The future is in the hands of our children.
Today's action and decisions will influence the world they live in tomorrow.
Education is key and whether you start when they're 4 years old or over 40, it's never too late to learn.
We've witnessed a lot of educational institutions talking more about sustainability and environmental protection, but there's still a big road ahead of us and organizations need to work together to make an even bigger impact.
Education goes through our minds, but more often than not, that's where it remains. The ability to transfer the knowledge from our minds to our hands is often discarded and considered as unimportant. At Zer'0Waste Shanghai we believe that hands on activities are a must when it comes to better understand information and the world around us.
The HUMUS Project aims to reduce food waste, create a circular loop for the remaining food waste within the school facilities and serve as a visual and daily educational opportunity for every student in the schools.
The compost bin project goes through multiple stages:
1. Canteen and kitchen waste audit
2. Set Up of the Compost Bin area
3. Education of all parties involved
4. Introduction & education to the students
5. Maintenance
Bokashi Bin Farm: Canteen leftovers can’t just be composted right away.
First we need to ferment the food waste.
This fermentation process not only helps better decomposition afterwards but it also provides natural plant fertilizer.
By introducing the Compost Project, we've seen food waste been cut by half in only three months time, students being actively part of the waste reduction process and an overall rising awareness at school around waste and sustainability.
This is where the magic happens: food turning into healthy soil!
Large compost bins at the school allow proper food waste separation. Separating food waste from the waste stream has a huge impact on the environment and it’s actually not that difficult.
The next natural step of this process is to create a garden in the school. Our personal favorite is a permaculture garden, which really gives a great insight to the students how nature is at its best through the collaboration in between all the living organisms.
Permaculture gardening is based on the concept of using the perfect plants for the climate, and utilizing only what works best for the local environment. To read more on permaculture, I suggest you look up the names David Holmgren and Bill Mollison who are the founding fathers of this amazing concept of growing food differently.
How amazing does a permaculture garden look!
This year we brought the HUMUS project to Wellington College to compost their food waste. We are very proud of schools like Wellington to take this big step towards a greener environment and an enhanced educational platform for the students on the school premises.
Zer’0Waste Shanghai Team & Friends of Wellington
We would like to thank the parents, staff and the friends at Wellington who made this project possible!
If you’re interested in knowing more about the HUMUS project and how to get this at your school as well,
drop us an email here!
Up to the next step:
The garden!