Friday May 5th

10:00-11:30 AM:  Jumping worms are here...Learn best practices for dealing with them

Jumping worms have spread to every corner of Vermont. You likely know someone who has them in their garden, mulch, or on the edge of their lawn. These invasive worms rapidly consume organic material, negatively impacting entire ecosystems. Frost kills the adults, but their eggs and cocoons can survive a Vermont winter. Thankfully, heat kills both the worms and cocoons. But there are several places between a compost facility and a garden or yard where jumping worms can be introduced. This session introduced best practices for composters, nursery and garden center operators, landscapers, and individuals. Let's work together to slow the spread! Refresh yourself on this topic by listening to last year's introduction, starting at 43:11.

Panelists:

  • 00:00 VORS introduction from Natasha Duarte

  • 3:20 Introduction to the topic from Dan Goossen, CSWD Green Mountain Compost

  • 5:36 Josef Görres, UVM

  • 38:49 Dan Goossen shares best practices from Green Mountain Compost

  • 52:02 Emilie Inoue, VAAFM

  • 56:13 Q&A

  • 1:09:30 Jumping worms resources on CAV website

  • 1:15:29 more Q&A

1:00-2:30 PM: Cooperative models & partnerships for organics management: a commitment to improving communities while doing right by the environment

In this session, we learned about cooperative models in organics management and farming and some of the challenges that groups face when they don't "conform to the norm." We heard from:

  • Josefina Luna from CERO (Cooperative Energy, Recycling, and Organics), a worker-owned commercial composting cooperative in Dorchester, MA, whose mission is to keep food waste out of landfills, save money for their clients, and provide good, green jobs for Boston's hard-working communities;

  • Ulum Pixan Athohil Suk'il from Global Village, an international education, training, and movement-building initiative in Grafton, MA, that aims to connect people from diverse backgrounds through food and farming to build community, with food justice firmly at the center of their practices; and

  • Rubén Parrilla from NOFA/Mass. Working to promote organic agriculture to expand the production and availability of nutritious food from living soil for the health of individuals, communities, and the planet, NOFA-Mass partners with Global Village, providing technical assistance to support their vision.

  • 00:00 Welcome to VORS 2023 from Natasha Duarte

  • 03:40 Introduction of speaker

  • 04:57 CERO video of tipping at their compost facility

  • 09:58 Josefina Luna, CERO

  • 23:27 Ulum Pixan Athohil Suk'il, Global Village

  • 39:50 Rubén Parrilla, NOFA/Mass

  • 45:59 Discussion

Download the Global Village slide deck (pdf)

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