Nature Center to Hold Family Composting Workshop

According to  Irvington Superintendent of Public Works Greg Nilsson, leaf collection alone costs the village up to $100,000 in labor, overtime, fuel to run the trucks and a dumping fee of $15 per load. And this is all money that could be saved if residents knew how to compost.

On Saturday, the Greenburgh Nature Center in Scarsdale will host a hands-on, family composting workshop, teaching locals how to remove solid waste in a way that is both financially and environmentally friendly.

"Fruit and vegetable scraps, leaves, garden waste, egg shells, coffee grinds and filters and grass clippings are all compostable," Anne Jaffe, special projects coordinator for the center said. "And using your own compost is the best and most efficient way to keep your garden fertile."

The workshop will focus on both indoor and outdoor composting, and, Jaffe says, teach residents how to compost effectively without buying any expensive equipment.

"First, we'll demonstrate three different styles of outdoor composting with plenty of opportunities for participants—including children—to try out what's being taught," Jaffe said. "We'll have participants compare different stages of maturation of the compost and practice adding it to our garden bed."

Like a seasoned wine connoisseur, Jaffe describes mature compost as having a "sweet, complex odor."

"It reminds me of digging up earth in a forest after it's just rained," she said. "It's actually very pleasant." 

Once the outdoor component of the workshop is over, participants will have the opportunity to learn about indoor composting using Vermiculture.

"For this we use worms and shredded newspaper," Jaffe said.  "The worms further enrich the compost making for an even better garden once the process is complete." 

Jaffe hopes the workshop will show locals that composting doesn't have to be onerous.

"If you want the fertilizer ready within six months, then you have to work a little harder," she said. "But if you just leave it and do nothing, you'll still have awesome fertilizer within a year."

Jaffe said she collected leaves from outside her home in Irvington last fall, and expects to have a ton of soil to add to her garden in the next few months.

In addition to providing a fun bonding activity for the whole family, staff at the Greenburgh Nature Center hope event's like Saturday's composting workshop will help alter residents' behavior in a way that is more conscience of our environment.

"So much of making the area more green is changing people's behavior," Jaffe said. "And by doing it, we bring down costs and bring up quality of life—basically it's making yourself healthier and happier."

Saturday's composting workshop will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Greenburgh Nature Center at 99 Dromore Rd. in Scarsdale.  To reach Jaffe call: (914) 813-1812.