LEARNING ACTIVITY
Creating compost
Climate Region: Arid | Temperate | Tropical
State or Territory: ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA
Age Range: 7-13

STORY

Amir had returned to school following another fun school holidays. Amir and his friends had attended the Climate Change Action forum, and now that they were back at school, they decided to do something good for the environment and have fun. They made an effort to pick up rubbish and bin them properly, and help their local Scouts group with their worm farm. At home, Amir also made an extra effort to help his Dad with their worm farm and composting for their garden.

Upon returning to school, Amir was excited to hear his teacher talking about composting. She was asking the class to complete an activity to encourage each other and the school community to learn about composting and why it was important. The school was looking to implement a composting program. This was Amir’s chance to share his knowledge on managing waste and the many benefits of composting!

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW

In this activity, our learners will be creating compost. Compost is created when organic materials such as twigs, leaves, dry grass and kitchen food scraps break down. Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of landfill that is produced, and also provides soil full of good nutrients that can be used on the garden.

Learners will have the opportunity to communicate their learnings through a persuasive writing exercise, supplied in the activity sheet.

Outcomes

For children to:

  • follow a procedure to create compost
  • understand the need for carbon rich (brown materials) and nitrogen rich (green materials) ingredients to create healthy compost
  • promote composting to influence others attitudes and behaviours
  • value compost as an important part of soil, which sustains us and other living things who share the earth with us.
SEASONAL NOTES

Compost can be created at any time of the year. When the weather is hot or cold, the speed at which the composting occurs may be affected because the microorganisms that break down the material may be affected by the temperature.

Did you know?

There are many different types of compost: Bokashi bins, compost tumblers and worm farms (vermicomposting) have been designed to create compost. These technologies help speed up the rate of material decomposition.

Did you know?

Compost should get hot when the microbes break down the organic material. Temperatures often reach between 50-75 degrees Celsius.

Did you know?

The Mallee Fowl is an Australian bird that makes compost. It creates a compost pile to incubate its eggs. Heat is released by the compost pile as the microbes break it down. This heat then incubates the Mallee Fowl’s eggs.

Did you know?

Detritivores are animals that consume dead things. Earthworms are a well-known detritivore.

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