DESIGN YOUR OWN WORM FARM

Year 2
Introduction:
“We need your help Super Stars.” The community of Fremantle has asked us
year twos to create a worm farm that will house worms and recycle the food
scraps from all of your recess and lunch food leftover, that will decompose into
natural fertiliser products just like our composts. We have been asked to design
and create our own worm farms using Earths natural resources.
“Are you up for the task?”

Brief:
You are required to design a worm farm to help with recycling materials in the school grounds to
help our local community to be sustainable. You will be working in your science groups all making
one worm farm in each group. In your groups you are to draw a design of your worm farm and then
follow the steps to create your worm farm. Everything is provided by the teacher.

Generating design:
Super Stars of year two, you must draw up one design per group of your worm farm on the paper
provided by the teacher that meets the design brief’s instructions. It must be a group piece. Everyone
has to be involved at all times, working as a team.

Project specifications:
• The materials used must be the others provided by the teacher ONLY.
• The worm farms must be built outdoors in the school garden.

Materials for the task:

• 2 containers of the same size with lids (plastic planter boxes)
• Shredded paper
• Compost
• Water
• Watering cans
• Compost worms
• Gardening tools and gloves.

Food scraps:
Avoid feeding worms
• Bread and pasta
• Citrus fruits
• Spicy foods
• Meat and dairy products
• Onion and garlic

Project management:
1. Introduce the topic of Earth’s natural resources.
2. Introduce the importance of having good soil and fertiliser to broaden student’s
understandings for the designing processes of planning preparation.
3. Introduce the design brief and discuss possible ideas as a whole class approach to help for the
designing stages.
 4. Begin drawing the group design of a worm farm.
5. Create design following the methods of the experimentation of a worm farm.
6. Continuation of creating the design and the completion of the design.
7. Write an evaluation of your design and if there is something you would do differently.

Instructions for experiment:

1. First you will need to place the container on the floor in the school garden in front of the
fence.
2. Place the second container on top of the first. This container will have holes placed in the
bottom of this container.
3. For the top container. Place a mix of shredding paper and compost finger depth in the bottom
of this container.
4. Water it with the watering cans so that the layer is damp.
5. Carefully add the compost worms on top of the paper then cover the container with a lid.
6. Once the worms are settled into their new home, add the food scraps on top for the worms to
eat. The liquid (worm wee) that flows to the bottom container will be drained and used as
fertiliser for the school garden.

Evaluation:
• Does the water flow to the bottom container smoothly?
• What materials were used to create the worm farm?
• What else could you have added to make a better worm farm?
• Does your design meet the design brief?
• What shouldn’t you feed worms?

Time:
You have 3 lessons to complete this design brief year twos.

Presentation:
• You will present your worm farm designs in front of the class in your science groups. You
will discuss what you had planned during the planning stages of the task and then what you
discovered during the task of making a worm farm and if there is anything you would change
as a group next time.

Remember to work together as a team!