My Son Came Home From School With Worms

No, not THOSE kind of worms.

Today Kevin Smith from The Worm Shed (www.wormshed.com.au) came to my son’s school to teach the kids about worm farms. And since worm farming has been a bit of a hole in my sustainability knowledge base, I invited myself along to his talk. And I’m so glad I did!

First of all, Kevin did a fantastic job – the kids, who were mostly Year 2s and a few Year 1s – were totally into it. He started with a little talk (illustrated with funny slides and cartoons) that taught the kids a bit about worms. I learnt a lot too, for example:

  1. •Worms have five hearts but no eyes
  2. •They are hermaphrodites
  3. •Their poo doesn’t smell
  4. •One thousand worms can breed up to one million worms in one year
  5. •Worms can consume their own body weight in food every two to three days
  6. •They eat loads of stuff, everything from fruit and vege scraps to pet hair, dog poo and used tissues!

And then it was time to get stuck into the worms! Kevin had laid a few trestle tables with piles of soil and shredded newspaper – the kids had no idea there were hundreds of wriggling Tiger worms underneath. He had been careful to explain that worms have no teeth, can’t bite, and are totally harmless.

Nonetheless I was really impressed with the kids. There were a few “eeeuuwwws” but mostly they just couldn’t wait to hold the worms and search for the tiny egg cocoons in the soil. And then the kids got to build their very own mini worm farms to take home!

Worms truly are amazing little creatures, and a worm farm is a brilliant way to reduce household waste. Consider that Australians are the 2nd highest producers of waste in the world. Each household sends an average of 800kg of waste per year to landfill. Of that waste, over 60% is food and garden waste that could be fed to worms.

Worm farming is easy, and Kevin and the Worm Shed make it even easier. And the best part is that you can then use the worm poo and worm wee on your garden – it’s one of the best fertilisers around.

You can buy a worm farm direct from Kevin at www.wormshed.com.au. Or contact your local council, who often subsidise the cost of the worm farm. The City of Nedlands sell theirs for just over $100, worms included!!

Happy worming.