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    Essential Reading

    Program Overview

    The broad strokes of the Edible Learning Lab Program.

    Teachers Primer

    A guide to help teachers visualize their edible education program.

    Farmers Primer

    Learn how to turn your farm into an edible classroom.

    Organizations Primer

    Discover how you can bring edible education into your community.

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    There are numerous grants and funding sources to get you started.

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    Buy the same equipment we use in our flagship Lab.

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  • Lessons

    Review the Quick Start Guide

    Take a few minutes to walk through this Quick Start Guide and get your bearings. Then jump in and explore the curriculum.

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    Beginner Lessons

    The Beginner Lessons form the foundation with a sound overview of the core concepts of food production.

    Intermediate Lessons

    The Intermediate Lessons allow students to experiment and prove the core concepts.

    Advanced Lessons

    The Advanced Lessons give students an opportunity to apply what they've learned in the previous levels.

    Lessons By Station

    Seed Starting Curriculum

    Soil Management Curriculum

    Vermiculture Curriculum

    Hydroponics Curriculum

    Composting Curriculum

    Water Management Curriculum

    Seed Saving Curriculum

    Teaching Kitchen Curriculum

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    Our Core Values

    We believe that all Modern Steaders thrive on hard work, strive for self-reliance, constantly develop craft skills, have a thirst for knowledge, respect their connection to the land, use resources efficiently, and support their local community.

    Changing the Conversation

    What we at Modern Steader are working toward isn’t just food education, or a gardening program, or a nutrition program. This is about food awareness and an exploration of the process to cultivate, harvest, and transform real food as ingredients into a healthy diet and lifestyle.

    Our Top Posts

    What is a Food Desert?

    Gain insight into food deserts, the communities they impact, and how edible education may offer a solution.

    The Difference Between Rainwater and Tap Water

    Not all water is created equal especially when we're talking about the health and development of plants and people.

    Why Rain is Important

    Rain or the lack of an adequate supply can have profound effects on farming and the communities that rely on the harvest.

    Anatomy of a Seed

    It all begins with a seed and this article dives deep into the 5 primary parts of the seed that make it all possible.

Happy Helpers

Happy Helpers

The Worms Don’t Work Alone
Lesson: 3.9
Level:
Beginner
Station: Vermiculture
Format: Experiment
Rating:
Lesson 3.9 Happy Helpers

Lesson Overview

Work compost is teeming with life and these little critters are vital to the process. This lesson explores the insects and microorganisms that participate in the vermiculture process.

Goals

  • Identify various microorganisms involved in the composting process
  • Describe how these organisms aid in the com-posting process

Outcomes

Students will analyze worm castings and compost samples in order to identify the microorganisms and insects present in the worm bin.

Teaching Primer

Compost HelpersThere is something special about team activities. Often, teams are stronger than the sum of their parts. And in rare circumstances, the results that teams produce exceed the value of the inputs they have to work with. This is no more true than with vermicomposting.

Worms don’t work alone to break down food scraps and other organic material. There is a supporting cast of characters that includes bacteria, microorganisms, enzymes, and insects of various skills that support the efforts of those little Red Wigglers.

Consider this, soil and organic matter that a worm ingests is excreted as castings that are 5 times richer in nitrogen, 10 times richer in potassium, has 7 times more phosphate, 1.5 times as much calcium and 3 times the magnesium. And that is only possible with a little help from his friends.

Teach the Teacher

  • In a Worm’s Gut
  • The Role of Insects in the Composting Process
  • Soil Microbe Identification

Tools & Materials

  • Worm casting samples
  • Microscopes

Vocabulary

  • Mutualistic
  • Rhizobiales
  • Symbiosis
  • Decomposers

Method

Introduction (10 minutes)

Begin the lesson by introducing the supporting cast in the composting process, that is the bacteria, insects, and microorganisms that help the worms. Describe the role that each plays in the composting process.

Activity (20 minutes)

Using a microscope, analyze samples of the worm castings from a lower tray of the worm bin. Try to identify the various microorganisms that are present. Record the findings of the class.

Discussion (10 minutes)

What decomposers did we find in our compost? Do you think this indicates a healthy ecosystem?

Assessment (5 minutes)

Use the following questions to assess the Students before and after the lesson. Tally the responses of the group in the Assessment Tracking Log for comparison:

  • By a show of hands, how many of you think that worms get help from other organisms to compost scraps?
  • Now that you’ve met some of the other organisms that aid in the composting process, how many of you think you could explain how they help the worms compost food scraps with help?

 

Related Lessons

Give the Intermediate or Advanced lessons a try now that you’ve completed the Beginner Lesson!

This lesson, and all other lessons on this website, are intended for use by teachers in the classroom. These lessons are protected by US and International copyright laws. Reproduction or distribution of lesson content, supporting materials, or digital creative is prohibited with written permission from Modern Steader LLC.

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Modern Steader is dedicated to bringing edible education to all students K-12. How can we help you bring edible education into your classroom?

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Tim Miner, Co-Founder

Tim is Modern Steader's Lab Strategist, working tirelessly to bring future Edible Learning Labs to life. Under his direct leadership, the flagship Lab in Buffalo, WY has given more than 400 students the opportunity to explore the soil to table process.

At home, he is a passionate locavore, and doting husband and father, living in the Bighorns of northern Wyoming.

Read about Tim's journey >>>

Dave Creech, Co-Founder

Dave is a husband, foodie and entrepreneur striving to live healthier and happier through better food and outdoor living. He started his urban garden in early 2013 in an effort to grow as much of his own food as possible. Dave is continually learning to live more simply, waste less, be more efficient and generally build a better skill set.

Read about Dave's journey >>>

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