Attendees of the Organics and Composting Workshop on October 6 & 7, 2015 review a compost spreader.

Mount Auburn recently hosted a two day workshop on organics and composting. The workshop was lead by Compostwerks of Hawthorne, New York and O2Compost of Snohomish, Washington. Compostwerks provides organic landcare supplies, equipment and services. O2 Compost has created the aerated static pile composting system for homes and businesses. Both companies have many years of organic and sustainable landcare experience in agricultural and residential settings. Almost 20 attendees came from all over New England and several states outside of the northeast representing farmers, composters, horticulturists, waste management staff, landscapers and architects.

Topics covered during the workshop included: compost creation, systems, organic landcare products, compost tea, vermi-composting and case studies. The attendees participated in two hands-on demonstrations on brewing and applying compost tea, along with the construction of an aerated static pile micro-bin system. The attendees also participated in a tour of Mount Auburn’s recycling center and potting mix creation facilities at the greenhouse. There were many lively discussions on successes and failures for everyone to learn from as well as shared determination to reduce waste and protect the land and water wherever projects are underway through more sustainable practices and organic methods of operation.