Source of Vigour 

Seven Oaks School Division Composting Program

Mission

The Seven Oaks school division has been running a compost collection program for 13 years. The goals of the program are reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills and to educate students on the importance of composting.

Interview

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to work with Alex from the Aki centre. She informed me about all the amazing work that is done to support the compost program. Throughout the day I took notes about what I learned.  Since, the Aki centre is quite a busy place we exchanged emails so I could learn more about the work being done. This post includes information shared from her and her experience. 

Operation 

The compost program has grown slowly since it has started. Currently, most school sites in Seven Oaks School Division are collect compost for pick up.  Each week schools collect compost locally and place it out for pick-up each week. In each school there is a staff member that is in charge of collecting compost at the school. 

The waste is collected then brought to the Aki Centre. The Aki Centre is a land-land based learning centre located just outside the city of Winnipeg that provides learning opportunities for students in the Seven Oaks School Division. The Aki Centre is another amazing source of vigour. Check-out their website below to see some of the amazing things happening there.

7oaks.org/Student/7OaksGrows/Pages/Our-Vision.aspx#/=

At the Aki centre the organic waste is placed into the Novi-comp, which is a commercial scale in-vessel composter. This work is done by the Aki Centre staff assisted by students who may be visiting the centre that day. Carbon-rich organic matter is added to the compost as well. 

In the spring when the compost has thawed, schools are provided with the nutrient rich compost soil. The soil is then used in schools gardens as well as used at the larger gardens at the Aki Centre.

The compost program has grown his size each year. The table below shows the increase each year. 

Furutre Goals 

Alex talked about a variety of goals for the compose program. One is for the city to begin collecting compost so that students can transfer the learning they do at school to their home. Alex hopes to pull together information and like minded people to lobby the city to introduce a city wide program.

Another goal is to install a portable garage around the Novi-comp to help keep the temperate high enough during the winter months.

Speaking with Alex at the Aki centre I learned that her hope is for schools to eventually move to a situation where each school is composting directly at the school so students can have a more hands-on leaning experience and take an active role in the process. 

Inspiration 

The reason I picked this program as my source of vigour is that it reminded me of when I was in elementary school and recycling bins were first rolled out. The amount of learning that went into teaching about what could be placed in the bin and the importance of why we should recycle was taught every year.  My hope is that students in my school and school division begin to see organizing waste differently and look for better ways of disposing this waste.

I appreciate that the division I work in takes the time to create programs that support sustainable goals. The Aki centre is home to many amazing and initiatives that support students learning. The compost program is simply one piece of the work they do. I picked this project as my source of vigour as I lead the compost collection team at my school but never looked into what happens once the compost leaves my building. I feel that these projects are the hope for the future. All of local initiatives show hope for the future, a sustainable future.