Crossett Brook lands grant to take composting to a new level

May 28, 2025  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

The new tumbler composter unit will be located inside the greenhouse at Crossett Brook Middle School. Courtesy photo

Crossett Brook Middle School’s sustainability program has landed a grant that will help take the school’s composting capability to a new level.

The Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District has awarded the school program a grant of $1,082 that will be used to buy a 104-gallon, 14.2 cubic-foot Jora tumbler composter and related supplies, according to Sustainability Teacher Kayla Henry. 

The new tumbler unit will increase the school’s composting capability and help students learn more about the process.

“The Jora will expand and enhance the school’s sustainability program by providing students the opportunity to engage in on-campus composting,” Henry said. “We will be diverting some food waste into the composter to use in the garden space at school and learn more about backyard composting options.”

The new composter will be ordered so it will be in place for the new school year starting in late August. “It is going to go in the greenhouse to prevent bears from tampering with it,” Henry said. “I am also hoping that it can produce compost year-round, or most of the year, being in the greenhouse with the warmth and insulated feature on the tumbler. Most compost freezes in the winter, so we are hoping this makes that freeze time much shorter.”

The program currently has a three-bin composting station that incorporates waste from the chicken coop. “That system is pretty slow-moving and boring for most kids as it takes a while to get the good stuff,” Henry said. “With the tumbler, I am hoping to move it quicker and let them be more active with it  –  turning it each day, recording temperatures, checking what the progress looks like. The tumbler is much more hands-on.”

The tumbler, which measures 53 inches tall and 55 inches wide, can create compost in 6-8 weeks. That will allow students to follow along and use it in their learning, Henry explained. For example, as part of the curriculum, students will do experiments that involve adding items that are “compostable” and “biodegradable” to see if and how they break down, Henry said.

Given that the middle school is located in Duxbury, Henry said she applied for the grant funds from the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District. Duxbury is one of 19 municipalities in the district that has a School Zero Waste Grant program. Grant funds go to independent and public schools in member communities to implement programs that reduce solid waste and achieve sustainability goals.