Discuss: What usually happens to grass cuttings, garden waste and kitchen scraps?

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Dennis Quentin Adams
5 years ago
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1 Introduction Composting is an important way of recycling waste. Without food waste, the waste in our dustbins is easier to sort, and doesn t sit in landfill producing methane (a greenhouse gas). Compost improves the soil structure and encourages plants to grow well. Discuss: What usually happens to grass cuttings, garden waste and kitchen scraps? Health and Safety Wear protective gloves when handling compost in a school situation. Always wash hands thoroughly after handling waste materials or compost. Keep broken skin or cuts covered up. People with respiratory problems should keep away from a heap that is being turned. In a school, only use materials of vegetable origin. Use manure from veggie pets (eg guinea pigs,rabbits), never from cats or dogs!

2 Activity Jack put grass cuttings on the compost heap. Making a compost heap is a good way to recycle waste, and help plants grow well. Starting a compost heap 1. Decide where to put the heap. It should be on soil or grass, not on concrete. 2. You can either: a. buy a compost bin b. make a compost bin c. just make a heap What to put on your compost heap weeds grass cuttings fruit and vegetable scraps used tea bags paper that s too messy for the recycle bin cardboard (squashed) straw, hay or sawdust from cleaning out animal cages tough weeds can be left tied up in a bin liner for a few months, then added to the heap Adding to your compost heap Keep adding stuff until it is full (or too tall to keep tidy!) Now start another heap, and keep putting more on it while the first one rots down. It will take a few months.

3 Activity What s happening in your heap? Feel the heap with your hand is it getting warmer? Look at the stuff on top of the heap and inside it. What is happening? Draw some of the creatures you find living in your compost. Use a magnifying glass or microscope for a closer look! What to do with your compost When the compost turns nice dark brown, and smells good, it s ready to use! Jack puts the compost on the flower beds. This is called mulching. It enriches the soil and helps the plants to grow strong and healthy. If you find any lumps that haven t composted properly, just put them in your next batch. Problem heaps If your heap is too wet, and smells nasty, add hay, straw, or more scrumpled up cardboard and paper. If it s too dry, leave it uncovered. Some compost heaps like to be covered, some don t!

4 Additional activities Two-tier composting Sometimes it s more successful to run two compost heaps - fast and slow. Fast: grass cuttings, soft weeds, veg scraps, paper and cardboard. Slow: tough weeds such as docks, woody prunings, anything tough like old cabbage stalks. Composting quiz Measuring temperature fun_stuff/quiz_composting.htm Measure and record the temperature of the heap at intervals, and discuss what is causing the changes. Investigating biodegradable materials Devise a way to test which materials biodegrade and which do not, and to compare decomposition (rotting) rates. Worm compost Make a worm composting bin. See go to topics then Education and the Curriculum Why have worms at home or in the classroom? Turn waste into fertiliser and recycle organics back to the earth Reduce odour in waste food bins Save energy with worm energy Reduce need for municipal landfills Grow worms for fishing Use worms for science projects Excellent for year long classroom activities Worms eat our garbage by Mary Applehof, available from Recycle Works.

5 Kitchen roll Outline of activity Evaluating different types of kitchen roll; organising different types of paper for re-use and recycling. Resources Examples of kitchen paper towels, together with the prices. Background People often say that recycling paper saves trees, but it really saves energy. Information on Paper Recycling on Waste Online website Introduction InformationSheets/Paper.htm What did people use before kitchen roll was invented? Do we need to use it at all? Additional activities Maths Find out the cost of a pack of paper for printing or photocopying Is it recycled? How much does recycled cost? Could you use less? Do staff and pupils use both sides? Monitor before and after to see how much paper/money the school could save. Compare all the classes. ecoe c o wash w a s h energy save Art / design Find out how to make paper! go to Schools > Activities > Recycling Paper

6 Activity 1 Choosing kitchen roll Kitchen roll comes in all sorts of patterns and prices. Jack chose recycled kitchen roll. Would you pay extra to have: yes/no coloured printing on it? textured patterns? extra soft? (uses extra chemicals) bleached (bright white)? (uses extra chemicals) extra good absorbency? (better at soaking up liquids) recycled? What do we want kitchen roll to do? How well do different makes of kitchen roll soak up water? Devise a fair test to compare them. Decide how to record your results. Is the most expensive roll also the most absorbent? 6 Can you think of 3 ways you could dispose of used kitchen paper? Which is the best way? Which is the worst way?

7 Activity 2 Saving paper around school Facts n e w s news On average, every family in the UK throws away 8.5 kg of paper and card each week The average Welsh dustbin contains 25% paper 1 2 What do you do with paper after you ve used it? We don t need to throw away paper. Organise containers for different types of paper around the school. Type of paper: used on one side used both sides envelopes newspaper, clean newspaper, messy paper bags, clean paper bags, messy shredded crumpled cardboard What you can do with it keep it in a box, handy to use again paper bank re-use (you can buy sticky labels to write the new address) paper bank compost heap keep them tidy, and use them again compost heap bedding for pets, then compost heap compost heap compost heap Make labels to remind people what goes in each container. Organise someone to take the paper to the paper bank or compost heap.

