GEObins for backyard composting are available free of charge, thanks to the Compost Montclair ChangeX grant. They are going quick, so stop by soon to pick up one for your household. Also get a DIY Compost Kit to have all the information and how-to's to get started with your composting effort. Let's use our yard and food waste to enhance the soil and avoid sending organic matter to the landfill. See you at the library!

If you haven't already signed up to get a GEObin for backyard composting, please sign up by stopping by Montclair Library Information Desk or call 703-792-8740. We have about 50 left out of 65, and they just arrived this morning! Also, be sure to sign up for the Kiss the Ground film and discussion. Watch the film on your own time, and then we will have Freestate Farms CEO Douglas Ross and Master Gardener Patrick Lucas from the Virginia Cooperative Extension to talk about all things compost. Register using the library's online calendar of events, and then you will receive an email with all of the links and info to participate.

Our team has grown to 11 team members and mobilized to raise awareness in our local community about the importance and benefits of composting. We installed 2 on-going "Compost Montclair" displays in a high-trafficked areas of the library, and we are weaving in tie-in programs intended to spark interest, educate and equip residents to increase the number of families that are composting, thus reducing organic matter going unnecessarily to the landfill. Here are some specific activities that have already demonstrated impact and our imminent plans:

1. We created an "Upcycled Kitchen Composter" craft activity (https://pwcgov.libnet.info/event/4843705) and provided the supplies for 38 families to make their own indoor compost container in April. We have 62 more kits to give away. The activity has been featured in the Montclairion local magazine, the library's spring Explore Magazine and on the Friends of the Montclair Community Library Facebook: www.facebook.com/FMCL.5049/posts/1796450463870816. Our project has also been featured on the library system's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrinceWilliamPublicLibraries/posts/5367947763275567

2. We have presented the project to the library Information staff (11), the library management team (7) and the Friends of the Montclair Community Library members (8) and provided them with the details and links to register and participate. 1 staff member has started composting for the first time. We made 500 "Compost Montclair" buttons out of old seed and flower catalogs. Staff are wearing them, and we are giving them to residents to spark interest in composting.

3. The 2 "Compost Montclair" displays promote the various tie-in activities as well as to provide educational resources and books for check out and a pick up distribution point for our DIY compost kits for residents (scheduled to start in June). We will also be creating an interactive bulletin board display for May-June in the children's area, and an adult book display for May to tie in with International Composting Week (May 2-8). We have Compost Montclair tv slide cycling through on our 4 library tvs and have created shelf talkers to place in the composting book section.

4. We are creating DIY composting kits for residents with information, educational resources and how-to's. In addition, we plan to use grant funds to make available backyard GEOBIN Composters available free of charge to 65 households (registration begins June 1). As an in-kind contribution, the library will cover the printing and supply costs of the materials in the kits, so that we can provide as many bins as possible to local residents. We will distribute the kits on an on-going basis to continually raise awareness about composting. https://pwcgov.libnet.info/event/5059700

5. Milk Jug Face Planter craft program (June 1-30). Library patrons will pick up DIY instructions and supplies to upcycle a plastic jug to create your own whimsical planter. https://pwcgov.libnet.info/event/5092933

6. Kiss the Ground award-winning documentary "Kiss the Ground” (June 1-24). Film access will be sent to all registrants with an invitation to join the post-film panel discussion and composting Q & A with local experts from Freestate Farms, Virginia Cooperative Extension and Master Gardeners (June 24, 7:00 p.m.). https://pwcgov.libnet.info/event/5084010

7. We are creating 5 educational composting kits for 3 elementary and 2 middle schools and 1 to keep at the library. They will include composting books to add to school library collections, lesson plans, informational resources and a transparent composting demonstration container for classroom/library use. The school system is starting a cafeteria composting pilot project at certain schools. We are targeting schools in our immediate vicinity that are not a part of that project to extend the composting educational push in our area. We will keep 1 kit to circulate among library branches so that staff can easily replicate the displays and programs that we are offering at Montclair Library during the timeline of this grant.

What's inside Mr. Worm's Dirt Factory? Lift the lid to see compost in the making! Create your own by digging a hole in the ground. Drill holes in a bin and bury it so that the lid is at ground level. Add kitchen scraps and organic matter from your yard. Then let Mr. Worm and his extended family do the work of turning waste into beneficial compost. Whether you buy a bin or fashion your own, the important thing is to keep organic waste out of the landfill and use it to make compost that will benefit your garden and yard. Want to know more about compost?

An update from "Tony's Top Soil": Spring has sprung, and the garden is flourishing in rich soil, thanks to Tony's year round commitment to composting. Can you identify any of these edible plants?

Prince William County encourages composting at home. Learn more about starting a backyard compost program, food scrap collection and grasscycling. You will reap the benefits!

A new addition to the Compost Montclair Upcycled Kitchen Composters display. Sharie B. of Montclair rescued this container from the recycle bin and added some gesso and acrylic paint to make a beautiful, functional compost container. Stop by the library for supplies to make your own upcycled kitchen composter. Also, check out books and find information resources to learn about the benefits and how-to's of composting. Tell your neighbors about Compost Montclair!

During the month of April 2021, we are offering a DIY program to create an upcycled kitchen composter. Rather than recycling, let's make use of empty plastic containers. Anything with a tightly fitting lid will do. Paint it, wrap it with string, apply vinyl stickers, use paint pens or sharpies. Supply packets available at Montclair Community Library.