Composting Learning Activities

Para esta información en español, haga clic aquí. | View in Spanish.

ILSR developed these Composting Learning Activities under its Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders Composter Training Program to assist community composting sites in training their own community participants. These Learning Activities provide a hands-on complement to our Community Composting 101 Online Certificate Course, which prepares participants to establish and manage composting projects that both engage and serve their communities. These Learning Activities are available for free! Please take a moment to tell us about how you will use these resources, provide feedback, or give input on future resources.

Download All Learning Activities

All learning activities are also available in Spanish.

What’s included in the download:

The following Learning Activities cover different aspects of the composting process. Each Learning Activity covers: duration, appropriate age group, learning objectives, materials needed, and instructions.

Identifying Compostable Materials

Spanish: Identificación de materiales compostables

Duration: 20-minute minimum

Age Group: All ages

Building Piles and Measuring Bulk Density

Spanish: Construcción de pilas y medición de la densidad de la pila

Duration: 2 hours

Age Group: High school age and older

Hand Squeeze Moisture Test

Spanish: La Prueba de humedad del “apretón” para una pila de compost

Duration: 15 to 30 minutes

Age Group: All ages

Demonstrating the Water-Holding Benefits of Compost

Spanish: Demostración de los beneficios de retención del agua del compost

Duration: 15 minutes

Age Group: All ages

Seed Germination Test to Determine Maturity

Spanish: Prueba de germinación de semillas para determinar la madurez del compost

Duration: 5 days to 2 weeks (depending on seeds used)

Age Group: All ages

Composting & Soil Health Learning Activities

Microbe Identification Under the Scope

Practice identifying the soil microorganisms that influence soil health.

Duration: 10 minutes minimum

Age Group: All ages

Sensory Sampling

Use your senses to make observations and hypotheses about which microorganisms you will find in your soil or compost sample.

Duration: 20 minutes minimum

Age Group: All ages

Safe Sampling Guide for Contaminant Testing

How to safely collect a soil or compost sample with a proper personal protection protocol.

Duration: 30 minutes

Age Group: Adults

Interpreting Contaminant Test Results and Creating a Bioremediation Plan

Practice interpreting sample test results and creating a plan for bioremediation for the contaminants of concern.

Duration: 45 minutes

Age Group: Adults

Contamination Learning Activities

Developing a Contamination Management Plan

Think through ways that contamination can be reduced or managed throughout the flow of composting materials.

Duration: 1 hour

Audience: Compost Site Operators

Conducting a Contamination Audit

Perform a contamination audit and calculate contamination levels for feedstocks or overs.

Duration: 2 – 4 hours

Audience: Compost Site Operators

Additional resources:

Composting 101 Training Guide

This training guide covers the fundamentals of composting, including benefits of composting, building and managing a compost pile, and troubleshooting. 

This project has been funded in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under a Recycling, Education & Outreach (REO) assistance agreement to ILSR.