Small Scale Composting: Helping People and Communities Make Positive Change in the Age of Covid-19
Household, community, on-farm, school, camp, institution, and other small-scale compost systems present similar benefits and challenges for managing food scraps, garden trimmings, and other organics. Join us to get a deeper understanding of the value that local organics management has for home owners and communities, and how it can be done safely. We’ll address animal, odor, and health and safety concerns, and the pros and cons of different compost systems and feedstocks in effective organics management.
Panelists:
Athena Lee Bradley is the Programs Manager for Windham Solid Waste Management District and is on the CAV Board of Directors. Athena organizes and is an instructor for organics and food scrap management, composting, and manure management trainings, as well as provides technical assistance to businesses, public agencies, schools, communities, and households. She has written several organics management guidance documents and numerous other instructional materials. Athena attended the Maine Compost School and other compost operator trainings; she has a B.S. in Environmental Studies and M.A. in Environmental Policy.
Natasha Duarte is the Director of the Composting Association of Vermont (CAV). She represents CAV in policy initiatives, develops and leads outreach and education initiatives, and promotes the production and use of compost as vital to soil health through practices that contribute to water quality, plant vigor, and environmental resilience. Community scale composting was the cornerstone of Natasha’s Peace Corps work in Senegal, West Africa, where she helped farmers reclaim land from termite mounds and turn the poorest areas of their fields into the most productive. She is currently contributing to a USDA Rural Utilities Services funded project – “Implementing Rural Community Composting in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.” She has an M.S. in Soil Science from N.C. State University and a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Vermont.
