Worm Farming Education for All Ages
Children
John Hopkins Middle School
For years we have been teaching worm farming education to all ages. Our worm farming education project at John Hopkins Middle School rooted on a partnership with The Sustainable Urban Agriculture Coalition (SUAC). A 501 (c)(3) non profit founded in 2012 in St Petersburg, Florida. For more information visit www.suacstpete.org The program is scheduled to last two school semesters, fall of 2023 and spring of 2024. For fall 2023 so far Laica has worked on teaching the students the anatomy of a Red Wiggler Worm (Eisenia fetida), how to build a worm farm using food grade 5 gallon buckets, how to care and feed Red Wigglers living in a worm farm, and how to harvest worm castings for the garden at school.
The first week of the program, the students showed curiosity and interest in learning about composting worms and the idea of having a worm farm in the classroom. The second week of the program we provided gloves to the students and had them hold the worms. It was wonderful watching how students slowly began holding and touching the worms with eagerness and tenderness.
Every week Laica went to the school for four hours and taught worm farming education to the students in the classroom and the garden named Mr. Mac’s Garden, who was a coach for John Hopkins Middle School for 30 years and now his daughter, Basketaball Coach Forte is one of the individuals responsible for the garden. Every week, in partnership with SUAC, we took students to the garden and taught them how to work on multiple tasks that included but were not limited to mulching, weeding, watering, caring for red wigglers, sowing seeds, and transplanting. The purpose is to teach the students to be self sufficient growing their own food and making their own soil using worm castings from ther worm farms and staying away from petroleum based fertilizers, salt based fertilizers, fungicides and all other chemicals.
The focus of the program at John Hopkins Middle School is entrepreneurship through worm farming and Laica and SUAC is putting together worm farms with the students using 5 gallon buckets to sell and raise funds to take the students on field trips. The funds are being collected by SUAC and The worm farms are available for purchase on www.suacstpete.org. For more information contact wormfarmer@laicaworms.com
Plato Academy (Gifted Students K-8)
At Plato Academy Laica had the opportunity to teach about composting with an experiment very similar to this one. For the activity we used recycled glass jars to store different types of items such as orange peels, pencil shavings, aluminum foil, and bread mixed with distilled water and soil from the raised beds at Plato Academy. The students hand wrote the type of item stored on the lid of each glass container and we then hypothesized in a journal how long each student thought the different items in the jars will take to decompose. The students shared their experiences with composting and learned a few extra tricks they were thrilled to put into practice at home.
LCC Day School (6th Grade)
Laica had the opportunity to support a 6th grade science teacher from LCC Day School by the name of Kristi by supplying her Red Wiggler Worms and a worm farming introduction class to be a successful worm farmer in the classroom. Kristi shared with us the idea of using “The Book to Read With a Worm” by Jodi Lyn Wheeler-Toppen for a classroom activity and her plans to introduce worm farming ath the same time and we fell in love with the idea right away! Soon after Laica met with Kristi and her son, who also attends the school and he was very excited to have new worms in the classroom, he even drew on the board a big “Hello! Welcome!” on the board for the new worms. We have kept in touch with Kristi and she constantly shares with us all the fun lessons and projects she has developed to integrate the worms with the classroom.
De La Fontaine Montessori Trilingual School (Kindergarden)
Our worm farming education with children began more than 5 years ago. Seeing children’s eyes light up when they hold our Red Wiggler Worms, millipedes or other decomposers for the first time is priceless. One of the schools we visited this year is De La Fontaine Trilingual Montessori School located in St Pete, Florida. We were thilled to have the opportunity to provide visual and tactile experiences to the students with our worms, millepedes, and plants. This school opened in January 2019 and it is the only trilingual full immersion Montessori School in the Tampa Bay area that gives great importance to nature following authentic Montessori pedagogy to children ages 2 months to 6 years old. For more information visit De La Fontaine Montessori.
Adults & Seniors
We have taught worm farming education for ten years to adults and seniors interested in learning the art of worm farming and setting up a worm farm at home. Now more than ever we all need to face the problem of waste accumulation. The individuals that decide to take action with their own hands (literally and figuratevily) contact us and set up a worm farm to divert ther food waste away from land fills. The best part is that there is not only elimination of food waste, but also transformation of food waste into nutrient rich worm castings perfect for any plants, trees, shrubs, etc. The set up process is easy and we make it convenient for you with our flexible schedule. You can call us or email us to set up a consultation any time!
The process for individual worm farming classes consists on the following steps:
- Laica has a conversation with the future worm farmer via phone call, zoom, google meet, facetime or whichever service is preferred by the individual.
- Laica sends a list of materials needed for set up of the worm farm for. It is the responsibility of the individual to purchase the tools at their convenience.
- Laica and the individual schedule a day and time to meet for the worm farming class, set up the worm farm, delivery of worms and get started worm farming!
- Laica follows up with phone calls, video calls or in person meetings scheduled on a case by case basis. (additional charges may apply)
- Laica and the individual day and time to meet to harvest worm castings and for a follow up/check up on the worm farm.
Some of the individuals that have joined our worm farmer program include teachers from middle schools, montessori schools, chefs, cooks, gardeners, yoga instructors, university professors, and many more. Each one of them has a different set up that fits their needs. We use all different kinds of worm farms, to find out which one fits your needs, give us a call or send us an email! Some examples for the set ups we have supported are below, let us know if you have any questions or suggestions!
Some of our clients like to upcycle or recycle materials they already have at home and turn them into worm farms. For those individuals we offer a worm farmer program that includes a class, educational materials, red wiggler worms and follow up meetings/phone calls.
Other clients prefer to order worm farms online and Laica supports them with a worm farmer program where they receive a one on one class, educational materials to keep with the worm farm, and follow up meetings/phone calls. Some of the worm farms we have helped set up are below.
Repurposed Tub Hungry Bin
Group Classes & University Projects
In addition to one on one worm farming education, we also provide worm farming groups classes for 10 or more individuals. One of the organizations that has received our worm farming introductory class is The Garden Club of St Petersburg.where we taught a class to 70 adults. Laica brought a worm farm with and showed everyone how to set it up, feed it and care for Composting Red Wiggler Worms. Some participants were thrilled to see the worms and have the opportunity to touch them and hold them, while others purchased worm castings to use it in their own garden.
Laica has also taught group classes for groups of 50 or more individuals that attend meetings with SUAC. A non profit that focuses on bringing local healthy food to everyone using self sustaining food systems, promoting education, advocating food equity and connecting people in the community. Check out their calendar of events and join Laica at their monthly meetings and events for the community.
Laica has also provided worm farming education to students from the Eckerd College Community Farm where we helped students set up two recycled bathtubs for large scale worm farming. Laica participated with the set up of two large bathtub worm farms, provided a worm farming class, thousands of Red Wiggler Composting Worms and educational material for the students to use and keep with the worm farms. Some images of the set up are below.
