Worm farm funds new library for Imagine Early Learning and Childcare at The Junction

Imagine Early Learning and Childcare at The Junction is combining sustainability with a love of literature, selling fertiliser from its worm farm to buy books for its new library.

Director Tiarn Stubbs told local publication Newcastle Herald that the service started a worm farm about two years ago, which the children put food scraps into every day.

This led to the service having “more worm wee than we knew what to do with.”

The children in the preschool room came up with the idea of selling the worm wee to the families, and began bottling the four or five litres of worm waste produced each week, creating labels and selling as fertiliser, setting prices of usually $1 or $2 based on the bottle size.

Families are enjoying the product, describing it as “liquid gold” and taking up to four bottles at a time because of how successful it’s been in their garden. 

The $200 raised so far has been used to buy books for the new library, including some rare titles and old favourites. 

Ms Stubbs said she hoped the library would help busy families who may not have time to get to the library, as well as encouraging families to read together at home. 

To read the original coverage of this story, see here.