Learn vermicomposting using composting worms.
LEARN TO WORM
Growing Oʻahu’s vermicomposting community one household at a time
Vermicomposting is gaining in popularity across Oʻahu as concerned citizens of all ages discover the fascination of cultivating a colony of composting worms. Worms turn garbage into gold by eating household food waste and producing vermicast, a superior soil amendment ideal for all kinds of gardens, potted plants, landscaping and lawn.
From Lockdown to Learning: The Official Worm Ohana Origin Story
Click on the spinning worms!
Why become a member of the Worm Ohana?
What’s special about this particular vermicomposting program is that we all agree to report our data, as you see displayed on the dashboard below.
Numbers demonstrate the Power of the Collective and measure our impact. You may be feeding your worms only four pounds of food waste a week, but if 1,000 members of the Oʻahu Community Worm Ohana are doing the same – well, that’s two tons of waste diverted each week, 104 tons per year! Vermicomposting reduces costs, and diminishes the pollution and carbon footprint of transportation and central processing. Policy-makers, funders, and influencers in the position to enact change pay attention when we can back up our activity with verifiable data. We make a small difference as individuals, but together, we pack a powerful punch for environmental restoration!
Data from the Oʻahu Community Worm Ohana
Total Food Feed To Worm lbs oz
| Total Food Fed to Worms (lbs) |
|---|
| 34,816 |
Total numbers as of current date. Project started September 26, 2020
Total Worms Harvested lbs oz
| Total Worms Harvested (lbs) |
|---|
| 204.8 |
Total Vermicast Harvested gal qts
| Total Vermicast Harvested (gal) |
|---|
| 974.0 |
Community Spread
| Community Spread |
|---|
| 65 |
Numbers of households with whom the Worm Ohana shared worms
Mindy Jaffe at the Worm Ohana welcomes you to our new headquarters at the Magoon Research Facility in Manoa! Open to the community for tours, workshops, and other wormy events.
Join Our Growing Worm Ohana!
We make it easy, enjoyable, and convenient. Pick one of three ways to get started.
1. I want the Learn To Worm Kit with instructional video
2. I’m setting up a worm bin on my own, and I want to join the Oahu Community Worm Ohana as soon as my worms are settled in and feeding.
No charge
To obtain worms, please contact Mindy.
3. I am currently a successful worm bin manager and want to participate as a member of the Oahu Community Worm Ohana!
No charge
I understand I may need to purchase a scale on my own.
Here’s The Latest
Worm Ohana is Back in Action!
Da wormies have gone off to COLLEGE! All worms have been relocated to the Magoon Research Facility in Manoa, now part of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), University of Hawaii!
THE SKILL OF READING FEEDING, PART ONE
From Matt Okamoto: I am wondering about feeding the worms. I have been feeding them every Sunday. What if there is still food? Should I hold off feeding them?
BUGGY FLAPJACKS – FEAST or FIASCO?
G.H. From Ewa Beach reports: Lots of little bugs got into this expensive flapjack mix, and my wife was about to throw away the whole box! Should I fire up the griddle and make a big batch of buggy pancakes for the wormies?
The Windward Zero Waste School Hui is a project of Oahu Resource Conservation and Development Council, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
With the switch from dumpster disposal to Resource Recovery, campuses have been transformed. Daily participation of over 2,036 students puts Zero Waste concepts into practice at Ka’ōhao, Ka’elepulu, Kainalu, Enchanted Lake and Kailua Intermediate Schools. The Learn to Worm Virtual Vermicomposting project – presented by the Windward Zero Waste School Hui and the Sacharuna Foundation – created an opportunity to extend our knowledge and environmental activism far beyond the schoolyard.