On July 3rd 2019, Ambassador Shefaza hosted a ‘Wormshop’ at the University of Waterloo Ecology Lab, as a part of the EnviroSTEM program. Participants learned about the anatomy of composting worms and how to make their own composting bins.

For this “WormShop”, the Ecology Lab representative first introduced the lab and themselves. Shefaza then lead a powerpoint presentaion and discussion first introducing BrainSTEM Alliance and the EnviroSTEM initiative. Then she dove into information about organic waste, worms, and composting using worms.

The activity used material freely available online on purpose to show that there is a lot of information available out there within the vermicomposting community. Topics covered inclded worm anatomy, bin setup and maintenance, and harvesting the compost.

Participants went through troubleshooting and additional information from the presentation was sent to everyone in attendance.

The interactive presentation lasted about half an hour and the audience was very engaged through questions asked throughout the presentation and through my demonstrations.

In the second half hour, each participant was given a 2-gallon pail, which they converted into their own vermicompost bins by strategically making holes for drainage and ventilation, adding bedding (newspaper), soil, and getting a handful of worms.

The participants were overall enthused by the idea of making their own bin and being provided a starter culture of worms to make their own compost at home. The participants were engaged throughout the workshop, asking a variety of questions and giving anecdotes of their own. The participants were not hesitant to get their hands dirty and were excited to learn about the environmental aspects of waste, compost, and worms.