Composting in Our Primary School

Abstract

One of the most innovative features that we have put into practice in our school is the creation and use of composting with organic waste from the school canteen. Thanks to this school composting program, we have been able to implement this practice in our school. First of all, we talk about the program: the objectives, the contents, the methodology, and the evaluation of it. Secondly, we talk about the implementation of the program at school, the composting process, and the tasks and organizational aspects of the program. Finally, we talk about the conclusions and contributions to the teaching and learning process of the students. It is a very didactic practice for the construction of environmental attitudes and capacities in our students and for the sensitization with the environment and the acquisition of sustainable habits.

1. Introduction

Today, we perceive an increase in the production of urban solid waste that tends to exceed the capacity of urbanization and will constitute a more challenging financial and environmental conflict for humanity [1]. The production of waste and the lack of regulation in its final degradation have a negative effect for several reasons: (a) the environment and the resources that are produced from it; (b) public health, as the increasing possibility of diseases in individuals who are regularly exposed to pollution; (c) finances, households, and the country [1].

Keeping future generations in mind, people explore different means to harmonize progress and environmental safeguard. The school encourages the introduction of sustainable environmental practices, especially when students are exposed to sensory experiences that reinforce education, being more susceptible to environmental influences [2]. In addition, the creation and use of school gardens as a pedagogical resource, in all courses, would be useful from the point of view of education for sustainability [3]. UNESCO [4] has already advanced us some of the most interesting contributions that are obtained in the use of this educational resource such as: (1) addressing three of the four learning contents considered most urgent: climate change, biodiversity, production, and consumption sustainable [4]; (2) put into practice the three types of learning considered most appropriate: participatory and collaborative learning, problem-based learning, and learning that adopts a critical approach [5]; (3) develop general skills in SE: critical analysis, systemic reflection, collaborative decision-making, and sense of responsibility toward present and future generations [4].

Proper waste management is considered essential [6]. A fundamental strategy is its use through biological treatment options such as composting, which allows closing the material cycle, reducing the impact caused by its management, and contributing to the sustainability of agroecosystem production [7]. It is important to know how to propose a distribution in the accumulated composting, which consists of arranging areas in which an air-free zone or free air space can be created so that there is good ventilation irrigation during the duration of the waste later that guarantees an efficient movement for the development of aerobic bacteria for a relevant and effective evolution.

Gardens in schools are educational meeting places that can help to complete training, as well as increase academic results and nutrition of students [8, 9]. In addition, they learn to conserve the environment, enjoy better nutrition, and optimize relationships between people [10]. Other studies talk about the potential that these have in academic results, mainly in science subjects [11]. A more modern investigation shows how school gardens can help group unification and collaborative work [12].

2. Contextualization of the program

This program is being carried out at an early childhood and primary education school, which is located in a northern suburban area of the town of Águilas, in Murcia, Spain. It is a preferential educational care center with 13 classes: 3 for early childhood education and 10 for primary education. The school is equipped with a canteen and school transport and has 182 students, most of whom are of Moroccan origin and of gypsy ethnicity. Also counting on some immigrant students from South America and Romania, mostly from the neighborhood called “El Labradorcico.”

2.1 Family situation at school

In general, families have a high degree of marginalization and have difficulties at an economic, social, health, and cultural level.

Currently, 77 students use the school canteen, all of them on scholarships. This generates a large amount of organic waste, which is collected daily by the students and used to make compost for our garden.

In general, families present a high degree of marginalization and have difficulties such as:

• Economic: Most of the families do not have a permanent job, are unemployed, or eventually work in the fields.

• Social: Families tend to be in some cases very large, are unstructured, or are single parent.

• Sanitary: They present a lack of hygiene due mainly to the lack of infrastructure in the house.

• Cultural-emotional: Families have a very low cultural level, so they cannot help their children with their school tasks.

This primary school remains faithful to its ideals of social assistance and integration of the families that take their children to study at this center and transcending the educational aspect, to go to the root of the great economic, social, and health problems that affect a large part of the families of our students. We are aware that our students live a harsh reality that implies students leave their academic formation very soon, so, at the school, we try to work with different projects and measures to give emotional stability as something essential. With all this, we seek their integration into society and increase the number of possibilities of success for future teachings and professions.

We find irregular situations of absenteeism. On many occasions, the parents work and do not bring the students to the school, other times, it is due to the great insouciance of the parents. In certain periods, immigrant families return for a time to their country of origin and do not report their absence.

2.2 Programs at school

There are many different programs, which are being carried out at school. We have a library and encouragement of reading program, an information and technology program, a maths program, a healthy life program, and the one we are describing in this chapter: “Composting in our Primary School.”

