Education & Community Initiatives
Education and community initiatives are at the heart of successful composting programs. From schools to neighborhood projects, partnerships help build awareness, foster participation, and keep organics out of the trash.
Explore the webinars below to see how educators, community leaders, and organizations are working together to grow a culture of composting and sustainable materials management.
Many webinars include downloadable resources and links to more information.
In this VORS 2025 session, we’ll share Upper Valley Super Compost Project’s approach and impact, look at a few school case studies, and consider the importance of growing stronger local area ties.
The Upper Valley Super Compost Project (UVSCP) is a nonprofit initiative to bring tailored compost infrastructure to public schools and support the development of cooperative, fully integrated school composting programs. We work with schools to find diversion and disposal options that work for them, avoid practices that pollute or negatively impact recipient communities, increase real-world problem-solving for students, and enhance the biological health of soil in school and community landscapes.
In this VORS 2025 session, we’ll share UVSCP's approach and impact, look at a few school case studies, and consider the importance of growing stronger local area ties.
Presenters:
Cat Buxton, Grow More Waste Less
Alison Baker, Fruit to Root
This VORS 2022 session guides educators through integrating composting, food waste reduction, water management, and soil health into school curricula. The presenters review a semester of simple lessons and activities that can be modified to fit any group!
This VORS 2022 session guides educators through integrating composting, food waste reduction, water management, and soil health into school curricula. The presenters review a semester of simple lessons and activities that can be modified to fit any group!
Presenters, Video time stamps, and Shared resources:
00:00 VORS introduction, Natasha Duarte
01:24 ICAW winning video from Vermont
02:57 Session introduction and Bread and Flour video
11:09 Julia Parker-Dickerson, Smilie Memorial School
30:34 Cat Buxton, Grow More, Waste Less
47:06 Q&A and discussion
1:18:14 Activities overview (links to downloadable handouts below)
compost glossary.pdf (good to pair with charades)
soil science vocab (good to pair with Bread and flour demo, and/or charades)
Additional resources mentioned/shared during this session:
VPR podcast with Kathleen Kesson; the Community School Blueprint is linked in the piece
Regeneration Corps
Upper Valley Apple Corps
This is an animated teaching guide for starting a compost program in your school. In this brief video, students will learn about compost, the importance of closing the loop on their food system and how to separate food scraps effectively.
Directed & Animated by Adam Maurer
Highfields Center for Composting presents an animated teaching guide for starting a compost program in your school. In this brief video, students will learn about compost, the importance of closing the loop on their food system and how to separate food scraps effectively.
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This resource is content originally developed by the Highfields Center for Composting in Hardwick VT. The Highfields Center for Composting dissolved as an organization in December 2014 and ended its active involvement in the Close the Loop Program. The content has been made publicly available for use in supporting organics management in Vermont and elsewhere through the generosity of the High Meadows Fund, the Harris and Frances Block Foundation, and the Vermont Community Foundation. The Vermont community wishes to thank the Highfields Center for Composting for its years of outstanding leadership in the service of community composting and universal recycling in Vermont.
Whether schools compost themselves or simply divert their food scraps, this simple addition to the lunchroom allows students to close the loop on their food system and learn the basics of decomposition.
This video profiles the compost program at the Washington West Supervisory Union in Vermont. Whether schools compost themselves or simply divert their food scraps, this simple addition to the lunchroom allows students to close the loop on their food system and learn the basics of decomposition. Composting is a great form of participatory education, allowing for student engagement and empowerment.
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This resource is content originally developed by the Highfields Center for Composting in Hardwick VT. The Highfields Center for Composting dissolved as an organization in December 2014 and ended its active involvement in the Close the Loop Program. The content has been made publicly available for use in supporting organics management in Vermont and elsewhere through the generosity of the High Meadows Fund, the Harris and Frances Block Foundation, and the Vermont Community Foundation. The Vermont community wishes to thank the Highfields Center for Composting for its years of outstanding leadership in the service of community composting and universal recycling in Vermont.
In this VORS 2023 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."
In this VORS 2023 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."
Speakers:
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.
Video time stamps:
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
This VORS 2024 webinar provides an overview of how the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission (UVLSRPC), whose jurisdiction lies just across the Connecticut River, has engaged municipalities, schools, and communities in composting initiatives.
This VORS 2024 webinar provides an overview of how the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission (UVLSRPC), whose jurisdiction lies just across the Connecticut River, has engaged municipalities, schools, and communities in composting initiatives. Through partnerships with professionals and highlighting case studies in Vermont, UVLSRPC has provided resources, workshops, and technical assistance to those interested in diverting their food to compost.
This session highlights the regulatory framework and resulting changes in New Hampshire. The talk also details UVLSRPC’s processes for engaging local officials and residents in starting pilot programs and encouraging home composting practices.
Presenter: Majestic Terhune, Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission
Video time stamps:
Learn more about their work at uvlsrpc.org
Discover how schools are using composting to connect students with healthy soils, local food systems, and environmental stewardship.
Discover how schools are using composting to connect students with healthy soils, local food systems, and environmental stewardship.
In this Compost Conversation webinar, Cat Buxton, Dulce Ohare (Sharon Elementary School), and Chrissy Morley (Marion Cross Elementary School) share the story of the Upper Valley Super Compost Project—an innovative collaboration that brings together schools, farms, cafeterias, and communities through composting and hands-on learning.
Topics include:
Building successful school composting programs
Reducing food waste while improving soil health
Engaging students through experiential education
Creating partnerships among educators, food service staff, farmers, and community organizations
Using composting to teach ecology, nutrient cycling, climate resilience, and food systems
Whether you're an educator, school administrator, composter, farmer, solid waste professional, or simply interested in environmental education, this conversation offers practical ideas and real-world examples that can help inspire and strengthen composting efforts in your own community.