STEM Storytime - Collect, Create, Compost!
In this activity, participants will learn how composting works and why it can help in the fight against climate change. They will create their own compost using household waste and materials.
This workshop consists of two parts: a reading of the "Save the Scraps" by Bethany Stahl followed by the activity Collect, Create, Compost!
This workshop discusses topics, which can lead to feelings of eco-anxiety among volunteers, educators and youth if not presented in a thoughtful manner. The most important things to remember are to be honest, hopeful, developmentally appropriate, and action oriented. This workshop was created with these guidelines in mind. For more details, refer to the volunteer resource, Being Conscious of Eco-Anxiety.
What You Need
Book
- “Save the Scraps” by Bethany Stahl
- Check with a local library for a physical copy of the book or play an online/animated version.
- If using an online/animated version, access to a computer, projector and sound system to play the video.
Activity Materials (per participant):
- Sandwich bag (Ziploc bag)
- Straw
- Food waste (vegetable peel/fruit/leftovers), cut into small pieces
- Egg carton and newspaper, cut into small pieces
- Water
- Collect, Create, Compost! – Observation Worksheet
Guide:
What To Do
Part 1
- Read "Save the Scraps" by Bethany Stahl
Suggested questions to connect story to today’s topic:
What did Alex tell Matteo compost can be used for?
To make nutritious soil for the garden!
How does food become dirt?
Mr. Squiggles, like other worms, eats and moves around in the compost, slowly helping it become dirt!
Composting using worms is called vermicompost. You can compost without worms, but it is much slower!
Matteo asked Alex why she didn’t just throw her scraps into the garbage. Where do things usually go when we throw them into the garbage?
The waste is picked up by big trucks and brought to landfills – sometimes hours away! Landfills take up lots of space and they smell.
When garbage starts to break down in a landfill, greenhouse gases are released into the air. Greenhouse gases are types of gases that form a layer around the Earth and trap heat from the sun, kind of like a blanket. They play a role in keeping it warm enough for us to live. However, human activity (such as burning the fuel to power the garbage truck and landfills) are adding too many greenhouse gases into the air. This is causing the planet to warm up faster than it should, resulting in climate change.
Climate change describes changes in the weather and seasons outside beyond what we expect. It is normal for the weather to change day to day, but scientists are noticing that there are bigger, more extreme changes in how hot it is (temperature) and how much it rains (precipitation). What do you think would happen if the planet keeps getting warmer?
Possible answers: hotter/shorter winters, Arctic ice will melt, ocean levels will rise, increased precipitation (rain), extreme and unpredictable weather.
Landfills are important because we need to have a place to put our garbage – if we didn’t have landfills, there would be garbage everywhere! Scientists work hard to create new technology to make landfills better for the environment.
Why is composting like recycling?
Less waste ends up in the garbage and helps the garden stay healthy. The scraps turn into dirt for new plants – which provides food for pollinators like Clover the Bee!
Not everything can become compost! What were some of the compostable scraps that Alex and Matteo collected?
Fruit and veggie scraps, eggs, grass, leaves, twigs and newspaper
Part 2: Activity
- Cut up the food waste, egg carton and newspaper into small pieces.
- Add the food waste, egg carton and newspaper to their sandwich bag.
- Add a small amount of water to the bag.
- Insert the straw into the bag.
- Close the bag except where the straw is inserted.
- Place the bag into a spot where it can be left undisturbed.
- Observe the compost for the next several weeks.
- Record observations in the worksheet (optional).
Wrap-Up
- Discuss possible careers and what participants would need (schooling, experience) to get into those careers.
Discovery
The materials that can be composted are broken down into dry browns and wet greens. Dry browns, like your egg carton and newspaper, are a source of energy for the tiny organisms that are needed to break down your greens. Wet greens, like your food scraps, have essential nutrients that plants need to grow. Adding browns with greens like we did in this activity speeds up the compost process!
Composting is important in the fight against climate change. Composting your browns and greens like in this activity reduces the amount of greenhouse gases that would be emitted if they were broken down in the landfill. Composting ensures that browns and greens helps the environment instead by supporting the healthy growth of plants that can remove greenhouse gases from the air and reduce climate change!
Now that you know how composting works and why it’s important, compost as many browns and greens as you can using the method you learned in this activity! You can then use your homemade compost to support healthy plant growth in your community.
Based on your specific outreach audience and event duration, you may choose to include more climate change/greenhouse gas related activities available in the Hands-On Activities Database on the Let’s Talk Science portal. Make a plan that best fits your group.
What's Happening?
The materials that can be composted are broken down into dry browns and wet greens. Dry browns, like your egg carton and newspaper, are a source of energy for the tiny organisms that are needed to break down your greens. Wet greens, like your food scraps, have essential nutrients that plants need to grow. Adding browns with greens like we did in this activity speeds up the compost process!
Why Does it Matter?
Composting is important in the fight against climate change. Composting your browns and greens like in this activity reduces the amount of greenhouse gases that would be emitted if they were broken down in the landfill. Composting ensures that browns and greens helps the environment instead by supporting the healthy growth of plants that can remove greenhouse gases from the air and reduce climate change!
Investigate Further
Now that you know how composting works and why it’s important, compost as many browns and greens as you can using the method you learned in this activity! You can then use your homemade compost to support healthy plant growth in your community.
Based on your specific outreach audience and event duration, you may choose to include more climate change/greenhouse gas related activities available in the Hands-On Activities Database on the Let’s Talk Science portal. Make a plan that best fits your group.