The Concordia Greenhouse Project would like to welcome ABCompost under its umbrella! ABCompost is a composting & vermicomposting educational group that started a few years ago under Concordia University’s Zero-Waste program. This enthusiastic and knowledgeable group of Concordia students facilitate vermicomposting workshops around campus, process food waste from campus food providers like Le Frigo Vert and soon from the People’s Potato, and operate tumbler composters on the Loyola campus. Joining the Concordia Greenhouse will foster a collaborative relationship where ABCompost will be more able to expand its educational initiatives on campus and beyond as well as help start the Hungry Bin Project, and the Concordia Greenhouse will get to participate in supporting an initiative that is of vital importance to food waste diversion and urban agricultural composting.
What is vermicomposting?
Vermicomposting is a natural process whereby earthworms and bacteria convert food waste into compost. Unlike other composting methods, vermicomposting can be done safely indoors, and the conversion process happens much more quickly than using a regular outdoor compost pile or a tumbler machine.
Only four species of worms are able to survive in a vermi-composter. The most popular species is the red wiggler worm (Eisenia fetida), although other species include the European nightcrawler, the African nightcrawler, and the Indian blue worm. These species thrive in dark, ventilated bins (this can be accomplished by drilling small holes for oxygen flow), with dirt bedding and food scraps. If these conditions are met, the worms will eat the food waste and reproduce to increase in population size. As a hermaphroditic species, composting worms possess both male and reproductive organs, and excrete cocoons that can hold between 10-20 worms.
Eventually, the food waste that the worms eat is converted into worm castings, also known as vermicompost. The vermicompost is excreted from the worms after they process the food waste in the bin. Basically, this worm poop is the compost, which is much more nutrient dense than conventional, store-bought compost, and is cherished by many gardeners and horticulturists.
Would you like to know more on vermicomposting? Stay tuned for educational workshops and events throughout the year where we teach students and the Concordia community about different composting practices!
You can also check out our Instagram, where we post educational content on food waste and composting practices to the public.
Email: abcompostconcordiamtl@gmail.com
Instagram: @abcompostmtl
Thanks for your support!
We would like to thank everyone from Facilities Management for all of their help in making this collaboration a reality, specifically Jackie Martin and Faisal Shennib for their incredible support of so many projects like this and many others at Concordia. Also we would like to thank Oliver De Volpi from Hospitality for letting us temporarily use the Dish Project space on the Hall building’s very busy 7th floor while the Greenhouse is closed. And finally, thank you to Catherine Rokakis and Isabella Curiel-Ploumis, the founders of ABCompost, for agreeing to come on board.
ABCompost will continue their amazing workshops and operations as they did before, so stay tuned for volunteer opportunities, internships, and other great programs as they become part of the Concordia Greenhouse family!
Concordia Greenhouse Project 