Each student needs:

• Composting Data Sheet
• Composting: Putting Microbes to Work (Again!) Worksheet

To share with the entire class:

• outside location to place two compost piles for a month or more, a minimum of 1 m² (10.76 ft²)
• 1 truckload (1.14 m³ or 40.5 cubic feet) of yard trimmings/chipped branches and trees that are not completely degraded; tree trimming and landscaping companies often provide this service for free; alternative: search the neighborhood for bags of lawn clippings
• hand air mattress inflator pump; costs $11 (look for a used one)
• PVC pipe, 0.5 meter-long segment of 1.27 cm (half-inch) diameter
• new pump action sprayer; for student safety, it is important that the sprayer has not previously contained pesticides; costs ~$20
• 2 landscaping flags, or other way to mark the centers of the piles for daily temperature readings
• compost pile thermometer, available at hardware stores and gardening centers, costs $12 or more
• hacksaw
• lighter or hairdryer, for heating PVC pipe
• electrical tape
• graph paper, colored pencils/markers, for plotting graphs