SECTION 6 - Solutions 10+, Agriculture & Science Compost-ables, PART B, P1 AGE RANGE: 10+ Agriculture & Science SUBJECTS: OBJECTIVES PART B • De昀椀ne carbon sink, compost, soil, photosynthesis and carbon footprint. • Analyze whether or not a food is compostable. • Build a composting unit. DURATION ENDURING UNDERSTANDING • 2, 30-minute sessions • Composting is an easy solution to decreasing the • Additional 30 minute sessions for assessment production of greenhouse gasses. ACTIVITES FIRST SESSION, PART B: PREPARATION/HOMEWORK: Learners read, or listen to someone read, the articles listed (doing this as preparation/homework for this unit relieves the stress on the slower readers or the educator can choose to carve out time within the unit to ask learners to read the articles.) INTRODUCTION (10 MINUTES): One of the ways families and individuals can help solve the problem of generating greenhouse gas—particularly methane from food waste—is to use the organic matter generated by their household for compost. For smaller households, mechanical composters are readily available. Think of composting as the natural breaking down of organic materials. The term organic in this instance doesn’t refer to farming practices that do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. It refers to organic compounds as opposed to inorganic compounds. Organic compounds always have a carbon atom while most of the inorganic compounds do not. Almost all the organic compounds contain carbon-hydrogen or a simple C-H bond in them. Telling the di昀昀erence between organic compounds and inorganic compounds is easy. Organic compounds result from activities of a living entity—think of a 昀氀ower, an apple, or you. T RESOURCES: • The Carbon Almanac - Solutions: Using Agriculture as a Carbon Sink, p.202/ 218 • The Carbon Almanac - Solutions: Drip Irrigation, p.204/ 248 • The Carbon Almanac - Solutions: Backyard Regeneration, p.210/ 108 • The Carbon Almanac - Solutions: Forests Support Food Security, p. 213/ 250 • Worksheet: Eating Habits • 1 empty 2-liter soda bottle per learner (rinsed, label removed and top cut off 2” below the neck of the bottle (keep the top). • Sharp knife. • Nail. • Shredded newspaper. • Dirt from outside. Learners can bring in soil from home, purchase soil from a store, or dig it up from somewhere on the school grounds. The poorer the soil quality, the better. • Compostable vegetation (yard waste or non-meat food). • Handful of dry leaves. • Spray bottle full of water. • A journal of some sort to keep notes of changes. This can be paper and pencil or computer, educator’s choice. 40