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Whatīs Vermicomposting
Raising Earthworms
Benefits of Vermicomposting 1
Benefits of Vermicomposting 2
Worm Research Centre 1
Worm Research Centre 2
Worm Research Centre 3
Technical 1
Technical 2
Technical 3
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 Teacherīs Guide To Vermicomposting
State of CaliforniaGray Davis Governor Winston H. Hickox Secretary, California Environmental Protection Agency California Integrated Waste Management BoardLinda Moulton-Patterson, Chair Dan Eaton, Member Steven R. Jones, Member José Medina, Member Michael Paparian, Member David A. Roberti, Member Mark Leary, Executive Director Revised June 2002 For additional copies of this publication, contact the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), Office of Integrated Environmental Education, at (916) 341-6769. You can download the entire guide from our Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Schools/Curriculum/Worms/. The CIWMB does not discriminate on the basis of disability in access to its programs. CIWMB publications are available in accessible formats upon request by calling the Public Affairs Office at (916) 341-6300. Persons with hearing impairments can reach the CIWMB through the California Relay Service, 1-800-735-2929. Publication #560-01-007 Copyright Đ 2001, 2002 by the California Integrated Waste Management Board. All rights reserved. This publication, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission. No worms were injured in the preparation of this guide. Acknowledgements This guide was written by Tavia Pagan and Rachelle Steen of the Office of Integrated Environmental Education at the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Many other brave souls were involved in various aspects of creating this guide, so a big “thanks” goes out to the following people for all of their contributions: Oscar Arriaga, Terry Brennan, Yvette DiCarlo, Cynthia Havstad, Chris Kinsella, Pauline Lawrence, Deni Lopez, Alana Sanchez, Valorie Shatynski, Tessa Troyan, Kelli Wessman, Becky Williams, and Betty Wong. Disclaimer The identification of individuals, companies, and products in these materials does not constitute endorsement by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) and is provided for informational purposes only. The CIWMB is distributing this information in an effort to increase public awareness and knowledge about this important topic. In addtion, this guide showcases a few ways to start and maintain a worm bin, but there are more options in vermicomposting than are included in this document. The energy challenge facing California is real. Every Californian needs to take immediate action to reduce energy consumption. For a list of simple ways you can reduce demand and cut your energy costs, Flex Your Power and visit www.consumerenergycenter.org/flex/index.html. A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers MissionThe mission of the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) is to reduce the generation and improve the management of solid waste in California in order to conserve resources, develop sustainable recycling markets, and protect public health and safety and the environment. We do this in partnership with public agencies, industry, business, and the public we serve. In pursuing the above mission, CIWMB promotes the utilization of recovered materials (materials that would other wise have been discarded, such as paper or aluminum cans). Vermicomposting deals with one recov ered material in particular: food waste. AssistanceThe CIWMB has representatives to assist schools with a variety of issues including vermicomposting, school reuse and recycling programs, and environmental curricula that focus on resource conservation and waste management. If you are interested in recycling information or would like to start a school waste diversion program, please contact the CIWMB’s Office of Local Assistance at (916) 341-6199. For education resources, or to schedule a free teacher training workshop on vermicomposting or an integrated science curriculum, our Office of Integrated Environmental Education can help you (contact information is below). Workshops are provided at no cost and participants receive documents that correlate the curriculum to California’s content standards and frameworks. To contact the CIWMB’s Office of Integrated Environmental Education, call us at (916) 341-6769, or write to us at CIWMB / Office of Integrated Environmental Education, Mail Stop #14-A / P.O. Box 4025 / Sacramento, California 95812-4025. We also encourage you to visit our Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Schools/ for more information about our programs.
