
A
hands-on
lesson
at
Coles
Elementary
School
has
plants
thriving
from
student-created
compost.
Students
learned
how
organic
food
scraps
are
recycled
to
create
compost.
The
composting
program
is
the
first
of
its
kind
in
PWCS.
Starting
December
2019,
the
end
of
lunchtime
at
Coles
Elementary
looked
a
little
different
for
fifth
graders
as
they
began
to
place
their
organic
food
scraps
in
a
marked
barrel.
Apple
cores,
orange
and
banana
peels,
and
various
other
bits
were
collected,
then
placed
in
tumblers
outside
of
the
school.
Handfuls
of
dirt
and
brown
leaves
were
added
to
the
mix.
In
the
following
months,
fourth
and
third
graders
joined
the
initiative.
Second
graders
started
collecting
their
organic
waste
in
what
was
to
be
a
school-wide
program
when
schools
were
closed
due
to
the
pandemic.
Kathryn
Forgas,
principal,
continued
to
visit
the
school
and
turn
the
tumblers
through
the
spring
and
summer
months.
Ramona
Richardson,
kindergarten
teacher,
took
over
the
task
in
late
August.
"Right
before
spring
break,
we
opened
the
compost
tumblers.
I'm
not
going
to
lie;
I
was
unsure
of
what
I
would
see.
Some
students
threw
away
entire
oranges
and
apples
which
were
part
of
their
lunch,
but
they
chose
not
to
eat
them.
I
had
my
doubts
that
those
oranges
would
decompose.
Nothing
else
was
added
to
the
tumblers
since
March
of
last
year.
The
compost
that
came
out
was
without
a
doubt
nutrient-rich
soil.
All
of
those
food
scraps
recycled
and
converted
to
a
finished
compost,"
Richardson
shared.
Spring
flowers,
raspberries,
strawberries,
asparagus,
mint,
lamb's
ear,
and
milkweed
are
growing
in
gardens
fed
by
the
student-created
compost
on
the
school
grounds.
Soon
the
compost
will
help
lettuce,
carrots,
potatoes
and
peanuts
grow.
"The
students
love
working
in
the
gardens
and
watching
the
plants
grow.
We
are
keeping
science
observation
journals,
so
they
really
notice
the
changes
and
growth
in
the
plants,"
Richardson
said.
Jacob,
a
kindergartener,
said,
"We
get
vitamins
from
our
vegetables
and
fruit
so
it
makes
sense
that
the
plants
would
get
those
vitamins
when
we
compost."
While
classmate
Sammie
said,
"It's
great
to
help
the
earth
and
we
are
making
less
trash."
The
School
Division's
Office
of
Energy
Management
and
Sustainability
provided
funding
for
the
two
industrial-sized
composting
tumblers.
Daniel
Buongiovanni,
now
a
senior
at
Charles
J.
Colgan
Sr.
High
School,
organized
and
led
his
scout
troop
to
assemble
the
tumblers.
He
also
created
the
flyers
that
were
posted
on
the
barrels
to
remind
students
which
foods
can
and
cannot
be
collected.
His
contributions
were
part
of
his
Eagle
Scout
project
for
the
Boy
Scouts.
Students
share
more
information
in
this
video
that
was
produced
last
school
year.