3. Description of the program

Food waste basically consists of organic components such as lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, which can be digested into different carbonic forms. This is very important taking into consideration that nearly 1.3 billion tons of food wastes are generated every year all around the world [13].

3.1 Introduction

Ecological practices in society are increasingly on the rise, both at the level of consumption and of habits and care for the environment. And it is that without these practices our planet is adrift, punished by the millions of tons of waste that are generated each year. These residues, together with chemicals and polluting gases, endanger our health and are directly responsible for an increase in illnesses. It is enough to look at the situation of many natural sites around the world, which are increasingly affected by pollution, both fauna and flora. All these problems are interconnected with each other, and their study is perfectly integrable in the work with our ecological garden and with all areas of Early Childhood and Primary Education.

Therefore, it is essential to educate in the ecological, in the use of natural and homemade fertilizers, in the creation of compost, in the prohibition of chemical agents, in the recycling, reduction, and reuse of containers, in the respect of biodiversity, in the practice of a circular economy that makes both students and the entire educational community aware of the use of resources. All this can be worked through the school garden, a space for entertainment and enjoyment, relaxation, and at the same time of responsibility and effort for our students.

3.2 Objectives of the program

When we considered starting an organic garden in our school, we must have been very clear about what objectives we want to achieve based on content that can be worked on globally through the different areas of the curriculum. These objectives are: (a) To know the techniques of organic farming, knowing how to choose the crops and the rotations that best adapt to the type of soil and the climate. (b) To appreciate the quality and nutritional properties of the products from the organic garden. (c) To learn to value biodiversity. (d) To raise awareness of the importance of putting the “3 Rs” into practice: reduce, reuse, and recycle; highlighting above all the 1st (reduce), as it is the one that has the greatest positive effect on our garden and planet. (e) To learn the operation and implementation of the composting process. (f) To acquire the theoretical and practical knowledge of how to plant in seedbeds. (g) To acquire basic notions about the operation of a greenhouse. (h) To build and decorate elements and spaces of a childish nature that brings a touch of color and joy to our garden. (i) To make use of new technologies to disseminate the work carried out. (j) To work on values and attitudes such as coexistence, autonomy, solidarity, and cooperative work. (k) To promote initiative, responsibility, and critical thinking. (l) To conduct a study and follow-up, where students collect information on different plants and insects. (m) To promote a healthy diet. (n) To learn about the world of work through the different jobs and tasks that can be carried out in the school garden.

3.3 Program’s contents

To achieve these objectives, it is necessary to plan some content, which has been timed in an appropriate and progressive way, and based on the needs of the educational center. The contents to work on are: (a) Organic farming: basic notions and importance. (b) The mediterranean diet: characteristics and properties of food from the garden. (c) The biodiversity of a school garden. (d) The “3 Rs” (reduce, reuse, and recycle). (e) Composting: fundamental principles. (f) Difference between planting in the ground and in seedbeds. (g) Operation of a greenhouse. (h) Construction and organization of plots of different shapes, depending on the type of crop we want to plant. (i) Manufacture of decorative elements for our orchard. (j) Use of new technologies for the search for information and the dissemination of the work carried out. (k) Respect for the environment: space, animals, plants, and people. (l) Realization of a weekly orchard diary, where we can keep track of: animals, plant development, and rainfall. (m) Agriculture: importance and types of tasks.

3.4 Methodology

On the other hand, at a methodological level, we have based our work on carrying out experiences that allow students to connect with reality and with their previous knowledge.

It is very interesting to turn the students into researchers, who are in charge of searching for information, exploring, and finding solutions to the problems that arise. This type of work makes children ask questions, take risks, contribute ideas, and make decisions, which will make their learning much more reflective and motivating.

As for the organization of the students, the most advisable thing is to make small groups, each one in charge of carrying out a task, so that from time to time they change roles and at the end of the session they have carried out all the proposed tasks equally. Working in small groups allows us to: safely use the material resources available to us, make the most of time that students do not get overly tired of doing tasks, develop collaborative learning when carrying out research or data collection activities, and so on.

In conclusion, the work in a space, such as the school garden, must be based on the meaningful learning, close to the student, researcher, and collaborative, and at the same time autonomous, where students learn through manipulative, experiential, and fieldwork activities. All the activities that are carried out are included in the classroom schedules, and therefore are evaluable.

