From Data to Compost to Life
From Data to Compost to Life
The pursuit of knowledge and insight is always worth the risk or even the raw materials to collect that insight. The many pre and post surveys that were administered here at Mezzacello during my summer camps in 2023 were collected and shredded. This shredded paper was then graciously returned to me where I could turn it from data to compost to life.
When Data Is Also Carbon
Firstly, I want to tank the VERY thoughtful anthropologists involved in this research to even think about returning this to me as a gift. Their support and insight is always welcome and invaluable. If you know an ethnographer or an anthropologist, give them some love: They are heroes.
Secondly, I love that these researchers learned (from me) that paper is just carbon and trace elements and that all ink is soy based and therefor nontoxic. So when they went around to shredding all of the sensitive data - after their analysis - they knew I could use the carbon. It will make an invaluable addition as both a brown in my carbon and a way to dope the compost with my Eden's Ghost accelerant.
Why Use a Doping Layer for Accelerant?
There are multiple answers to this question. First, paper absorbs liquids much more efficiently than grass greens or shredded sry leaves. So the accelerant gets locked at the top of the compost, just below the greens and is this slower to release into the main compost body.
Second, there is a poetic justice that these survey data are from kids who helped me learn to synthesize 11 different soil and plant amendments during summer camps this year, I will be using their synthesized fertilizers to dope the shredded paper - and that is poetically sustainable.
Third, The gradual reuse of the paper and its pulp adds to the richness of the compost as it holds moisture in the compost very well. It's not good to ONLY use paper as life REQUIRES diversity, but paper as a layer is a good idea. The more data and diversity, the better the compost.
What Is the Strangest Compost Additive You have Used?
I am definitely curious about how you lot build your compost. What's the strangest compost additive you have ever added? I recently chatted with an acquaintance who was building compost for a VERY specific crop.
Now I am very curious about the rest of you! LOL! Share in the comments!
This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023