On March 4, CSI Sustainability held a Compost Workshop outside of Building 6S. It was an event where students, faculty, and staff could learn the benefits of recycling and the process of turning perishables into fertilizer for a healthier environment.

A question we can ask ourselves is what can we do to have a positive long-lasting impact on our environment? There is no definitive answer but CSI Sustainability and its Director Nora Santiago hold events to get students involved on campus to be environmentally conscious.

“This allows students to learn about the process of planting, and I advise you to go down in the summer to see the difference from now,” said Santiago. “This part of the garden turns into a beautiful butterfly garden in the summer.”

Stretching from the back entrance and along the side entrance of 6S, you can find the results of the different events held by CSI Sustainability. You can also see other garden-related items like bird feeders, wood chips, and trees that each provide their own function in the 6S Garden.

The monthly Compost Workshop involves diverting pre-consumer waste from the campus’s Dining Services into compost, diverting more than 400 pounds of fruits and vegetables into fertilizer. This process prevents this waste from going to landfills, which is a good way to save energy and resources through recycling. Outside of 6S, students began by dumping vegetables from Dining Services onto a mat, beginning a process that lends itself toward the campus’s environmental responsibility.

After checking for any stickers or waste in the pile of vegetables, students can break down the pile with gardening tools and shovel a mix of chopped perishables and wood chips (donated by the New York City Department of Sanitation) into a compost tumbler, where it will sit for weeks before being used as soil. By annually donating 20 cubic yards of wood chips for free, the Sanitation Department provides a source of carbon for compost efforts, allowing better airflow for fertilizer and a longer duration period before decomposing.

“I think it’s interesting giving back to the Earth in a sense, and healing it by composting,” said CSI student Amelie S. “My favorite part of the event was taking all my anger out smashing the vegetables, it was a good team-building exercise.”

Composting is something everyone can do at home, throughout their community, or at events like CSI Sustainability’s Compost Workshops. Throughout March, the precursor to April, the busiest month to support the environment, they will hold seven workshops that can lead to a Master Composter Certificate. Learn more at the CSI Sustainability Website.

By Kyle Cicero