3.5 Evaluation of the program

Regarding aspects related to evaluation, we will divide it into three types: initial, continuous, and final. Regarding the initial evaluation, we must bear in mind that to start our work we must always start from the previous knowledge of the students. To get to know them, we can prepare questionnaires, brainstorm ideas, or assemblies, among others. However, it is interesting to use the “rotating folio.” For its implementation, we can group students into groups of three or four components, favoring coeducation at all times. A member of the group begins to write her part or her contribution on a “rotating” sheet of paper, about the previous ideas that she has about the garden or any type of question or topic that we are interested in addressing. Meanwhile, the others notice how the classmate does it, they can help him, correct him, encourage him, and then he passes it to the classmate next to him in a clockwise direction so that he writes his part of the task on the sheet of paper, thus one by one until all the members of the team have participated in the development of the task. Each student can write the part of it with a different color, the name at the top of the work will be written in the same color. In this way, we can easily see the contribution of each one.

Regarding the continuous evaluation, we will evaluate the different activities that are proposed: searching for information, monitoring the growth of plants, studying insects, writing recipes, etc. Most of these activities are included in the garden diary, but in the same way, we can select the best worked to publish them on our blog.

For the final evaluation, a self-assessment and a co-assessment will be carried out, and we will assess the work done by the students in their diary and their contributions to the blog. In addition, each teacher will evaluate a series of basic criteria such as those detailed below: (a) Knows the techniques of organic farming. (b) Appreciate the quality and nutritional properties of the products of an organic garden. (c) Know the essential foods of the mediterranean diet. (d) Values biodiversity as an essential aspect for life itself and as an advantage for the garden. (1) Be aware of the importance of putting the “3 Rs” into practice. (2) Know how the composting process works. (3) Acquire basic knowledge of how to plant in seedbeds. (4) Know how a greenhouse works. (5) Collaborate in the construction of elements and spaces for children. (6) It makes use of new technologies to disseminate the work carried out. (7) Acquire values and attitudes such as coexistence, autonomy, solidarity, and cooperative work. (8) Track and collect data in your garden diary. (9) Recognizes the importance of the work of farmers for our day to day.

4. Implementation of the program at school

Bearing in mind that one of our general objectives for the school garden is “to learn how the composting process works and how to put it into practice,” we are going to focus on this aim and see how it is carried out in our school.

Composting in schools is economical, instructive, enjoyable, and useful. By creating compost that is nutrient-rich and helps to nourish the soil to encourage the growth of new life, you can teach people about the eco life cycle and sustainable living.

All of your food scraps can be recycled on-site as soon as they are thrown away. Fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, fish, and dairy products can all be properly composted together with any other raw or cooked food waste that your school generates (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Composting at canteen school.

Composting is a natural process, but for it to happen, certain conditions must be met. To the delight of kids and some adults, energy is released during this natural process, heating the mixture, and generating steam.

Compost is a natural fertilizer created from the action of bacteria, fungi, and worms on the organic or biological waste that we generate at home or in the school canteen (food scraps, dry plants, etc.). It has a triple function: (1) Serve as fertilizer to improve the properties of the land. (2) Serve as food for plants and, at the same time, we recycle the waste generated by using it for compost. (3) It helps preserve and improve the fertility of the soil and is a stable product with a pleasant smell (as long as the process is adequate) (Figure 2).

Figure 2.

Compost.

We must take into account that about 40% of the waste in our home is organic matter, most of it of plant origin, and susceptible to biodegradation. It is important to teach children to manage and take advantage of them through simple techniques. Dumping is more expensive every day, so composting on a small and large scale represents a more sustainable management of waste, and therefore savings.

Composting is a basic pillar when considering that our garden is ecological. Other types of fertilizers such as the different types of manure (horse, goat, chicken…) are equally valid, but they do not offer us the possibility of “creating” our own compost, building the compost bin, preparing organic waste (wet and dry material), keep track of the process, detect incidents, propose solutions… In short, the creation of composting allows us endless learning possibilities that we must take advantage of and teach our students so that from school they can extrapolate it to small-scale homes.

Through composting, we are committed to the cycle of organic matter, we involve and take responsibility for children, developing and assimilating the concept of circular economy, a more sustainable model than the traditional “linear economy” (obtain, produce, consume and produce). This concept aims to increase the useful life of the products, taking advantage of the waste generated, and reintroducing it into the system in the form of new raw materials.

4.1 Composting process

In order to carry out the composting process, the first thing we must have is an adequate space to put the compost bin. This should be placed inside the school garden, in contact with the ground, so that insects, bacteria, and fungi have easy access to the waste. In addition, we must protect it from the wind, and from the sun’s rays in summer, it is advisable to place it under deciduous trees that will give us the necessary sun (in winter) and shade (in summer).