❍ Case Studies p24 Davis Joint Unified School District Food p24 Waste Diversion Project Making a Difference: p28 One Piece of Paper at a Time (Park View Center School) Garden of Learning p30 (Louisiana Schnell Elementary School) ❍ Appendices Appendix A: Educational Materials p32 Appendix B: Web Sources p32 Appendix C: Reuse Options p35 Appendix D: Worm Bin Options p37 Appendix E: Worm Suppliers p41 Appendix F: Worm Bin Suppliers p46 Appendix G: Lessons From p48 Closing the Loop A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers Integrated Waste ManagementAt the very heart of waste management is the integrated waste management hierarchy—reduce, reuse, and recycle. Many people have added a fourth component to the hierarchy—rot—in order to further eliminate waste from entering the landfill. The first, and most preferred, option is to reduce what you use. Buy items with less packaging, and only buy what you need. That’s easy! When you reduce, you save landfill space, valuable agricultural land, natural resources, and money. The second option is to reuse an item that you no longer use or want. The saying “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure” is true! Take items that are in good shape to a secondhand store or to other reuse organizations for someone else to use. If you have large quantities of items, you may want to place a free ad on CalMAX, a statewide material exchange program listing wanted or available goods (included in Appendix C). Many items destined for the landfill can easily be repaired or combined with other materials to make new, functional products. Most of us are familiar with the concept of recycling, but as the third option in the hierarchy, recycle is less preferred than reducing and reusing. When materials are recycled, energy and resources are still expended, whereas with the first two options, they would not be. The good news is that when manufacturers use recycled materials to make a new product, they often use fewer natural resources and less energy than if they had used virgin materials. Recycling materials is definitely a better choice than sending them to the landfill. To support recycling efforts, buy back the materials you recycle by purchasing recycled-content products. Rot refers to recycling food waste and other organic materials through composting or vermicomposting. In vermicomposting, worms do the “dirty work.” The organic materials decompose and are transformed into a nutrient-rich material that can be used-or, in this case, “reused”-as soil amendments and fertilizer. Your plants will thank you! By reducing, you decrease waste from the start. By reusing, recycling, and allowing food waste to rot into compost, you cycle materials back for another round of use instead of sending them on a one-way road to the landfill. Your solid “waste” has remained a resource. Integrated Waste Management Hierarchy 
Californians throw away more than 5 million tons of food waste each year! In fact, over 30 percent of California’s waste stream consists of compostable organic materials such as wood scraps, yard 
waste, and food waste. It is to our advantage to keep these materials out of our landfills, thus saving space and allowing these materials to be reused for other purposes. For example, many waste management facilities utilize organic materials that have been disposed of by turn ing it into compost. This concept can also be applied on a much smaller scale by composting food waste at school with the help of worms. Using worms to compost helps students understand the process of composting and their role in reducing food waste at their school. Basics of VermicompostingVermicomposting is the process of using worms (“vermi” is Latin for “worm”) to process organic food waste into nutrient-rich soil. Worms eat decaying food waste and produce vermicompost, a very effective soil amendment. Worm poop is the best compost! It is full of beneficial microbes and nutrients, and is a great plant fertilizer. Let’s just use the fancy name for worm poop-”castings”-as we discover how you can teach your students about waste management by using worms. As an educator, you are faced with the challenge of teaching various concepts to your students, like natural cycles and nutrition, while making it fun and interactive. If there is a compost pile at your school, you can teach these concepts in a visual, hands-on manner. If your school has a garden, you can take the lessons a step further. But, how can you take a hands-on approach to teaching cycles and nutrition if you don’t have either of these? The answer is both easy and fun-make a classroom worm bin! Since a worm bin represents a small ecosystem, it is a unique teaching tool for you and an interesting way of learning for your students. So, push up your sleeves and get ready to make some tiny new friends. Your worms will be the most quiet, well-behaved “pets” you have ever had! Bin Home Sweet Home First thing’s first. You need a bin! In selecting the right worm bin for your needs, you must first decide how much food waste you want processed and where you plan to store the bin. There are numerous sizes of bins to select from, and they can range from a small shoebox size to a large worm bin “estate.”