Dorm worms implemented for sustainability

Starting in January, Luther welcomed creatures to campus as a way to bring composting into the dorms. Upon hearing students voice their concern about having no way to compost in the residence halls, the sustainability office has provided seven composting bins filled with dirt and red worms from a farm in California.

Students who expressed interest have taken these bins to their respective dorms where they are filled with items such as newspaper, fruit and vegetable waste, coffee grounds and teabags. The worms help turn this waste into rich soil, which can be used in the Luther gardens. A pound of worms can consume up to a half-pound of waste per day.

Assistant Sustainability Coordinator Maren Stumme-Diers has been the main facilitator of this project.

“Its kind of just a pilot program seeing how it works, seeing if it’s going to be possible to expand to other places on campus,” Stumme-Diers said. “People are interested in it, and I think it’s a neat way to compost.”

Currently, there are bins in the Norby House, Farwell, Baker Village, Olsen, Larsen, Ylvisaker and Brandt.

“We’ve been very careful to try and talk to the custodians in the building, and to talk to the RAs, and we’ve given the Hall Directors a heads up just so people are aware of what’s happening and aren’t freaked out by it because I think worms can scare some people,” Stumme-Diers said.

The accessibility of the bins varies from dorm to dorm. In Baker and Farwell the worms reside in a particular unit, while the others are in a common area such as the kitchen so that all dorm residents can use it. The students who brought the bins to their dorms also take responsibility for promoting and educating residents and monitoring the worms, making sure they are not overfed and turning the soil so that the waste does not all sit at the top of the bin.

Olson resident Maddie Ford (‘13) is excited about the initial popularity and is hopeful for the program’s future.

“Hopefully it can expand to all the dorms and maybe even some of the offices,” Ford said.

Brandt resident Adam Voss (‘13) worked closely with Stumme-Diers to come up with the idea and is happy with how it is working.

“We have received a lot more positive feedback than I was expecting,” Voss said.

While there is no current plan to officially expand this program, the worms should roughly double in population in three to six months if tended to properly, Stumme-Diers noted.

“By the end of the semester, we very well might have enough worms to start making more bins, so it could be a kind of self-sustaining project,” Stumme-Diers said.

However, Stumme-Diers is hesitant to make concrete plans before she sees how the pilot program goes.

“Before we expand too much, I just want to make sure it’s something that will work at Luther, that it’s something students are receptive to and wanting to do,” Stumme-Diers said.

Regardless of future plans, the composting worms are currently serving their purpose as a way for students to help reduce waste.