Composting to Transform: Caring for the Common Home from the Classroom

In our Salesian school Ceferino Namuncurá in Argentina, inspired by Salesian values and as an active part of the Don Bosco Green Alliance, the care of the Common Home is a task that we assume with responsibility and enthusiasm. Since the Eco Escuela-Huerta Escolar project, many initiatives have come to life, but today we want to share one that blossomed with the hands and hearts of our seventh grade students: composting.

During the year 2024, the 7th grade boys and girls embarked on this green mission starting with the most important thing: learning. They researched, read, shared ideas and developed expository texts to clearly explain what composting is, how it is done and why it is so valuable for the planet. They also created posters and colorful drawings to teach the little ones, with tenderness and patience, the step-by-step details of this natural process.

Thanks to the commitment of the entire school community, special days were organized in which the other grades brought clean organic waste: fruit and vegetable peels, used grass, paper napkins, among others. Seventh grade was in charge of collecting them and taking them to the compost bin.

And what happens in the compost bin? There, the magic of nature happens with a little human help. First, the materials are placed, alternating “green” (wet, such as fruit scraps) and “brown” (dry, such as leaves or clean cardboard). Then, it is left to rest, stirred from time to time to oxygenate and watered carefully. With patience, a rich, dark soil is formed: compost, a natural fertilizer full of life.

This 2025, with the same hope and joy, a new seventh grade team has begun to prepare. They are studying, informing themselves and are ready to continue with this beautiful task. Because as Don Bosco used to say, “education is a matter of the heart”, and taking care of the planet is also a matter of the heart.

The objective of this project is not only ecological, but also profoundly educational. Students learn about the material cycle, environmental responsibility, teamwork and the satisfaction of producing something with their own hands.

On June 5, in commemoration of World Environment Day, the fifth graders made their Pledge to the Environment - a significant event for our community. On this special occasion, the 7th grade students shared the fruit of all their hard work by handing out small bags of compost (worm castings) to the families, so that each child can plant at home and continue the cycle of life from their own home.