An Earthworm Project

10 An Earthworm Project One day, my aunt invited me to her house to help with her new earthworm farm. Earthworm farm? That's right. Aunt Gail ordered a package of earthworms from a company in Toronto. She decided to set up a farm right in her house. Crazy, you say? That's what I thought too. But after spending a weekend with my aunt, I learned a lot about these little creatures. I must confess that before visiting my aunt, I was afraid of worms. They're not pretty to look at. They don't have eyes or lungs. They crawl through the earth. They feel weird, and they have no personality. Right? But dig a little deeper and you will find that earthworms are really a human's best friend. They do so much work for humans, and most of us have no idea how special they are. Do you know that earthworms have nine hearts? They are about 35 centimetres long and weigh about 10 grams. If an earthworm gets injured and loses a part of its body, it can grow a new part. Wow! Isn't that amazing?

In one day, an earthworm eats one third of its body weight. That's why my aunt's earth-saving project comes in. We humans produce a lot of food waste. We peel apples and throw out the skins. We do the same with potatoes. Think about preparing a dinner, and you will see how much food waste we throw away. But there is a much better way to deal with household food waste. Start an earthworm farm! My aunt's earthworm farm came in a large can. There were about 1, 000 worms inside. She explained how it works. Worms love to eat organic matter. They turn food waste into rich compost, which you can then add to the soil in your garden. It's easy. Put a bit of soil in a large can. Add the worms and then the food waste. That's all there is to it. It's simple, but smart. So, you might think my Aunt Gail is crazy, but an earthworm farm makes sense when you think about it. And it's easy to set up. Why not find out more about it? Maybe you can start one. You won't be sorry if you do.