Thursday 4th May 2023

In our bid to increase our biodiversity we wanted to measure just how biodiverse our soil is by making a mini wormery. First, we learnt why they are so important to the planet. Being decomposers, they are at the bottom of the food chain and help oxygenate and fertilize the soil by eating waste matter. This improves the texture and fertility of the soil, as well as reducing carbon. They also attract birds, frogs and hedgehogs who all eat or predate them.

Armed with a plastic water bottle, with the top quarter cut off, the children made layers of compost and sand. They then went on a worm hunt, using a guide and came back with 15. They put them on top and we added some dead leaves for them to feed on, as well as a drop of water. With the plastic top minus the lid they can breathe but not escape. Finally, we put black paper around the edge so that it is dark like their natural habitat. They started to burrow down quite quickly, but we will look at them every day before returning them in a week. We learnt that there are 30 species of worms and that they can live for up to 5 years. We think they may be tiger worms.