Composting: Digging Deeper
Before I begin, I want to explain the meaning behind the title of my website: Re-Generation Z. It’s a fun play on words that I came up with myself (and I’m very proud of). Firstly, the name refers to Regenerative Agriculture, a farming method that could be the key to solving climate change. I will be talking a lot about Regenerative Agriculture in my blog, as I did in the very first entry. The name also alludes to the definition of the word re: in reference to or concerning. The name Re-Generation Z seemed very fitting since my website is about how Generation Z, or Gen Z, can work to solve climate change. My website is not just for Generation Z, all age groups are very welcome, but the future of our planet really does rely on how the younger generations take action. Anyways, I thought that I should give a little background before I get going. This week’s topic is composting, similar to my last blog. We will be digging deeper into the environmental effects of composting, and I will tell you about my personal journey with composting.
The Benefits of Composting:
As you can probably imagine, composting has a multitude of environmental benefits. To start off, compost helps plants grow healthier, stronger and in greater abundance because of the nutrients it contains. Some of these nutrients, which are found in traditional fertilizer, include Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. However, composting goes even further because it contains nutrients that are often not found in commercial fertilizer such as Sulfur, Carbon, Magnesium, and Calcium. With the help of these nutrients, the compost does its magic and elevates the growing experience of plants. Plants that are stronger and grow in abundance will perform Carbon Sequestration or capture Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. To read more about Carbon Sequestration visit my other blog: Link. The moral of the story is that these plants will assist in capturing Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere and fighting the Greenhouse Gases that are causing climate change.
The next environmental benefit of composting is that you limit your personal waste by recycling kitchen and yard scraps. A key part of combating climate change is practicing sustainability and reusing the resources that our Earth so graciously granted us. Limiting food waste can significantly decrease your carbon footprint which will help the environment. If everyone made an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, it would make a big difference.
The final benefit of composting that I will discuss is how it prevents Greenhouse Gas emissions. To create your compost, you use organic materials such as fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be sent to landfills where it would ultimately create Greenhouse Gases. To learn more about creating your own compost visit my latest blog: Link. When food and trash go to a landfill, they undergo decomposition and release methane, a GHG, into the atmosphere. Creating your own compost ensures that organic materials will live in the soil instead of the landfill.
Because of these environmental benefits, composting is a powerful way to help your planet while also having fun and getting your hands a little dirty. If that doesn’t have you sold on creating your own compost, then I don’t know what will!
My Story with composting:
Once upon a time, not too long ago, there lived a girl named Ruby Rose. From a young age, Ruby loved nature and was always eager to learn ways in which she could help her Mother Earth. After some research, Ruby decided that an amazing way to make an impact on her planet was by composting. She decided on a composting method that she would pursue: turning composting with a compost tumbler. (To learn more about the different methods of composting visit my most recent blog: Link). Ruby ordered an amazing compost tumbler on Amazon (Link) and couldn’t wait for it to arrive. When it arrived, she assembled it with her dad and began to deposit different organic materials into the composter every few days. Ruby put many cool organic materials in her tumbler such as apple cores and shriveled up strawberry plants that used to live in her garden. Every few days, Ruby went outside and rotated her tumbler to speed up the process of decomposition. Ruby was so happy when she saw the end result of her compost after a few months and fed it to her garden. And the plants lived happily ever after.
The end!
I hope you enjoyed that little Fairy Tale about my experience with composting. In all seriousness, everything that I mentioned in the story above occurred in real life except for viewing and using my finished compost. I am proud to say that I am still waiting for my compost to be fully formed and cannot wait to use it in my garden.
Some key takeaways from my experience:
Having a compost tumbler is very convenient and helpful. I highly recommend the compost tumbler that I use because it rotates easily and keeps all the contents inside itself.
If you decide for a tumbler, I do not recommend putting it somewhere where people or guests will pass frequently. It is not the end of the world if you end up having to put it in the open, but I’ve found that it attracts flies and gives off an odor.
Make a trashcan in your kitchen dedicated to organic materials so that you can easily dump it into the tumbler or compost pile. This will keep you organized and prevent you from having to make too many unnecessary trips to your tumbler/pile.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog, and I hope that it has inspired you to either start a compost pile or take up another environmentally friendly practice!
See you all next week!
