Bringing Composting to Weston Schools: How You Can Help

Owl readers know how awesome I think our Weston High School students are (and probably our Middle School and elementary school kids too, I simply don’t have kids in those schools). It is hard to keep up with all of the successes in sports, music, academics, mental health peer support, climate awareness, barn saving, etc. Maybe I need to start The Weston Owlet in conjunction with Wildcat Tracks. Tempting. And yet, I have no time.

The latest in awesomeness comes by way of students trying to bring composting to Weston Schools. The group working on it has been around for almost a year, and is led by three current juniors…and it seems two of them are TWINS. Twins rule. Oh, all right, that is biased, I get it. Composting rules! Here is the website Weston Grows with Compost that they have created, where you too can learn about composting. As an aside, at Owl central we have been composting for almost five years (Envirocycle) and every tree I plant (nine so far in eight years) gets the compost love. Also my World Champion* zinnias.

Image credit: Weston Grows with Compost

Here’s what happens next. You click over to their change.org petition to start composting at Weston Schools and type in your name and email. And then you send it to your friends. From the website:

“Food waste has long been an issue in the Weston schools, but recently has been made worse by the fact that students must receive all components of the lunch menu to qualify for free lunch, whether they want to eat it or not. Adding composting to our schools is a great way to combat this food waste and help the environment. Composting can help control erosion, keep oceans cleaner, take carbon from the atmosphere, and reduce waste in landfills. Bringing composting to schools is a great way to raise awareness of its benefits and encourage students to compost more. By signing this petition you support the effort to bring composting to Weston Schools.”

Commentary from Sustainable Weston Action Group member Debbie Slotpole reads: “All landfills in MA will close in the next 8-9 years and no new incinerators are being built because of environmental concerns. Diverting food waste from landfills and incinerators by composting can make a huge impact, as food waste makes up about 25% of total waste.”

Note that school gardens exist at both Middle and Field Schools (The Owl will be doing a series on the MS garden this spring). Gardens love compost. Trees love compost. Everything loves compost.

Please learn more about composting and support the efforts of our awesome (yes, again with that word) High School students.

Go ‘cats!

*world champion means Weston only.

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