At LaClede School

Eight-year-olds Brittany Davis and Kimesha Harper like worms because they’re wiggly. 

Seven-year-old Marquis Anderson doesn’t like worms because they’re wiggly. 

But, Brittany, Kimesha, Marquis and their classmates are using little worms to change food scraps into new soil for the school’s garden. 

The little red worms are eating away in the same LaClede School classroom where the kids are studying. Last month, the kids put shredded newspapers in their “worm bin” to make a comfortable bed for the worms. 

After wetting the newsprint, they added several containers of worms. 

For the rest of the school year, the kids will bring table scraps from home to feed the worms. In turn, the worms will eat that garbage and even the newsprint. 

After about three or four months, the food scraps and newsprint will be turned into compost. That’s a type of natural fertilizer they’ll put on their garden to help grow better vegetables and flowers. 

LaClede School is in the city of St. Louis. It’s had a school garden for the last 15 years. All kids in the school help with the community garden. The kids’ part of the neighborhood garden is called the Maffit Cabbage Patch. 

Most of the city kids haven’t seen a rural farm. But, a lot of them have gardens at home. 

Kimesha said, “My grandma has a garden and I help her. I also worked in the Cabbage Patch last year.”

Brittany also said her family has a garden “all around our yard.” She said, “We grow cabbage, potatoes and celery.”

Marquis said he doesn’t mind ripping up the newspapers and making a bed for the worms. And he knows the worms can help the garden plants. But, he said, “I’m not getting my hands in the worm bin.” 

Teacher Eunice Spratt’s second graders have the responsibility of making compost in the “worm bin.” Other classes have “grow labs.” These are shelves with fluorescent lights where seeds can be planted indoors. That lets the kids start the garden plants before the weather’s warm enough to plant outdoors. 

The neighborhood garden is on two vacant lots near the school. Because homes used to be on the lots, the soil there isn’t very good for gardening. It needs lots of compost and other fertilizers in order to grow good vegetables and flowers.

That’s where the little red worms come in. 

With a little help from food scraps like banana peels, apple cores, leftover cornbread and even egg shells, the worms change the garbage into valuable compost. When mixed with regular soil, the compost makes the ground softer and better for growing plants. 

Seven-year-old Kennitra Gray said this is her first year at LaClede School so she hasn’t worked in the school’s garden. But, she said, “We have a garden at home. We grow tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and flowers.” 

However, she says she likes broccoli better. Especially if it’s got melted cheese over it. 

Eight-year-old Jon Eric Ridgel is another kid who likes to play with the worms. “It tickles when they move,” he said. 

Teacher Spratt said worms around the school also help with education. “They are great motivators. The kids really get into them,” she said.

Also, the teachers build special lessons around worms and other gardening subjects. 

Spratt’s class listed words they associate with worms to help build vocabulary. Among words listed were “wiggle,” “smooth,” “ridges,” “slow,” “fast,” “stretch” and “small.” 

But, another word on the list was “hearts.” When asked about that, Spratt said, “Kids did some research and found that the little red worms have five hearts.”