This week is an important week in raising awareness on the many benefits of composting! International Compost Awareness Week began yesterday May 1 and continues on through May 7th – and it’s goal is “to bring positive attention to the possibilities that composting can provide to communities. ICAW was designed to rally composting advocates and build awareness in every community.
ICAW – International Compost Awareness Week (est. 1995) is the world’s largest environmental education event for composting. ICAW is a multi-media publicity and education initiative to showcase compost production and demonstrate compost use.
Established in 1990, the US Composting Council (USCC) is the only national organization in the United States dedicated to the development, expansion and promotion of the composting industry. The USCC achieves this mission by encouraging, supporting and performing compost related research, promoting best management practices, establishing standards, educating professionals and the public about the benefits of composting and compost utilization, enhancing compost product quality, and developing training materials for composters and markets for compost products” (http://compostingcouncil.org).
Composting: The end product of broken-down organic plant and animal matter, this “leftover stuff” is like gold for our gardens! It is rich in nutrients and provides our plants with so much of what they need to stay healthy in the most natural way. Compost is a healthy and safe alternative to chemical fertilizers, as well as it’s value for plant-disease resistance. According to my wonderful friend, Chris McLaughlin (Author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Composting), composting also increases the growing season, reduces water run-off, serves as a pH buffer, it’s good for the Earth and saves time and money!
As with any journey, you just can not “see” it all at once…there seems to be something new around every corner. This is the way our green journey has been and our family has just turned the corner in learning about composting and what it means. I truly always believed it would be “too stinky” for our small suburban street, but after reading several opinions, facts and how-to’s, have come to realize that this is not the case at all. So now we are in the process of figuring out our logistics and how we want to begin.
There are hot piles, cold piles and simple trench composting. Oh the decisions! I will be sharing more on this when I review Chris’s book (The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Composting later this week), but for now let’s just end with my favorite line from this fab guide….
Compost happens.
Image Credits:
http://compostingcouncil.org
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Guide-Composting/dp/1615640088
Oh bless you, Lynn! How kind ~ so glad you liked it.
Hugs,
Chris
Thanks Chris! It has been an awesome experience reading your book – delightfully amusing! You had me rolling funny girl! Love it