Recycling the Vermicomposting Way

Mr. Burke's 5th grade students took notes in their garden journals about how to make an earthworm compost bin.  Materials included a plastic container with a lid, a plastic tube, shredded newspaper, a few trowels of soil, sprinkled water, and red wiggler earthworms or red worms.  They can be purchased from a Bait Shop for about $2.50 for 36 worms.

Earthworm castings, provide excellent fertilizer for plants because they are rich in organic materials and nutrients.  When castings accumulate, we will move the castings to one side of the bin and put fresh food in the other side.  The worms will migrate to the food and the castings can be harvested and added to the gardens to fertilize the plants.

Students shredded the newspaper and tossed it into the bin, sprinkled water, and added the worms.  The plastic tube running through the bottom of the bin is for air
intake and output.

                                                                                 
Earthworm observation took place after an introduction to the earthworm body systems.  Each worm is both male and female.  They need to be kept moist because they breathe through their skin.  They have a brain but no eyes, a mouth, digestive system, 5 pairs of hearts, circulatory system, and the familiar band near the head called the clitellum.  Eggs are contained in the clitellum.  If an earthworm is cut in half, it will not grow into two worms.  Instead the worm will die and become flat and crispy.

                                                                              

Earthworms eat fresh fruits and vegetables.  Students cut scraps of lettuce, carrots, egg shells, banana peels, and apples into tiny earthworm-size bites.  They added the morsels to the worm bin.  They also eat coffee grounds, grass clippings, and tea bags but no meat, onions, garlic, bones, citrus, or dairy products.  They might get gassy.  Students will continue to feed and care for the earthworms.