The happiest look on Cody's face this year was when he picked up a large chunk of Alpaca manure and placed it in the school garden we were preparing. Cody is a member of the Green Thumb Growers Guild, a group that is studying plants and horticulture.
Green Thumb Growers Guild is a horticultural education program that meets as part of the after-school enrichment programs at a public Elementary School in upstate New York.
Students who participate experience anything and everything having to do with growing and using plants (and fungi). The Green Thumb Growers Guild began in October 2013 with 15 members. We use the outdoor garden lab behind the elementary, classroom space for crafting projects, the nature trail for collecting and observing, and the greenhouse at the High School for starting seeds and experimenting. Like the plants and gardens, we are growing as individuals and as an organization.
My Project
As a part of our school composting program, the vermi-composter will be used as a collector for cafeteria food waste. Students in the Green Thumb Growers Guild will take the vermi-composters (worm bins) to classrooms and demonstrate to students how a vermi-compost system works. Students will add food waste and learn how a closed-system of food-soil-food cycle can work.
We operate on almost a zero budget.
That's a good thing, mostly. We rely on things like saved seeds, wild grape vines, soil, and recycled and repurposed materials to keep us going. Some things, however, are better new, and the vermi-composting systems we are trying to find funding for are a good example of this. They are durable and will be able to travel to and through many classrooms and many young hands.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Gray and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.