Must-haves for success:
Composting Coordinator and the support of the school’s administration and school board
- The compost Coordinator gets the ball rolling and sees that the student/staff compost training, system implementation, and program management stays on course. This person could be staff, an administrator, parent, or community volunteer, and may change over-time, but there will need to be someone facilitating the program as long as composting is happening on-site. Regardless who this person is, it is essential that the school leadership validate this role and its purpose to ensure the school itself (versus the individual) is committed to filling and supporting this function over time. To this end, the Principal, and where applicable the School Board, should make clearly defined commitments to the program to ensure success.
On-site composting system that meets the schools needs
- The size and design of the on-site composting system should meet the school’s requirements for handling all food-scraps generated over the long-term, for cleanliness and food safety, should avoid environmental pollution, and be manageable with minimal inputs and labor. If you are trying to integrate composting into the school environment and culture, the quality and efficacy of the system influences the value of the educational experience for the students.
Composting System Implementation and Management Plan
- To help clarify how your school will successfully implement and manage your schools composting system, a clearly defined School Composting Implementation and Management Plan can be created and formally adopted by the school. Inevitably, active, dynamic systems like composting will require similarly active management and the capacity to respond to challenges. Having a Management and Implementation Plan in place will mitigate many preventable challenges, while ensuring the program has the capacity to see challenges through that do arise. To assist with this planning, a series of questions have been provided here for your school to answer.
Student desire to compost
- Composting programs work best when student participation is encouraged, but voluntary. To this end it is essential that students are engaged in robust and thought-provoking education programs. Students who understand the context of their composting program and its impacts will be more effective participants, get more out of the program and are more likely to capture the essential principles of the program that are applicable to other parts of their life. The learning and inspirational opportunities in these programs should not be missed.
School-wide student and staff training in source separation of food scraps
- The entire school community must be educated about food scrap separation and given the opportunity to participate. This is critical to ensuring food scraps are authentically valued as a resource and therefore kept free of trash – a fundamental element to successful programs.
Integration of composting into school curriculum and culture
- Composting and food systems fit well into just about every area of study, and leveraging these applied programs to teach academic course work will deepen the sense of purpose in the daily actions of composting at the school. Composting programs present academic and cultural opportunities for learning and exploration in all levels of education from pre-K to University and Graduate programs. Curriculum ideas for K-12 can be found on our website at www.HighfieldsComposting.org, and Highfields technical staff and educators are also available to work with your school to further assist you with integrating your composting program for a dynamic academic environment.
Planning and Implementing a Program for Success Next