If you have been following us on social media, you are aware that we recently hosted eight volunteers from the Larimer County Conservation Corps Agricorps program and their two supervisors, Melissa and Alex. This program is part of the Larimer County Workforce Center.
See http://larimerworkforce.org/young-adults/lccc/agricorps-program/ for more information.
Each Monday in July, from 8:00-12:00 these 14-16 year olds came out to our worm farm to learn about vermicompost and to help us with some of our most physically demanding jobs. They worked diligently and with smiles on their faces, and their presence was much appreciated.
We were impressed with them from the very start, when their first day of volunteering didn’t exactly go as planned. Despite the weatherman’s predictions, it steadily rained on us the entire morning, causing us to not only become soaking wet but also very, very muddy. Then our screener decided to stop working, resulting in some quick shifting around of volunteers to do other muddy work. On top of all this, the boom box we set out to play fun music for the group suddenly decided that it only wanted to play one particular CD—a jazzy piano album. The whole mess was so absurd, that in the end we all just had to laugh.
Luckily, the rest of their Mondays at the farm were filled with beautiful morning weather, and none of these bumbles resurfaced. Throughout this time they learned how to expertly make hot compost, harvest and screen vermicompost, feed worms, and utilize vermicompost and compost tea (aqueous extract of vermicompost!) in the garden. We also impressed upon them that composting is an extremely sustainable practice that needs to be better utilized in our society. We even showed them how to compost in an urban setting on a much smaller scale than we do at the farm so that they could know how to return home and correctly set up their own composting bins. They also left with some vermicompost to use in their own gardens as well!
Overall, we had a great time interacting with these young adults and their supervisors, learning together about the importance of soil, compost, and worms. We are so thankful for this organization and their awesome leaders, Alex and Melissa. Maybe next year we will have the opportunity to do it all over again!
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