From Snacks to Soil: Sagewood Elementary Students Nurture Compost Project

Sagewood Elementary School students are excited and grateful for the hard work from the class before them who launched a compost project.

Knowing they would leave a lasting impression and positive impact on the school, these students worked throughout the year on various fundraising projects to purchase composters for the school to use for years to come.

This year’s 5th-grade students picked up the project right where it left off last year. Students began by researching composting methods and understanding the science behind its impact on the environment. They learned about the benefits of composting and how it reduces waste and enriches the soil.

Students take snack scraps from the school, measure out browns and greens, and feed it to their compost mix throughout the week.

This project will continue throughout the year, and currently, students plan to use the finished compost to feed the grass around the school and help keep it beautiful. In the future, students hope to use their compost to plant vegetable plants as they dive into additional science units.

“This year, they have gotten the opportunity to be teachers for others in the school, helping them take part in this project as well as building a strong sense of community across the grade levels. Watching them be interested in the project and excited to learn more about it, then apply this learning to educate others has been wonderful and inspiring to watch,” shared Ms. Nelson, a 5th-grade teacher.

"My favorite part is that we can help our school environment just by doing a little project. Before, there was a lot of trash on the ground, but we have gotten almost all the trash picked up." ~ Emery

 

"My favorite thing that I have learned is about how compost is made, the way all the material breaks down when we turn the box and it turns into soil." ~Jordan
"I am really excited to see how our compost turns out when it is done. I really hope that other schools in Casper start doing this." ~ Kaeda

 

"My favorite thing that I have learned about compost is that you can use to grow vegetables, you can make your own garden, and just help the earth." ~ Ariyan
"My favorite thing is that we can help the school by composting." ~ Matthew

 

"My favorite thing I have learned is how you can tell when the compost is ready. It will smell earthy, and no water will come out when you squeeze a handful of it. I am most excited to use the compost when it is ready." ~ Jensen

 

"Our playground was getting dirty, and we felt like we were putting too much work on the janitors, so we decided to create compost with the food lying around the playground. I like that we are making our playground cleaner." ~ Zander

 

"My favorite thing that I have learned about the compost is what goes into it: food, bugs, dirt, all-natural stuff." ~ Elsie