Trial By Worms Or A Volunteer’s First Day Experience

I approached the Green Barn from Christie St south from St. Clair. It stood out quite imposingly from the open area around it, almost a little intimidating. What with the small residential neighbourhood surrounding it, this large monolithic structure dominated the landscape. I had heard much about the Green Barn project and its conversion, or renewal from the old Wychwood Streetcar Barns. I used to volunteer several years ago in the STOP’s Earlscourt garden when the Barns were in its planning stage.

This was my first time to see it in full operation. If the exterior was a little austere broken by small garden plots along the side, a sandy volleyball court, and doggy run the interior was another world. I entered through the steel girdered gate into a small garden courtyard with an open brick oven fired up and waiting for something delicious to bake. Behind it was the sheltered garden green and full ready to give up its seasonal harvest. It was welcoming.

I entered the Wychwood Café; the tables and benches were solid and square-timbered in a brick and glassed area. The small stainless steel kitchen was separated by a small serving counter in the brick wall. A number of people were busy in small meetings, waiting for instructions, preparing in the kitchen, all sharing a common sense of purpose. I could see the office and knocked on the open door and met Kristin. I was expected and she welcomed me and was happy that I could help them.

I was introduced to Carolyn who would offer me a choice of garden tasks. There were several other volunteers waiting to be assigned and that she would be glad to teach us if we didn’t know how to do something or had any questions. They needed some in the garden to plant and harvest and they needed some in the greenhouse to help with the composting and that would be a heavy job. I felt that I could offer my services for whatever was required for composting, and as this was completely new to me, I could learn about it.

I was with two others and one had done it before but the procedure was explained again. There was a big bucket of earth on the floor and another empty with a screened frame, raised to make it easier to work on, and several other smaller pots. From the big bucket on the floor we would scoop out with trowels, several small piles of dark, moist earth and remove the non-soil matter and sift it through the frame for the final compost material.

Did I mention the worms? It was crawling with worms, Red Squigglers they were. They lived up to their names and more so! We had to grab them before they squiggled through the screen. It was like being in a David Attenborough documentary. I had visions of them being in the burritos that we were told were baking in the oven for us! I’m not surprised if they are delicacies in some cultures. They told us that this was the initiation for volunteers. It turned out to be a lot of fun and learning more about others as well as the fundamental importance of worms in the process of fertilizing the soil.

In the end we had cumulatively produced almost 140 lbs or 63 kilos of sweet, pure compost! Can’t wait to come back.