What in the worm?
As part of the Longfellow Elementary Youth YardScaping unit, the Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District helps students study and care for their classroom vermiculture bin. They compare their outdoor compost bin to using worms to break down snack and cafeteria leftovers, shredded paper, and other organic items in their vermiculture bin. The students researched different species of worms, what materials can and cannot go into the vermiculture bin compared to the compost pile, and how to use the compost, worm castings, and compost tea generated.
One of the worms the students researched was the invasive jumping worm, which is being found in multiple areas of Maine. Unlike other earthworms, jumping worms primarily stay in the leaf litter and top couple inches of soil. They can quickly eat through the leaf litter protecting the soil underneath from eroding and their nutrient-rich worm castings stay on the surface instead of being mixed throughout the soil like other earthworms do during their tunneling. Jumping worms can be easily spread by moving infested potted plants, soil, compost, wood chips, mulch, and leaf litter. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry is partnering with other states to share research, educational resources, and other efforts to determine appropriate management actions. In the meantime, Longfellow students are on the lookout for jumping worms in their research test sites and rain gardens and learning ways they can limit potential spread.
Jumping worms have a distinct white band that is level with their body unlike other earthworms which have raised pink or orange bands.
The City of Portland, the District, and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry will continue gathering information on jumping worms and implementing best practices to reduce their spread in the community and protect our soil and water resources.
The Greener Neighborhoods Cleaner Streams program is funded by the City of Portland and implemented by the Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District.
Longfellow students presenting their yard waste research and highlighting items that can and cannot go into a vermiculture bin.