Composting Old into New

I learned about compost through science classes and the occasional story about my grandmother’s garden. I did not think about the metaphorical use of the compost concept until adulthood. During my childhood years, our family did not have compost bins in the kitchen or garden nor weekly compost pick up service. I used to hear about how my grandfather went deep sea fishing on the California coast and then would compost the fish bones in his worm pile in the garden. That black gold compost nouristed my grandmother's sixty rosebushes and citrus trees. In San Francisco, my family and I have been using a worm bin that creates black gold soil as well as a fertilizer tea to pour over plants. The red wiggler worms love to eat leftover broccoli stalks, banana peels, and grated carrot skins. The worms reproduced, so I moved some of them to the raised bed where we grow herbs and veggies. What does composting have to do with children and youth, church communities, and earth care? I would go so far to say that composting is the foundation of our lives, our faith, our food, and our future.

How do GenZ kids experience the act of composting? Do they put leftover oatmeal in a kitchen bin or take out the compost to the green bin for pick up? Do they learn how to compost through class curricula or practice it at Garden for the Environment or San Francisco Botanical Garden? Do they talk about composting anger or jealousy in social emotional learning at school and church? Thankfully, Bay Area kids are well-aware of earth care whether their family composts or not. There are many U.S. Presbyterian  Earth Care church congregations that are advocating and educating about earth justice.

San Francisco’s zero-waste goal puts us ahead of many U.S. towns and cities. San Francisco Recology’s September 2023 Sustainability Report reported that “its collection and processing activities supported the recovery of more than 1.3 million tons of recyclable and compostable materials, including more than 684,000 tons for composting at Recology facilities – a 12 percent year-over-year increase.” We avoid creating more CO2 by sending organic materials to compost rather than mixing them with landfill items. We create nutritious soil for parks and community spaces, attempting to feed and heal earth. Healthy parks and open spaces promote our mental wellbeing and ability to be hopeful. What if we could be “zero-waste” heroes in the behaviors department. We could notice when we are wasting time and energy on staying angry or envious or playing the victim. We could then call on our composting powers of prayer, taking a breath and a break, and letting the energy of the old behavior slowly turn into acceptance, forgiveness, and positive powerfulness.  

I love hearing Caroline Casey talk about “composting hate” during her “Visionary Activist” radio show. She brings years of interfaith experience, humor, and good intentions to the radio waves. On a given week, she addresses how humans are acting in the world and gently calls out the violence enacted on living beings and the earth. Her Trickster Training Council (smiley face here) facilitates The Compassionate Trickster Experimental Juju Mystery School “Welcoming all who wish to be ever more effective players on the Team of Creation at this time of dire beauty. She guides the Trickster Team to explore the potent possibilities of an increasingly dedicated team of visualizers to occasion mega-desirable mojo and reciprocal blessing.” You can hear her tongue in cheek phrasing. The serious underlying call to be community for our neighbors and children is conveyed simultaneously with the humor. Let’s think of that unconcerned trickster coyote that my daughter and I saw on Duboce Street last night during our carpool commute. It trotted near the cars unafraid of the traffic, the brilliantly lit Santa decoration house, or the hospital across the street. It was in its urban environment accepting that it had a place. All God's creatures have a place in the choir.