1000 worms and their descendants can transform 1 ton of waste into compost in 1 year! Click here to learn more.
Tell us what you’d like to learn about vermicomposting, sustainable gardening or food waste recycling, contact Cultivating Community.
7/6/2008 50°F | Fog
VERMICULTURING (Worm Composting):
Cultivating Community staff and volunteers care for several worm bins made from large storage containers that are housed at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Our red worms are formally called Eisenia foetida. These fast-multiplying worms break down the food scraps received from the University kitchens into worm castings, which are nutrient-rich and help our vegetable gardens thrive! We are currently building a larger-scale vermiculture trench where worms can live part of the year outdoors. This will allow Cultivating Community to accept more food scraps and produce larger quantities of compost.
GARDENS:
Cultivating Community currently has gardens at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, the Michigan Union, Pierpont Commons, and the Ginsberg Center. We are also working with the University’s planners, University students and faculty, and the Grounds Department with hopes of constructing a new on-campus garden with direct contact to a dorm.
Most of our produce will be returned to University kitchens. Produce from the Ginsberg Garden is slated to go to Food Gatherers, Washtenaw County’s food bank. Cultivating Community is closing the food-system loop and strengthening the community’s involvement and education of locally grown produce.