Suffolk Master
Composters
Calling all gardeners, allotment holders or anyone with 'green
fingers' or a 'green mind'!
Do you bore your better half with tales of soil and seed-sowing? Do
you nag the neighbours about their poor recycling habits? If this
is you and you have a bit of time on your hands - then you might
like to join a group of like-minded individuals that make up
Suffolk Master Composters.
What are Master Composters?
Master Composters are community volunteers who
in return for training and support, act as composting
ambassadors in their local neighbourhood. MCs help raise
awareness amongst the wider public of the benefits of
composting, to encourage more people to compost at home and to
support those who already participate in home composting to
ensure that they are successful in their efforts. The aim is
to help the public succesfully produce their own soil
improvers, which will in turn help reduce the amount of
organic waste going to landfill.
It is recognised that people’s attitudes and behaviour can be
strongly influenced by other people around them, such as family,
friends, neighbours or work colleagues and it is for this reason
that Master Composter volunteers can provide a unique role in
educating the public.
Master Composter is a “qualification”, which in order to attain the
volunteer needs to complete a series of training sessions in home
composting and related environmental issues. In return for the
training, volunteers are expected to contribute a minimum of
30 hours towards promoting and supporting
composting in their local community. Once Master Composters have
completed their qualification, the local authority are then able to
call upon this pool of talent to support home composting schemes by
using them to educate and advise other members of the community.
Volunteers are required to undergo a CRB check as there may be the
possibility of working with children or vulnerable adults through
the scheme.
Master Composters: What do they do?
Help develop an educational programme to aid local residents to
compost successfully.
Provide advice on home composting to individual
householders.
Visit schools in their community to talk about composting and
recycling and/or to support the school’s
composting/gardening/environment activities.
Promote the benefits of composting through the local media and
parish magazines.
Promote the sale locally of composts made from household green
waste.
Give talks to community, residents and allotment groups about the
benefits of composting.
Set up displays to encourage home composting at garden centres,
village fetes and other community events.
Help promote future sales of subsidised compost bins.
Help develop community composting schemes.
Helping at public ‘open days’ at demonstration composting
sites.
Master Composters Training
The
free 2-day training course is provided by
staff from Garden Organic, WRAP (Waste & Resources Action
Programme) and Suffolk County Council.
Course content includes:
The role and potential of home composting in waste
minimisation
The role of Master Composters in waste minimisation and home
composting
The benefits of home composting: to the environment and the
householder
An in-depth look at materials that can and cannot go into a
compost bin
The composting process: what you need to do to ensure it
works
Creatures you might find in a compost bin
Types of compost bin and how to construct them
How to use compost
Methods and activities to promote home composting
Travel expenses will be re-imbursed by Suffolk County
Council.
Training has finished for 2008. We are currently taking expressions
of interest for 2009 so please contact us if you would be
interested in joining us for future foundation training
courses.
Contact: Craig Renton on 01473 264795 or 07736
950634 or at
craig.renton@et.suffolkcc.gov.uk