Project Compost

Project Compost also offers educational seminars in the On Campus Co-ops garden area.

Location

43 Lower Memorial Union

Phone

(530)754-8227

Email

mailto:projectcompost@yahoo.com

Website

http://projectcompost.ucdavis.edu

See Pictures of Project Compost in Action

Project Compost is an ASUCD unit and campus organization run by students who bravely divert food "waste" from the landfill. Instead it ends up in giant piles where our microbial friends heat it up and decompose it into what's known as "black gold", pure unadulterated compost. Their offices are located in Lower Freeborn in the basement of the MU (Room #43)and the compost itself is kept on the Student Farm. They also compost literally tons of "waste" from Whole Earth Festival. If you have never sorted recyclables and compost for WEF you simply don't know what you are missing. You might even find a groundscore. Composting is the original form of recycling.

This is a pic from one of the popular Worm Composting Workshops held at the Co-ops by Project Compost

If you are interested in learning about composting, come to a PC meeting which is every Monday at 6:00pm in our office (MU 43, MU basement). They are incredibly fun. Our first meeting will be on September 28th. Just email us for more information

WORKSHOPS
The workshops are all done for fall quarter but we will have both a worm composting workshop and backyard composting workshop during winter quarter. The worm workshop is January 23rd at 11am and the backyard workshop is February 20th at 11am. Both held at the On Campus Co-ops

Project Compost is featured in an article in ASUCD's Campus Center for the Environment's 2006 Reorientation Guide, as well as in the January, 2008 copy of Davis Life Magazine. Project Compost shares its office with the Campus Center for the Environment

Here, the compost masters are giving workshop attendees free redworms for their own worm bins. Project Compost started its very own Worm Farm on March 17th, 2006 and it has become a major distributor of composting worms to the Davis area.

Think composting in the dorms is impossible? Think again...with a worm bin you can compost inside or out, even under the kitchen sink. Here are some very cool first-years who had their very own Dorm Worm Bins.

Redworms turn your organic waste (AKA, food waste, leaves, etc.) into the most valuable fertilizer on this earth: worm castings

• Gwen Miller, Vermicomposting Director
  

• Valentina Cekovski, Unit Director, aka Activity Director
  

• Alexa Sommers-Miller, Compost Operations Director
  

• Natalie Yahr, Education and Outreach Director

Project Compost uses an electric vehicle to collect from its campus contributors.

* Project Compost picks up from ,the Coffee House, pomology, viticulture, green houses, Olson, coffee stands, Student Farm Market Garden, Hillel and many more secret steamy places.

* Project Compost picks up about 1 ton of pre-consumer organic waste a day. That is about 100 tons of organic matter turned into sweet certified organic humus every year instead of going to the UC Davis Landfill.

* One day, everyone will compost. Around 40% of all municipal waste is compostable.

* The compost pile heats up to over 160 degrees Fahrenheit and lets out a ton of steam when the pile is turned. (Turning the pile adds oxygen to the pile, which the micro-organisms need to survive)

*Project Compost also composts with worms at the Ecological Garden Vermicomposting bins. Derek, a compost aficionado, has two worm bins in his bedroom, which means he goes to sleep with over 3000 friends every night! Composting with worms produces worm castings, a very rich soil amendment that costs lots of money if you were to buy it off the market but that you can easily make in your own house (or outside your house).

Need fresh delicious compost? Contact Project Compost at <projectcompost AT yahoo DOT com>. Prices are usually $7/cubic yard (super cheap!)

No compost ready now... Pile needs to be turned, irrigated, and cured before it is finished. Check back in another month or two! Meanwhile, check out our workshops (on wiki events) to learn how to make delicious compost yourself!

Looking for worms?
A lady sells worm bins at farmers market on Wednesdays and red earthworms worms can also be found at many bait shops. (Just make sure they aren't night crawlers)
If you really need worms we may be able to sell you a small quantity

• 2008 Feature — 2008 story in Davis Life Magazine including interviews with the Directors of Project Compost.

This UCD program receives ASUCD subsidies and in effect creates a cheap diversion of food waste to our compost piles!