Zarron Brown, “The Worm Whisperer” and a former U.S. Marine, was encouraged to visit Spanish Lake Elementary by Julieta Barreto-Tejero, Lead Garden Facilitator for the school. His visit helped the gardening students to appreciate the skill and know-how of using vermin for composting to produce soil that is nutrient-rich.
Brown is developing a small farmer outreach program to those interested in farming. This is accomplished through a grant from Florida International University. Brown would like to visit other schools in order to promote sustainability in South Florida and beyond.
The life cycle of the worm is beneficial for the earth and those using the red-wigglers give back fertilizer through composting which produces and enhances the health of the plants growing in the soil. At each class that Brown visited, the students were shown how plants can grow bigger and better and healthier through composting.
Third grader Michael Vargas said, “The power of worms and the different ways they can help to fertilize and compose your home grown plants to flourish in various ways is really neat.”