Robert Graves Elementary School students are saving the District money, helping the environment, eating healthfully, and engaging in hands-on learning — all through their successful “Worm Recycling” project.

Also known as “vermicomposting”, the recycling is a way of turning food waste into potting soil with the help of worms. Every school day, students deposit leftover food waste — like apple cores, fruit rinds, and other natural leftovers — into a large worm bin located in the front hallway of the school. Shredded newspaper and a burlap covering keep the worms moist and healthy as the worms work to break down the garbage into nutrient rich soil.

Parent volunteer Michelle Higgins began the project as an extension of an Environmental Committee she founded at the School in December 2006. Ms. Higgins says the idea originally stemmed from Mary Appelhof, a former high school science teacher from Kalamazoo, Michigan, who popularized the concept with a book she authored, Worms Eat My Garbage.

“We began with 1,000 worms and now the worms have reproduced twelve-fold in nine months, so we have about 12,000 worms,” reports Ms. Higgins. In addition to reducing the amount of waste the school produces, the worm recycling project encourages students to bring healthy fruit or vegetable snacks to school so that they may feed the worms with their scraps. Working together to keep the worms healthy also fosters team work and organization, two principles which align directly with New York State Learning Standards for elementary school students.

The project has been so successful that the students have been able to give away 1,000 worms each to Kingston Catholic School and Phoenicia Elementary School for starting their own worm recycling centers.