(Detailed bin assembly instructions are in Appendix D.) For a classroom worm bin, a small storage container or a medium-size 12-gallon storage tub will do just fine. To process cafeteria food waste, you will need a much larger bin, which should probably be kept outside. Administrators, food service staff, and school grounds staff should all offer input on exactly how large an outdoor bin they are willing to help maintain. It may be best to start small and expand once you have the hang of it. The options of materials you can use to make a worm bin are only limited by your imagination. Building your own bin allows more flexibility in size and appearance of the bin. It also gives you the opportunity to decorate! There may be a reuse center near you (check Appendix C) where you can buy inexpensive tile, paint, lumber, and many other unique items. Scrap lumber is fairly easy to come by and can be cut to size to build the bin. Wood pallets may be available free from your local grocery or hardware store to make an outside bin. Cinder blocks can also be stacked to form a bin with a piece of plywood used as a lid. A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers For an easy-to-make bin, use a plastic storage tub. Availability and types of tubs differ from store to store. The best times to find these storage tubs are at the beginning of the school year and during the December holiday season. From this point forward, a “standard bin” will refer to a 12-gallon bin or one that is approximately 21 inches long, 15 inches wide, and 12 inches high. Whichever size or type of worm bin you choose, there are a few details that must always be considered: • Location! Location! Location! If you plan to keep your bin outside, make sure it is in a place that will not get too hot or too cold. Your worms will be most productive in temperatures between 55š and 77šF. Extreme tempera tures below or above this range may be harmful to your worms, so take this into consideration when deciding where you will keep your bin. Generally speaking, your bin will be okay on a patio next to your classroom during the winter months. The bin should be kept in a shady, cool area during the summer months, or brought inside. Kitchens are a convenient place to keep worm bins. Do not place your bin in direct sunlight. • Don’t forget to breathe! Using a 1/4- to 1/2-inch drill bit, drill several holes throughout the bottom of the bin to allow for proper airflow. These holes will allow for ventilation and drainage. The worms will stay in the bin because they prefer dark, moist places to dry, lighted places. Vermicomposting is an aerobic activity, needing oxygen. If your bin becomes anaerobic due to insufficient airflow, you will most likely develop an odor problem. • Standing on four feet. “Feet” are also used to prop up the bin for drainage and ventilation. Small wooden blocks or plastic soda-pop bottle lids perform this function well. You will need four of whichever item you choose. Secure each foot 2 to 3 inches from each corner of the bottom of your bin. If you use screws or nails to attach the feet, make sure they are short enough so they will not poke any fingers.
BeddingComfort Piled High After a long day at work, it’s nice to lie down on a comfortable bed, right? That’s right! Your worms will agree. 
They need bedding inside their bin to keep them comfortable and feeling safe. As always, there are many options for bedding material. One option is peat moss, which can be purchased at any local nursery, but must be leached or it will be too acidic for the worms. Other types of bedding include office paper, coconut fiber, or shredded cardboard or newspaper. When using some of these materials for bedding, you have the opportunity to apply the concept of reuse, instead of discarding the materials. In this guide we will use hand-shredded newspaper because it’s easy to obtain and can cost nothing. The one property the bedding material must have is the ability to absorb water. Worms need a moist environment—their bodies consist of 75 to 90 percent water. Moist bedding allows your worms to stay comfortable and maintain the moisture content inside their bodies. If you notice the contents of the bin tend to dry out, you may want to keep a squirt bottle filled with water near your bin and spray the contents as needed. To prepare the bedding, collect a small stack of newspaper. Unfold and shred the newspaper into one-inch strips until the bin is approximately two-thirds full. Fluff the newspaper strips to avoid thick clumps. Initially, add several cups of water. Continue to add water and “stir” until all the newspaper strips are thoroughly moist and your bedding material feels like a wrung-out sponge-this is about a 3:1 ratio of water to bed ding by weight. Be sure the bedding is not soupy or too dry because these extreme environments will serve as an eviction notice to your worms and they will start looking elsewhere for a new home. The bedding also serves as a medium in which to bury the food waste and prevent odors. Use your hands to “fluff” the bedding so your worms can move around and air can circulate freely. Now your bin is ready for worms! WormsRed Wigglers You may have already noticed that worms have a lot of special requests. That is because we will be using a special type of worm— Eisenia foetida, otherwise known as “red worms,” “manure worms,” or “red wigglers.” These worms are the perfect candidates to inhabit a worm bin, as their main goal in life is to eat decomposing organic matter. Red worms eat organic matter in mass quantities-up to their own weight each day. 
