Compost Life Cycle

This sheet will help younger children (KS1) understand the Grow-Cook-Eat-Compost cycle. It links to National Curriculum Science in Year 1 & 2: Plants.

There’s also a simple pea and bean recipe below to help enjoy a small crop of peas and beans from a school garden.

Minibeast Colouring Sheet

We have created these sheets for younger children as part of our work around composting and food waste. All these creatures live in compost and help it change from food waste, twigs and leaves into wonderful food for plants.

Compost Curriculum

Compost Curriculum Handbook

It doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner, or a seasoned rotter; whether you have a ‘state of the art’ composter, or a neglected plastic ‘Dalek’ in the corner of the playground.

This handbook supports teachers to use composting as an inspiring teaching resource throughout the school year. For each month it contains a curriculum-linked KS2 lesson plan and an Eco Team activity, plus a wealth of supporting documents to bring composting to life for adults and pupils.

Children digging compost in a school garden

Composting

Turning twigs, leaves and bits of vegetables and fruit into gorgeous rich compost which helps plants grow is one of the natural world’s magic tricks! Learn how with our wonderful collection of hint, tips and videos below, including from Devon’s very own Dr Compost – Nicky Scott.

Composting is really good for the environment as it recycles nutrients so plants can use them again. It is part of a natural process called nutrient recycling, as shown in the diagram on the right.

If you’re a school composting could also save you money by reducing the cost of someone picking up your bin. Devon has supported schools for many years to compost their cooked food waste as well as peels and cores.

Composting can also be a fantastic learning resource which can support many curriculum areas. It can get kids out of the classroom, learning practical, useful science. Whether your topic is minibeasts, habitats, micro-organisms or global warming, your compost bin can provide hands-on learning opportunities for pupils of all ages.

A diagram showing the nutrient cycle as leaves fall to the ground and decomposers break them down to be used by plants as they absorb nutrients from the soil.