic food waste per week

​

GARDENING AND COMPOSTING CHALLENGES

FOOD SCRAPS RESTAURANT 

A worm farm or compost bin is kind of like a restaurant:

• The restaurant has a menu which is the food scraps that can go in the worm farm or compost

• The restaurants has waiters that serve the food or in your case - the students who put food scraps in the worm farm/compost

• The restaurant has delicious food which is the soil or fertilizer that is produced by your compost/worm farm system. 

​

If your school has a compost bin or worm farm, a fun and creative way to educate your school community on the proper use of the system is to compare it to a restaurant!

​

STEP 1.  PLAN YOUR WORM FARM OR COMPOST SYSTEM 

Meet with your EcoMarines crew to discuss your worm farm or compost system! 

​

Depending on your worm farm or compost system, its up to you on if and how you want to regulate it and how to collect food scraps from students.  

​

Here are some ideas: 

• Have one large food scraps bin per grade

• Have a food scraps bin outside classrooms

• If you have a small system, collect scraps from one or two grade levels to start out 

• Have a roster to organise who empties the bins into the compost/worm farm and to organise someone to empty fertliser, soil or castings into school gardens per day/week

​

​

STEP 2. PROMOTE ON ASSEMBLY  

Advertise your new food scraps system on assembly. You can use the restaurant analogy to help educate your community! 

First, it is a good idea to come up with a name for your restaurant, for example "The Compost Cafe". 

​

Then, you can create a 'menu' for your restaurant. This menu should include a list of food scraps that can go into the worm farm or compost. You can find menu templates online or use the menu to the right for inspiration. Print these menu's out and have them near your food scrap collection bins. 

​

Promote your restaurant on assembly, talk about the menu and other 'rules' of the restaurant. You can even dress up as chefs for your assembly presentation. Personalize and print out this chefs hat template below: 

​

​

​

​

​

STEP 3. CLASSROOM EDUCATION 

​

If you want to enlist more 'staff' for your restaurant, you can always educate students on how to care for and regulate your worm farm or compost system. You could get teachers to sign-up their classes to be restaurant waiters. Create a presentation which you and your EcoMarines team can present to individuals classrooms. 

​

A great idea is to test students on what they have learnt from the presentation. If they pass the test they can obtain their restaurant license! Get creative and design your own restaurant license to print out and hand to students. Then, students can help to collect food scraps, feed the worm farm or compost and help care for the system. 

​

​

STEP 4. TELL US ABOUT YOUR RESTAURANT 

We would love to know about your worm farm or compost restaurant campaign. Send us an email with some photos or a copy of your menu or even your classroom presentation!

SCHOOL SPOTLIGHTS!