Overall Vision:

We would like to use various composting methods that will serve as an instructional tool as well as provide useful composting material to improve the quality of the soil in the planting beds at Incarnate Word Academy.   Composting is the natural way of recycling organic waste into nutrient rich soil and we would use the composting tumbler to accomplish this. We would like the students to analyze the goals and procedures of composting as well as the benefits to the environment.

 Goals:

 Goal 1:  To serve as an outside learning lab that will enhance Incarnate Word Academy's educational standards in several ways.    The composting unit will allow the students to use an inquiry-based approach that will give them hands-on experiences in many   areas of study such as; science, math, art, language arts, service and public speaking.

Objective 1.1 The composting unit will allow the students to gain a better understanding and appreciation for recycling with the focus on learning how to improve the environment around them

Students will:

·         Gain a greater sense of environmental and social responsibility

·         Be able to educate others about the benefits of composting; this will enable them to help influence future lifestyle decisions that affect the environment

·         Work together in groups that will help them learn how to collaborate on projects that can achieve worthwhile goals

·         Be a part of improving the health of the earth

·         Utilize technology such as the Vernier sensor to collect data and then have it transmitted into the computer

Objective 1.2 The composting unit will allow the students to use an inquiry based approach that will give them hands-on experiences in various subjects such as; science, math, art, language arts, service, computers and public speaking.

Examples:

·         Science:  Composting procedure and benefits, Worm behavior and response to lights. PH of vermicompost

·         Math: Analysis of worm growth, counting and classifying worms

·         Art: drawing diagrams, pictures and graphs

·         Language Arts: Journals entries, concise and descriptive summaries, creative writing

·         Service: Education of community about the conservation benefits and the student’s efforts, collaborating with other school locally and globally to share conservation ideas

·         Computer skills: Computer can be used as a way to store and share data with other (i.e. collaborating with other school locally and globally), using sensors such as the Vernier sensor that can collect the data and have the data input into a computer

·         Public Speaking: The students can share the findings from their project to educate students and the community (i.e. talks in combination with PowerPoint presentation or use of the Smart Board)

   Goal 2:   Composting will provide several environmental benefits to the Learning Garden.

            Objective 2.1 Composting will help enrich the soil by introducing important nutrients. 

Composting can help

·         improve and stabilize the PH of the soil

·         improve ability to hold nutrients for plant use

·         improve the soil structure and create a better plant root environment

·         Kills pathogenic organisms, weeds and other unwanted seeds when temperatures of over 60oC are reached.

             Objective 2.2 Composting can help reduce the need for fertilizers, pesticides, and water

·         Improves water-holding capacity

·         increases productivity of plants

·         Provides humus or organic matter, vitamins, hormones, and plant enzymes which are not supplied by chemical fertilizers.

Goal 3:   Utilizing Zoo Poo compost donated by the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  This compost would be highly nutritional for the plants in the Learning Garden as well as educational for the students at Incarnate Word Academy.   

Objective 3.1 This compost is naturally nitrogen-rich, which is an excellent source of nutrients for the plants.

Objective 3.2 The compost is part of a comprehensive composting effort in effect at the zoo which would be an instrumental educational resource for the students.

·         Zoo educators would be willing to come to Incarnate Word and speak with the students about the Zoo Poo composting procedures

·         Learn about the composting benefits

§         For plants

§         Reducing wastes, which would end up in landfills, from the Zoo

§         Researching alternative conservation uses for the compost

·         High energy fuel

o        The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY wants to be the first zoo in the US to supplement its energy needs with power from dung

o        Canada's Toronto Zoo, Japan's Tokyo Zoo and the Knoxville Zoo in the United States among the first zoos experimenting with generating power from the herbivore inhabitant’s waste.

·         Making paper from the dung