Earthcare Spring Training

Feb 24 – 25
At Earthcare's Spring Training 2010, Earthcare groups from Ottawa's elementary and high schools gathered for environmental learning and fun. With Growing Up Organic, students learned the ins and outs of composting - and made their own...

Pop Bottle Composter!

All you need: recycled containers (2L pop bottle, large yogurt and medium sour cream), a small piece of nylon, a rubber band, half a cup of soil, some newspaper.


Step #1 Carefully cut the bottom off your pop bottle (about two inches, usually there is a line on the bottle)


Step #2 Attach nylon to the spout of the bottle with rubber band to create a screen


Step #3 Place the bottle spout down in the large yogurt container. Add shredded newspaper until your bottle is about half full (get ripping!).


Step #4 Add 1/2 cup of soil to the bottle


Step #5 Put the small container in the top of the bottle as a lid (right side up).


And voila! Your composter is ready!

To use your composter:
Add 1-2 cups organic material (fruit/vegetable scraps, crushed egg shells-washed, coffee grounds) ***The smaller the better! Chop up into small pieces, or put your scraps in a blender!

Add a few spoons of water, and stir up the paper, soil and organic matter. You want the consistency to be that of a damp sponge, so add water as needed.

Now wait while tiny bacteria and microorganisms turn your scraps into compost!

Check on your composter once or twice a week. Stir it up to allow air in, and empty the liquid that has drained into the bottom container. This is 'compost tea', and your plants will love it!

Does your compost stink? It shouldn't! It may be too dry - add a little water, or too wet - add dry material like sawdust or shredded paper.
Tip: If you are having trouble, try only composting coffee grounds, it won't stink!

After about 1 month the contents of your pop bottle should begin to look like a smooth, dry soil. Your compost is ready to be used - your houseplants will love it!
***Don't forget to save half a cup of compost to restart your composter for the next month!

Keep composting! You are reducing the amount of waste in landfills, and creating organic plant food (for free!) that will help your houseplants or your garden grow strong and healthy!

More information on composting...
http://www.ec.gc.ca/education/default.asp?lang=En&n=BAE2878A-4


Also, check out Vermiculture - composting with worms!...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjjuYNilM60

Red Wiggler worms are the best! Add them to your outdoor bin, or make a worm bin.
Order your own Red Wigglers from Arbour Environmental Shoppe in the Glebe. (613) 567-3168

What's on the Calendar?

Spring is in the air, and things are getting starting for school gardens!

Growing Up Organic has begun to host garden workshops for kids in schools across the city. For the rest of the school year, GUO will be available to do lessons with children, assist teachers with their garden related lessons, and provide materials and resources.

The lesson topics include (but are not limited to!)...

Planning the Garden: Three Sisters Garden – Before April 1st (Grade 3) - Students learn about a traditional 3 sisters garden, and then plant a mini version of one!
Planning the Garden - Before April 1st (gr.9, 10, 11…) - Students learn about needs of plants & factors to consider when planning a garden: space, light, how plants work together, planning for the harvest... .
The Mystery Garden – March, April, Anytime (Kindergarten, grade 1) - Students plant unidentified seeds and make observations in their investigation to discover what each plant is.
Soil Investigation - When ground is thawed, before planting (Grade 1, 3,6,9) - Students explore soil, experiment with different types of soil, and discover soil components through observation and soil testing.
Seed Starting – First Week of April (Grade 1, 3, 6, 11) - Through a series of stations, students explore seeds and seed germination. Seeds are sprouted for snacks later in the week, and seedlings are planted for later use in the garden.
Transplanting and Planting – Earliest Mid-April (Grade 4) - Students take seedlings and plant them in the garden. Experiments are done on weaker seedlings that don’t make it to the garden.
Weeding and Mulching - any time! (Grade 1, 3, 5, 6, 9) - Students discover weeds, weed the garden and conduct a mulch experiment.
Composting: Create a Composter – when ground is dry (Grade 7,8, Design/Shop class) - Students design and build a composter
Composting: Get Composting – any time (Grade 5,7-10) - Students design a composting system at their school, and teach other students about compost.
Harvesting (everyone!) - Lots of activities for harvesting including cooking, nutrition, preserving food (making pickles...) and more.

Detailed lesson plans are available at: https://sites.google.com/site/growinguporganicschoolgardens/ (they are still in the works).

If you are interested in scheduling a workshop with your school, contact Laura at guoschoolgardens@gmail.com

Don't have a garden? No problem! There are many activities that can be done in the classroom. Interested in creating an outdoor garden? Contact Growing Up Organic for support.

To see what's going on so far, take a look at the calendar (Click on a day and then event details).