They developed a comprehensive program for keeping food waste separate from recyclables and veggie waste from the meat and dairy. They fed the veggies to redworms, saved meat and dairy for pigs, and shredded paper they collected from the classrooms to use as bedding. The worms turned the bedding and veggies into dark, earthy, nutrient-rich material they use to fertilize their garden plots. Some of the veggies grown there go right back to the cafeteria to feed the kids and staff. The Worm Cafe is full of original artwork by Paul Bourgeois showing worm bin designs, schematics of food-burial sequencing, earthworm anatomy, cafeteria layout for recycling bins.
Photographs show students building worm bins, weighing garbage, turning the bedding in the bins.
Appendices include checklists, resources, reproducible posters, work sheets and forms, a draft letter to parents, quizzes, and record sheets. An 8-page index leads a reader or researcher to the rich content found in this book. Categorized by Animals, Plants, Nature, and Values, Payne gives us 30 pages of sources divided into Children's Books and Curriculum and Teacher Resources. The 1997 revision continues to generate brisk sales as more people take to their gardens and accept simpler lifestyles after burning out from the pace of modern day life. Payne found larger systems more forgiving than the small classroom bins she started with.