Glooscap Organic Compost Shed Community Event
- Location: Glooscap First Nation
- Project Partners: Glooscap First Nation., The Mi’kmawey Green Communities Program., Lindsay Construction.
- Website: https://www.glooscapfirstnation.com/ & https://lindsayconstruction.ca/
Project Description
Implement a Community Composting Program to explore methods of organic waste diversion while providing an educational tool for the community youth program, as well as creating nutrient-rich compost to be used within the Community. A construction event was held in partnership with Lindsay Construction to promote and provide support for the construction of Glooscap’s Compost Shed. The event provided an opportunity for community members to practice their trade skills and assist in the construction process from start to finish.
The compost tumbler that is housed inside the organic compost shed is an in vessel anaerobic composting unit. It requires tumbling (movement) every three days once the initial food waste (nitrogen source) and wood pellets (carbon source) have been added to the unit. The unit can compost upwards of 40kg of organic waste per week. Once both sources are added, monitoring of the moisture level, which could require the addition of more carbon and or nitrogen sources, and monitoring of the temperature levels to ensure the process inside the unit is always at a steady state for an effective composting process to naturally occur, is carried out for the duration of the composting process. This process typically takes 6-8 weeks to complete. Following this the compost is then moved outdoors to curing piles where after another 1-2 weeks will be fully cured and ready for use.
Implement a Community Composting Program to explore methods of organic waste diversion while providing an educational tool for the community youth program, as well as creating nutrient-rich compost to be used within the Community. A construction event was held in partnership with Lindsay Construction to promote and provide support for the construction of Glooscap’s Compost Shed. The event provided an opportunity for community members to practice their trade skills and assist in the construction process from start to finish.
The compost tumbler that is housed inside the organic compost shed is an in vessel anaerobic composting unit. It requires tumbling (movement) every three days once the initial food waste (nitrogen source) and wood pellets (carbon source) have been added to the unit. The unit can compost upwards of 40kg of organic waste per week. Once both sources are added, monitoring of the moisture level, which could require the addition of more carbon and or nitrogen sources, and monitoring of the temperature levels to ensure the process inside the unit is always at a steady state for an effective composting process to naturally occur, is carried out for the duration of the composting process. This process typically takes 6-8 weeks to complete. Following this the compost is then moved outdoors to curing piles where after another 1-2 weeks will be fully cured and ready for use.
Project Results
- A three way partnership brought out the community and community leaders to this event.
- Two way learning of technical skills were practiced during this event.
- Future after school programs for the youth in the community will follow this construction.
- This project has provided community member with the opportunity to be a part of a build in their own community that will provide use for other community members in the future.
- This project also provided volunteers with an understanding of how the building can be used and the possibilities of what can happen to food waste once diverted into this system.