Sitka Composting Project

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Revived Sitka Compost Project Team to host virtual meeting on Friday, Nov. 12

A revived Sitka Compost Project Team will hold a virtual meeting at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 12, via Zoom.

The Sitka Conservation Society is serving as a nonprofit umbrella for the Sitka Compost Project Team. The project team is being led by Caitlin Woolsey, Elizabeth Borneman, Norm Campbell, and Doug Osborne.

Large-scale composting has long been a goal in Sitka, and it was selected as a top goal at the 2011 Sitka Health Summit Planning Day. That led to the Sick-A-Waste group, which did some preliminary work on a community composting plan.

The recent revival of interest in composting led to the Sitka Health Summit contributing $500 to the composting project. The Sitka Health Summit is keen on seeing this happen (in addition to the current goals of ending homelessness and reviving community schools.)

One reason why there is some urgency to this project revival is Sitka has a 45-foot EcoDrum industrial compost unit in town (similar to the photo), and we want to keep it here in town. The person who brought the unit to Sitka no longer lives in Alaska, and the unit must be moved from its current location. We’re trying to keep it from being barged elsewhere.

Also, the city ships a lot of waste that could be composted to the Lower 48, and having a community compost program can reduce how much waste the city ships south. Good compost makes great garden soil, which can be worth its weight in gold in a rain forest community where a lot of nutrients are washed out of the soil due to the moisture. Having access to fresh compost will make it easier for more Sitka gardeners to grow their own food, which will improve food security in town.

The compost project could use people power. It seems like a simple idea; however it’s got a lot of complexity and needs a variety of things: land, brown material, a place for finished compost, etc. Norm Campbell has been leading the charge and has lots of good ideas.

The Sitka Health Summit hosted a Pardee RAND School of Public Policy Fellow named Zhan Okuda-Lim this summer-fall. He is working up a final report for composting in Sitka which was the focus of his work. Zhan will have his final report ready to present on Friday, Nov. 12 (reports are posted below the Zoom info). After going over his slide deck, Zhan can answer questions. After that we can all discuss next steps.

All are welcome – anyone in town who is interested in seeing us composting more in Sitka.

Topic: Composting

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• Sitka Compost Project Team final presentation, Nov. 12, 2021

• Sitka Compost Project Team final report, Nov. 11, 2021

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• Sitka Composting Project to meet on Monday, Jan. 9

Compost bins at Blatchley Community Garden

Compost bins at Blatchley Community Garden

The next meeting of the Sitka Composting Project (aka Sick-a Waste) will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9, at Harrigan Centennial Hall in the Pestchouroff Room.

This meeting will include an update on the project, which is one of this year’s three community health priority projects selected during the 2011 Sitka Health Summit. The agenda will include a discussion of recent meetings with the City and Borough of Sitka and the Sitka School District about improvements to the compost site at the Blatchley Community Garden behind Blatchley Middle School. The city and school district both have been supportive, so the next steps include submitting grants and further developing the project’s business plan.

For more information, contact Justin Overdevest at 747-7509.

• Draft of Sitka Compost Project business proposal (PDF file)

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• Sitka Composting Project to meet on Monday, Dec. 12

Compost bins at Blatchley Community Garden

Compost bins at Blatchley Community GardenBlatchley Community Garden

The next meeting of the Sitka Composting Project (aka Sick-a Waste) will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12, at Harrigan Centennial Hall in the Pestchouroff Room.

The group decided during its Dec 6 meeting that since we are so close to the holidays and the proximity to a couple of grant deadlines by the end of the month that we will meet next week before a January meeting.

During the Dec. 6 meeting we discussed project costs, inputs and management of the proposed composting site. Due to complications with windrow composting at the Blatchley Middle School Community Gardens site, we have decided as a group to install two EarthTubs (and for the time being leave off a second site at the Sitka Recycling Center). Windrows or a larger in-vessel composter will be the target of the next stage of the project. Before the next meeting we will determine Sitka Community Schools participation in the project, make revisions to the proposal, and research technical issues with the composter (electricity, maintenance, etc.).

For more information, contact Justin Overdevest at 747-7509. The Sitka Composting Project is one of three community health priority projects selected during the 2011 Sitka Health Summit.