Biodynamic composting in a school settting

Composting in schools is a tricky topic — caretakers aren’t teachers, and teachers aren’t caretakers. Managing green waste is not really a teacher’s role, and it can be really tricky making changes to a smooth operation, especially when there are contractors mowing lawns and removing grass clippings.

In the hopes that this case study offers inspiration, let’s see what Green Bay Primary and Intermediate did with Blue Borage back in 2018–2020.

Step One: train a dozen classes in hot composting, and empty all the soil from the neglected compost enclosures into garden beds around the school.

Step Two: Plant up new edible gardens and make use of the soil now coming out of the four bay compost classroom.

Step Three: create a garden-to-table programme with two classes split into two groups: chefs and cooks. The chefs cook lunch for all 50 children, and the gardeners grow the vegetables, make soil, and then get fed. Enough lunches are made to sell some to staff members, which helps pay for the guest tutor and lunch ingredients.

Step Four: empower the students to write a compost operation manual and take control of the composting process — asking classes to do some weeding, approaching the caretaker to arrange for mulch, getting a teacher who lives on a farm to bring in some cow manure.

I often wonder what might have happened if 2020 didn’t mean the end of the compost classes with Blue Borage.

If your school would like to pick up the concept and work with me on refining the processes, please get in touch to discuss the practical details: katrina@blueborage.co.nz