Next, we need to build the compost bin. In our case, we have installed a wooden one, approximately 1 m³. It is made with wooden slats separated by about 4 cm, to favor oxygenation. There is nothing on the ground part to facilitate the entry of insects, and on the top part, there is a wooden cover to prevent water from falling in case of rain. However, on the front side and next to the ground, the wooden strip is mobile sliding upwards when we want to remove the compost that is generated. In addition, there is an annex with an explanatory poster of the waste that can be thrown away and those that cannot (Figure 3).

Figure 3.

Compost bin.

Once the compost bin is finished, it is time to start dumping the organic waste that is generated in the school canteen. Before commenting on how we organize ourselves for this task, we must know that, in the compost bin, we are going to work with two types of waste: wet, rich in water and nitrogen (remains of fruits and vegetables…); and dry, composed mainly of carbon (dry branches and leaves, straw, cardboard…). The ratio of both should be two parts of wet material to one of dry material in order to maintain adequate humidity. To this task of adding dry and wet material, we must add the task of mixing and aerating, thus oxygenating our future compost and controlling its humidity. We will carry it out with a long stick hoe every time we make a contribution to the compost.

It is also important that in the first filling of the composter, we will prepare a bed at the bottom with thick woody material to facilitate air circulation. Whenever possible, the compost bin should be kept at least half full.

To fully understand the composting process, we must know that it is mainly divided into two phases: (a) Decomposition and degradation, where bacteria and fungi generate heat in their activity. The temperature can reach up to 70°C, which decreases as the activity of the microorganisms slows down. With this rise in temperature, we manage to kill any pathogenic organism present, and we make the seeds present in the remains sterilized. (b) Cooling and maturation: here the bacteria work at a temperature below 30°C. This favors the appearance of small animals such as earthworms, mealybugs, and insects that feed on microorganisms, plant debris, and various invertebrates, thus contributing to the formation of mature compost.

4.2 Tasks and organizational aspects of composting

Composting brings a series of tasks and organizational aspects that we must consider. It is important to be clear about who is going to carry out each of them. In this sense, at our primary school, we follow a series of actions every day that will finally put an end to the dumping of waste in the compost bin: (1) Our chef pours all the vegetable waste of the day into a bucket. (2) In the same way, each class must have its “composting bin” where to throw the waste generated from their breakfasts. Each student is responsible for chopping and pouring that residue into the bucket. (3) Upon returning from recess, “the compost patrol” (the class in charge of compost that week) goes through the classes with various buckets to collect the waste from the entire school. These residues, together with those from the canteen, will be thrown in the compost bin at the end of the day. (4) The caretaker takes the waste from the canteen to the class in charge of managing it. (5) The students review the waste (on tables with tablecloths prepared for it) to check that there is none that negatively affects the compost and chop them up as much as possible. (6) Ten minutes before the end of the day, the students go to the garden and dump the wet waste generated in the dining room and in the classrooms. (7) We pour dry material if necessary. (8) With the help of a long stick hoe, we remove a little and oxygenate.

Finally, 6–8 months after the start of the process, we will use a sieve to separate the materials that have not yet been completely composted (fresh compost) from the mature compost, which we will leave to rest for a few days, with a pleasant smell of forest soil (Figure 4).

Figure 4.

Recycling.

5. Conclusions and contributions to the teaching and learning process of the students

The composting program has benefited the entire educational community of our school for raising awareness about the environment, resource management, and cooperative work.

It is well known that having an organic garden in a school is all beneficial for the teaching-learning process. Even more so, when within this program, we include the compost that directly favors the reduction of the amount of organic rubbish from the school canteen that goes directly to landfills, reduces the use of inorganic fertilizers and we save irrigation water; due to the water retention capacity of the compost, it provides the necessary nutrients for the development of plants in a natural way and reduces the costs of transporting waste with the consequent benefits for citizens.

All this has been transmitted to the entire educational community so that awareness of the impact that our daily acts have on the environment has been systemically created, and thus have alternatives to recycle waste and use it to generate raw material.

The process of implementing this composting program has been very pleasantly received by the entire educational community. The school canteen staff feels very satisfied to be able to reuse all the organic material in the garden on a daily basis. Students and teachers are responsible with their functions of collecting the organic elements and seeing how, little by little, the compost is formed in order to fertilize each of the plots, without the need to buy or use external fertilizers. The students, and even adults, are interested in learning about the process of making compost since even if organic remains are piled up it never smells bad.

In short, the composting program has been an ideal activity for the entire educational center, a perfect way to bring the entire educational community closer to nature, to transmit values ​​of responsible consumption, to recycle, and to create respect for the environment. And the most important thing of all is that, with the completion of this activity, a delicious reward is obtained: growing our fruits and vegetables with that flavor of before that now only maintains quality organic products.