The Way of the Worm
Photos and Story by Paul Leavoy
When Cathy Nesbitt attends environment-themed events, such as the Green
Reel festival held at The City Playhouse last week, she encounters an
all-too-common scenario.
A mother, for the sake of example, will approach her table with a child
or two in tow, and inquire, "now, what are you doing here?"
"Worm composting," Cathy will reply, politely and enthusiastically.
Then, wide-eyed, the mother takes a step back, restraining the children
as if they were on the verge of attack.
"Worms?"
Cathy shoots back a question to neutralize any unfounded fears: "Did
you know red wigglers eat half their body weight every day?"
Suddenly, the family is captivated and it's only a matter of time before
the dedicated composter, avid gardener and ardent environmentalist has
a new audience under her thumb.
Although she feels the fear of worms is off-base, Cathy has sympathy
for those who reel at the sight or thought of those slimy, crawling
creatures. After all, she used to be afraid of them herself.
"Until about five years ago, I was terrified of worms. I wanted nothing
to do with them," she says.
That all changed when she reluctantly agreed to watch and maintain
a friend's worm compost while she was on vacation. In that time, Cathy
watched the worms, fed the worms, handled the worms and, well, she grew
to kinda like them. Gradually, her feelings about the nature of worms
and their role on earth began to shift significantly, to say the least.
"I believe this is my mission. I believe this is why I've been put
on earth," Cathy states emphatically. 'The worms keep coming back to
me."
So, what is her mission?
Well, about the same time Nesbitt overcame her fear of the slimy creatures,
she began Cathy's Crawly Composters, a business dedicated to the sale
of worms and worm composters, and to spreading awareness about worms
and the enormous role they can play in the garbage solution.
In addition to making speaking tours at schools and environment events,
Nesbitt sells red wiggler worms and helps interested individuals and
businesses integrate vermicomposting (composting with worms) into their
routine.
The process is simple. Bins, roughly the size of blue boxes, with replaceable
covers are used to store a mix of soil, a carbon source (paper, for
example) and, of course, worms - red wigglers, specifically, thanks
to their voracious appetite. From there, a user will add organic and
paper waste on a regular basis - say, three times a week - and reap
the benefits. In particular, a significant increase in the waste one
personally diverts from landfill and black castings, a rich, natural
fertilizer, are among the positive byproducts of the process.
Cathy Nesbitt of Cathys Crawly Composters is on a mission to change common perceptions of warms and the role they can play in the garbage crisis.
When Nesbitt delivers a seminar on the virtues of vermicomposting,
she invariably encounters the same questions: Will the worms escape
the bins? What will happen if they get out?
"People are always afraid the worms will leave the bins and terrorize
their homes," Nesbitt says laughing, "but nothing could be farther from
the truth."
She points out that although the worms are free to leave the bins through
a variety of holes, there is no reason for the hungry, photosensitive
creatures to "leave paradise."
"In these environments, the worms have food, moisture, and almost a
complete lack of light. They hate light," Nesbitt explains. "So why
would they leave?"
She makes one proviso: the worms may try to escape the bins if the
acidity levels are not monitored and regulated, but this is as simple
as adding a few crushed egg shells or a little lime each week.
Otherwise, sequestered in the bins, the worms don't figure much into
the daily lives of their hosts, save that they signal a -significant
reduction in one's waste output.
As Nesbitt is quick to repeatedly mention, the red wigglers eat half
their own body weight in a day.
"In fact," she adds, "a pound of Worms and their descendants could
transform a ton of waste a year. Prior to hearing this, I knew the average
Canadian family produced a ton of organic waste in a year. Then, it
clicked: I said, 'Wow. So every Canadian family needs a pound of Worms
in their home.'"
"I discovered, it's fear
of death. That's why people are afraid of worms. I think this is totally
on a subconscious level, but I believe everybody knows that worms, like
it or not, will get you in the end."
When asked about how worm composting differs from household organics
collection programs, Nesbitt smiles and coyly states, "Don't make me
talk bad about the green bin."
It's not as if she thinks green bin programs, such as the Greening
Vaughan program launched last fall, are without potential merits, especially
for apartments, condos or multiresidential dwellings which green bin
programs don't currently accommodate ( and won't "anytime soon" according
to Nesbitt).
Rather, she feels green bin programs are providing yet another solution
for single dwelling residences.
"If you have a back yard, you have the opportunity to compost already,"
she says, adding that everyone has to take more responsibility for their
own waste.
Since the castings the worms produce are a valuable fertilizer, Nesbitt
can't understand why government hasn't sought to capitalize on this
valuable resource.
When she speaks to classes, she compares the product to oil to illustrate
her point.
"It's as if Middle East countries said to the world, 'Look, we've got
this black goo we've got to get rid of,'" she explains. "And then they
pay big to get rid of it, instead of getting- paid by people who take
it! That's what we're doing by shipping it to Michigan. We're throwing
away a resource."
Cathy makes no bones about emphasizing the role worms can play in the
garbage crisis.
"I believe the solution to our garbage crisis was provided long before
the garbage crisis was invented," she says confidently. "The worms have
been around since the dinosaur. They're survivors. But they haven't
taken over yet - they just keep their own environment in check."
But she has had natural obstacles in her mission to turn Canadians
on to the way of the worm. In particular, the fear of the worm is something
which continues to plague her. Early on in her endeavor, she tried to
answer the question, "How am I going to create a business if people
are afraid of my product?"
To solve this problem, she went to the children. In about five years,
Nesbitt has spoken to more than 7,000 school children on the merits
of vermicomposting.
"They so get it," she says. "The kids understand." She's even arranged
some in-school projects where the kids themselves develop presentations
on worm composting.
Although the fear barrier continues to arise in her mission, Nesbitt,
who also has a psychology degree and some work experience in the field,
is convinced she has gotten to the bottom of the fear.
"One day, I found the answer," she states. "I discovered, it's fear
of death. That's why people are afraid of worms. I think this is totally
on a subconscious level, but I believe everybody knows that worms, like
it or not, will get you in the end."
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