Training effort spreads the compost

<www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2002/December/15/local/stories/08local.htm>

December 15, 2002
By BRIAN SEALS
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

It’s hot. It’s dirty. It’s absolutely free.
And by the end of it, you will be master of the compost.
A free three-month training program backed by the county Board of
Supervisors will teach the finer points of composting beginning in
January.
More than teaching ins and outs of capitalizing on organic matter to
make healthier gardens, the program also teaches how to spread the
composting gospel to others.
“They go out in the community and educate other people on how to
compost at home,” said program coordinator Karin Grobe.
On seven Tuesday evenings and five Saturdays participants will get
hands-on experience as well as take field trips to get a glimpse of
sophisticated composting operations.
Those trips include a visit to UC Santa Cruz to see worm bins, used
to make materials decompose more quickly, and a “hot pile.”
A hot pile refers to a large layers pile of brown and green yard waste
that will heat to about 120 degrees as it breaks down.
Visits also are planned to the county dump, a large composting
facility in Gilroy and a visit to the Grey Bears recycling and
composting grounds in Santa Cruz.
But there is as much doing as observing in the program.
Composters-to-be will learn to set up worm bins and how to solve
challenges that come with it, such as odor and rodent control.
The effort also shows how to compost with the space one has
available.
“A big obstacle is knowledge, and that is what the program is all
about,” said Heather Brady of Ecology Action.
The free program includes all the materials books, worm bins and
worms.
In return, the participants will volunteer to teach others about
composting.
Space is limited to the first 35 people who sign up.
Deadline to apply is Dec. 30. Applications are available by calling
Ecology Action at 426-5925, or log on to www.ecoact.org.
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Contact Brian Seals at bseals (at) santa-cruz.com