8 Organic gardening Outline of activity This activity sheet shows some of the differences between organic and non-organic gardening. Resources Spot the difference pictures (two similar gardens with major differences in use) Picture 1: John s Non-organic garden (Everything very neat) Picture 2: Jack s Organic garden (Rather less neat than the neighbour, but bursting with biodiversity) Additional activities Start your own organic garden Enhance your school grounds to attract wildlife Improve habitats - shelter, food and water Create a pond to attract creatures (somewhere to live, bathe and drink) Provide bird, hedgehog and bat boxes Plant native plants as a natural food source, supporting far more creatures than introduced species Create your own wildflower meadow, as a good source of food for insects Plant shrubs with berries to provide food for birds Do before and after surveys, with regular monitoring Useful websites: HDRA and Soil Association

9 Activity Organic gardening Have you heard of organic gardening? Organic gardeners work with nature instead of fighting against it. Jack s garden is organic. His friend John next door is not organic. See if you can spot the differences between these pictures:

10 Spot the difference What s different? What s different? Picture 1: John s What s good or bad about it? Picture 2: Jack s What s good or bad about it? non-organic garden organic garden

11 Answers to Spot the difference 1. lawn 2. Apple tree 3. fruit bushes 4. vegetables 5. Flowers 6. pond 7. gardener 8. compost heap/ artificial fertiliser 9. bird box / cat 10. hedgerow / wall Jack s organic garden wildflowers and insects good for biodiversity birds nest birds eating insects thrush eating snails snails would eat the plants raised beds, easy to keep the weeds down mixture of plants, fewer diseases bees pollinating the bean flowers bees attracted to flowers butterflies, good for diversity, lovely to see plants, dragonflies food and water for wildlife good for biodiversity weeding by hand you can choose to leave some of the weeds some weeds, like chickweed, are good to eat some birds eat weed seeds robins help by eating pests compost is great for growing healthy plants better than throwing weeds and kitchen scraps in the bin good for biodiversity it s free! bird box will encourage birds, who will eat your pests a bit of wild garden is good for biodiversity beetles in a hedge will come out and eat your pests friendly animals need a place to hide John s non-organic garden only grass not many living things no birds to eat the pests dead snails so what can the birds eat? weeds grow in the spaces between rows soil gets washed away when it rains all the same plants together can get diseases no bees to pollinate the flowers no butterflies how sad! the gardener probably sprayed with insecticide it might kill beneficial (good) creatures and affect the natural balance harder for wildlife to live here weedkiller kills plants their seeds would have provided food for wildlife, such as chaffinches artificial fertiliser can be harmful if it gets into nearby streams it s expensive! cat will scare away birds concrete doesn t attract wildlife!

12 Did you know? Using pesticide can make pests worse! Aphids are herbivores. They are eating John s plants. Ladybirds are carnivores. They are eating the aphids. John s mum sprays insecticide on the aphids. Ladybirds are insects, so she kills them too. More aphids fly in to John s garden. Soon there are lots more baby aphids to eat his plants. Ladybirds take a long time to come back. Good news for aphids. Bad news for John! Wildlife-friendly gardening is is better for plants! Jack attracts wildlife to his garden. It can stop pests and diseases getting out of control. He still has pests, which eat his plants, but plenty of predators that eat the pests. Pests and predators should be in balance.

13 Saving energy at home Outline of activity Saving energy at home: spot the difference, plus Home Energy Check Resources 1. Spot the difference 2. Home Energy Check, available on the West Wales ECO Centre website, goto Home Energy Check. Complete a home energy efficiency questionnaire and send it to the freepost address to receive a personalised report specific to your home. This report will detail the energy efficiency measures available to you, it will also give you an approximate figure of how much money you can save per year if you have various measures done. Also with the report you will receive information on any grants to help pay for this work. For paper copies ring The service is free.

14 John s house Jack s house

15 Activity Why did Jack close the curtains in his living room? Wasting energy costs money, and harms our environment. Jack and his family try to save energy and save money. John s family next door waste energy, and harm the environment. Can you spot 9 ways that Jack s family saves energy and John s family wastes energy? Spot the difference John s house Jack s house See how you could save energy (and money!) at home. Fill in a Home Energy Check.

16 Sources of energy Outline of activity Spotting the energy sources, identifying which ones are sustainable. Resources Picture of a street Activity Talk about different sources of energy, including fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. Discuss the differences, eg: Fossil fuels We can t make more fossil fuels We are using them up, and they will run out They are expensive They cause pollution Renewable energy sources They are endless We will never use them up They are free They don t cause pollution Wood counts as a renewable fuel, as long as more trees are planted. Burning wood produces carbon dioxide, but the trees use up an equal amount when they are growing.

17 C OA L OIL

18 Sources of energy Spot the sources of energy Look at the picture and help Jack to spot the energy sources. Fill in the table below. Energy What is it Is it a sustainable source doing? source of energy?

19 Sources of energy Answers to spot the energy sources Energy What is it Is it a sustainable source doing? source of energy? Sun Giving light Yes Giving heat Giving energy to plants / helping plants to grow Heating water in solar panel Making electricity in photovoltaic panel Wind Drying clothes on the washing line Yes Turning wind turbine to make electricity Coal Heating home No, we are using it up Heating oil Heating home No, we are using it up Diesel/petrol Giving energy to car/lorry No, we are using it up Food Giving energy to people to move Yes, if we are careful about, keep warm, think, grow etc Wood Heating home Yes, if we keep planting more trees

Composting: the rotten truth

Composting: the rotten truth Composting Composting is the transformation of organic material (plant matter) through decomposition into a soil-like material called compost or Humus. Invertebrates (insects