Don’t mistake these little creatures for “night crawlers,” as red worms and night crawlers are two totally different worm species requiring distinctive environments. Night crawlers need a large area in which to burrow; they are “deep dwellers” that aerate the soil by making tunnels. Red worms, on the other hand, live close to the surface of the soil and do not need a lot of space to burrow. Each worm species will not be happy in the other’s environment, and may even die. For the standard bin, we recommend starting with one pound of worms, equal to about 1,000 of the little wigglers! 4 A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers You can start with fewer worms, but the quantity of food you initially add to your bin will need to be decreased. Worms in your yard, garden, and compost pile may be red worms, but it’s not likely. Just to be safe, get your red worms from a friend who already has a worm bin or purchase them from a local worm grower. (See Appendix E for a complete listing of worm suppliers.) Place your worms on the bedding you have prepared and watch them burrow away from the light, down into the newspaper. They should “disappear” in 5 to 10 minutes. If you are building a bin with your class, this may be an interesting feature for your students to witness. A healthy worm bin should be able to supply enough worms to get another bin started, but wait a few months before you attempt to share worms from your new bin. After you divide the worms, both bins will eventually reach an optimal population level. Red worms also have the amazing ability to control their population growth, which means you don’t need to worry about a mas- 
sive worm population boom! Unless you have a major “tragedy,” you probably won’t need to replenish the amount of worms in your bin. FeedingFeed Me! Worms are not picky when it comes to food, as they eat many of the same items you do. They especially enjoy vegetable and fruit peelings, grains, coffee grounds and filters, newspaper, and anything else that is organic. Although worms eat fruit, be sure not to overload your bin with a high citrus diet. For example, if you are making a large amount of freshly squeezed orange juice, all of the remaining orange peels can introduce a toxic amount of d-limonene, a chemical that occurs naturally in citrus and other plants, into your bin. D-limonene is released as the peels are torn and broken down. So, you wouldn’t want to pulverize the peels before adding them to your bin, as this would create a high d-limonene concentration. Due to the slow decomposition rate of citrus peels, however, it is okay to add small to moderate amounts to an established bin. If you add citrus peels to your bin and it begins to smell like a moldy fruit stand, then you may want to save it for a future feeding. Worms do not have teeth! They have a gizzard, similar to birds, that helps them grind small bits of food. Adding ground-up eggshells, oyster shell “flour,” or a handful of gritty soil to your bin will help your worms with this process. Other organisms you will find in your bin, like springtails and mold, assist worms by breaking down the food waste first. Some foods take longer to break down because they are more fibrous, such as broccoli stocks, carrots, and potato peels. Some people like to puree their food waste first, thus allowing 5 the worms to eat more quickly and process even more food. Worms in a standard bin can eat about a pound of food a day. Contrary to popular belief, worms are not vegetarians. They will eat meat if you let them. However, we advise that you not add any meat, dairy, or oily foods because they form strong odors as they decompose, which attract undesirable visitors, such as mice and rats, to your bin. These critters may carry disease that you do not want to pass on to your garden or yourself! A word of caution: If allowed to, your worms will eventually clean meat bones so well that the bones’ sharp edges would be a hazard to anyone burying food or harvesting castings from the bin (see “Harvesting” section). Place the following in a worm bin: • Shredded paper products • Fruit and vegetable trimmings • Grains, beans, or breads (without butter, margarine, or mayonnaise)
Do not place the following in a worm bin:
Do not begin feeding your worms immediately after you introduce them to their new home. Give them a few days to a week to acclimate to the bin environment. At this point, their appetites will be in full force. In the meantime, reuse an old sour cream container or margarine tub to save your food waste for future feedings. (However, if you have asthma or allergies, feed the worms right away instead of storing food waste in a container, as mold spores will quickly result.) Bury the food at least one inch deep to prevent odors and unwanted critters. Simply lift a bit of bedding, add the food, and put the bedding back into place. You can randomly pick spots to bury food, or set up a “quadrant” system. This system allows you to closely monitor the amount of food your worms are eating and also allows your students to practice fractions. Here’s how it works: Quadrants 
The first time you bury food, bury it in quadrant 1. The next time you feed, a day or two later, bury in quadrant 2. Your worms will follow the food. Continue this pattern until you are ready to bury in the first quadrant again. If there is still food in quadrant 1, you are feeding your worms too much or too often. Give them a few days to eat what is already there and then start the process again, feeding them less food or less often. If your worms have already eaten through the food placed in quadrant 3 when you are ready to feed in quadrant 1 again, you may want to feed them more food or more often. A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers Your students can keep track of the feeding schedule by placing a laminated copy of your quadrant layout (like the diagram above) near the bin. Have your students use a nontoxic dry-erase marker to cross out each quadrant as they place food in it. You can also write the date of feeding for journal and record-keeping purposes. When all quadrants are crossed out, erase all of the markings and start over with quadrant 1. have left is a pile of worms. The harvested compost can be transferred to a separate storage container at this point, and your worms can return to their home with newly prepared bedding waiting for them.
