1.9 Build a Compost Bin
This is Activity 1.9 (“Build a Compost Bin”) from the Grow Your PALS Program Guide, part of the National FFA Mentoring Program’s Teamwork unit. In the activity, student mentors and their PALS work as a team to select a site, layer carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich materials with soil, and build a compost bin, while discussing decomposition, composting requirements, and the connection between composting/recycling and good citizenship.
At a glance
- Learning objectives
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- Explain the process of decomposition.
- Create a compost bin.
- Discuss the necessary ingredients for composting.
- Time required
- Instruction time for this lesson: 45 minutes.
- Materials
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- Wire enclosure for bin (chicken wire or other mesh secured in a circle to fit over the compost bin area)
- Water source
- Composting materials (leaves, grass, clippings, etc.)
- Soil
- Shovel
- Hand gardening tools
- Unit
- Teamwork
- Precepts
- E. Awareness — E1. Perform leadership tasks associated with citizenship
- Number of Students
- From a pair of students to an entire class.
Downloads & Links
Aligned Standards
National Standards
- ESS.04.02.04.b.Explain scientific principles related to composting.
- NS.K-4.3Life Science
- NS.K-4.4Earth and Space Science