Free Composting Workshops by Penn State and the City

Posted by on April 1, 2005

Here are two different programs where you can learn how to compost, both thru the City and thru Penn State.

1) FREE COMPOSTING WORKSHOPS BY PENN STATE:
In one hour, learn how to make compost in your own backyard or community garden. Give your garden or lawn a boost, conserve natural resources and protect the environment.
Receive a free compost bin!

*Saturday, April 9th, 10:00am
Fairmount Park
Horticulture Center
Belmont Ave. & Montgomery Drive
West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA 19131

*Saturday, April 30th, 10:00am
Philadelphia County Cooperative Extension
4601 Market Street, 2nd floor
Philadelphia,PA 19139

Recycle your leaves, kitchen scraps and yard trimmings into quality, soil-boosting compost.

Call Philadelphia County Cooperative Extension 215-471-2200 to register for this free program. Pre-registration is required!

2) CITY Recycling through Composting Workshops!
The City of Philadelphia Streets Department is pleased to invite city residents to attend the following free composting workshop this spring:

*Wednesday, May 4, 2005, 6:45 p.m.
Central Library, 1901 Vine Street, Montgomery Auditorium

Training programs are two hours long. After completing the workshop, Philadelphia residents are urged to join the Recycling through Composting Team. To join, participants sign a pledge to compost yard waste and report on materials diverted from their household waste stream. The signed pledge form may entitle the household to one home compost bin.

Residents interested in attending a compost-training workshop must pre-register. Call (215) 686-5444, extension 2. Anyone is welcome to attend as a guest and receive training and a manual, but only pre-registered Philadelphia residents presenting appropriate identification will be eligible to receive a back yard composter. If demand exceeds supply, priority will be given to the earliest registrants; the date on which the workshop is held does not affect
availability.

With spring just around the corner, Philadelphia’s gardeners are eager to start working in their yards and community garden plots. As they begin to clear dead growth and pull weeds, they can build compost piles to save landfill space while improving the soil in their own gardens. According to reports from team members, each household that joins the Recycling through Composting Team diverts an average of 500 pounds of yard waste per year from the waste stream.

The City’s Recycling through Composting Program provides Philadelphia residents with free training about urban composting, including an introduction to worm farming for those who don’t have outdoor space. Thanks to the support of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the City can make backyard compost bins available to participants at no charge.

The City of Philadelphia Streets Department is pleased to be partnering with neighborhood facilities of the Free Library of Philadelphia and with the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in extending the Recycling through Composting Program to the public.

Individuals, community gardens and environmentally concerned organizations interested in learning more about this program should call (215) 686-5444, then press number 2. A recording system is available on that line 24 hours a day.