A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers HarvestingReap the Rewards Your worms have been busy eating, and the contents of your bin are looking more like soil than shredded newspaper. You have compost! Since it is not necessary to harvest right away, you can plan a harvesting time that fits your schedule. The amount of time you need depends on the harvesting method you choose: • Cone Method: If you don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty, this is a great harvesting method for your students. Find a work area, preferably outside in a shady area, during a period of moderate temperatures, and lay down a compost at a time. Open your bin to allow light to penetrate the castings, thus gently forcing the worms to burrow away. Stirring the surface a bit will also encourage the worms to dive. After about 10 minutes, scoop off the top layer of castings. There should be few, if any, worms in the compost you have removed. If you still need more compost, continue to leave the lid off and wait another 10 minutes before scooping again. 
tarp or large piece of plastic. Carefully empty the contents of your bin, worms and all, onto the work surface. Separate this pile into “cones” of about six inches in diameter. Give the worms a fair amount of time (about 10 minutes) to burrow down, away from the light. After they have done so, sift through the compost from each pile, a handful at a time, until all you 
TroubleshootingThe Worm Doctor Troubleshooting is based on experimentation, so getting to know your bin becomes very helpful when trying to remedy a problem. If a problem does occur and you think you’ve found a solution, don’t stop there. Continue to give your bin daily check-ups until you see—or, in many cases, smell—an improvement. You may encounter some of the common problems
A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers Be sure to keep in contact with your school grounds staff. Let them know you have a worm bin and request they notify you ahead of time of any pesticide spraying that may take place, whether it is in the classroom or outside. If spraying will be done for ants or other reasons, remove your bin from the premises to avoid worm fatalities. Take your bin home during extended vacation periods, unless you plan to visit your classroom at least every few weeks for feeding purposes. You may want to have a parent or another teacher adopt the bin while you are gone. A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers 
and grind the food into smaller particles. Undigested matter passes through the intestine as castings. Hearts Worms have five hearts that pump blood throughout the body. The blood carries digested food particles to whatever part of the worm’s body needs them. Brain Red worms have a primitive brain—the size of a pinhead. This is where a cluster of nerves, which control the worm’s actions, is located. Prostomium The prostomium is a small, sensitive pad of flesh that protrudes above a red worm’s mouth. It stretches out to push soil particles out of the way as the worm moves along. When the prostomium finds a food particle, it pushes the food into the worm’s mouth, where the peristaltic muscle action throughout the worm’s body aids that food particle on its way to becoming a worm casting. Other Worm Bin ResidentsThe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Ant 
I am an insect with six legs. I am a decomposer because I break materials down into smaller parti cles. I create tunnels and move soil into clumps. Some people would rather not have me around their homes. I am black, brown, or red. Worms especially don’t like me because I eat them. Bacteria 
I am so tiny that you can’t even see me. I can eat almost anything. Some of us live together in groups and others of us don’t. Beetle 
I am an insect with shiny, black, tough wings and am about 1/2 inch long. I am a predator and eat slugs, snails, and soft insects such as caterpillars. I live beneath stones, boards, and in other moist places. Centipede 
I move quickly on my many legs. I have 15 to 137 segments with a pair of legs on each. I am a fierce hunter and love to eat worms. I use my pair of poisonous claws to help keep my prey from getting away. I am about 1 to 2 inches long. I am usually reddish brown. Collembola 
I am a close relative of the springtail but can’t jump like they do. I am tiny, less than 1/16 of an inch long. I eat molds and decaying matter. I am white in color. Earthworm 
I am a long, thin soft-bodied annelid that has many little segments. I do not have legs or eyes. I sense light and I breath through my skin. I eat bacteria, fungi, and decaying materials. I like dark, moist places. Fruit Fly 
I am a very small fly. When I fly around, I look heavy, as if weighted down by bricks. I don’t bite, sting, make buzzing sounds, or harm worms. I tend to be brownish in color with black stripes on my abdomen, and usually have red or white eyes. Sometimes you will see me around a worm bin if a person forgot to bury my favorite food, fruit. I prefer to lay my eggs in fruit where it’s moist and warm. I can lay thousands of eggs at a time. 10 A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers Fungus Gnat
A V e rmicomposting Guide for T eachers I am a small, dark gray or black fly. I fly around like a paper airplane. As a larva, I feed on soil fungi and plant roots and often hang out around houseplants. I can infect houseplants easily, so it is hard to get rid of me. Sometimes my friends and I will occupy a worm bin, but only in small numbers. Mite 
I am tiny. It would take 25 of us to cover an inch-long line. My body is round and fat, so it’s hard to see my eight legs. I eat plant materials such as mold and soft tissues of leaves. Some of us eat the manure of other organisms. I am usually white, red, or brown. 
I have so many legs you would have a hard time counting them. My name means “thousand legs,” but I don’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
