Westerville City Schools, OH "Grounds to Ground Composting Project"

Type: Program

Status: Ongoing

Source File: http://www.westerville.k12.oh.us/districtNewsArticle.aspx?artID=531

Description:

Students and staff at Westerville North High School will be involved this year in a new school/community initiative to increase environmental awareness through the ecological practice of composting. Cafeteria scraps, plant clippings, shredded paper, and even used coffee grounds will be combined in the school’s rotating barrel-style composter. After several weeks, the waste will become a nutrient-rich soil to improve the flower beds around the school.

Coffee grounds can be an essential part of compost by supplying nitrogen. North has formed a unique partnership with the Uptown Westerville businesses Java Central and Heavenly Cup. The volume of java served in the uptown coffee houses, along with coffee pots at North, will provide ample coffee grounds for the “Grounds to Ground” project.

Students and staff will be involved by throwing away food waste into proper bins, recycling the coffee grounds, shredding office paper, and placing outdoor plant material into the compost bins.

Pupils will be active participants in this project by monitoring and stirring the compost bins, performing chemical, biological, and physical tests in their science classes, and utilizing the fertile soil to enrich plant growth around the school.