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Earth Day Worm in Workshop a Success! E-mail
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Written by Administrator   
Sunday, 11 September 2005

“I think the worm bin building was the best event at Earth Day.” That, naturally, was the shared sense everyone in the Worm Digest booth had. We were featured on the nightly news with our extensive hands-on project. Two to three hundred hands on, that is.

Not long after noon, parents and children began steadily streaming into our booth, eager to put together a worm bin. Members of our Board, along with volunteers from Churchill High School’s Rachel Carson Center for Natural Resources were continuously busy that afternoon keeping paint containers filled, helping young people attach handles onto bin lids, leading children in shredding paper and providing vermicompost and worms. The workshop was geared for people ages 4-12 (though some suspiciously older-looking children were admitted, after promising that they were very young at heart.) Plywood for the one foot square bins was purchased by the City of Eugene. The OSU Lane County Master Gardener Compost Specialists and the Good Earth Company of Yakima, Washington provided redworms. Churchill Alternative High School students donated many, many hours of labor to build one hundred worm bins. Thanks to everyone!

There were so many people that gave their time and energy to make this event a winner. DeeJay and Anna patiently stood by the “critter bin” to encourage children to explore and try to find mites, springtails, sow bugs, and more. Barbara answered questions, offered literature, and told people about the Worm Digest project. Sally answered questions and filled finished bins with worms.

We learned a lot running an event like this! We have plenty of ideas for next time: we’ll have several plastic trays with worm bin material right at kids’ eye level, with magnifiers on strings. Our young painters will dip into plastic ice cube trays (much better than the soggy egg cartons). We’ll increase the booth staff, so someone can take pictures of the bins as they are finished. We’ll have enough people that all the questions – why compost with worms, how to get worms into their yards, where to buy worms, and how to build a bigger worm bin – will get answered, too.

All in all, it was a great workshop. And, after we’ve rested up for ten months, we’ll start preparing next year’s event.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 02 October 2005 )
 
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