I’ve been waiting for them for months. On Wednesday I finally got to pick them up and take them home. I feel like a proud new parent. Now I have a large green bin with 500 red wigglers ready to eat my garbage – or at least the table scraps.

Vancouver doesn’t have a green bin program – something I’ve been upset about since I arrived here. However, the city subsidizes composting programs through City Farmer. Due to its popularity there’s a long waiting list and I finally got in. I originally called back in August, but it wasn’t until this week that I was able to attend an information session and pick up my worms.

Worm composting is pretty simple. I did a science fair project on it back in Grade 4, so I’m like an an expert on worms. And yet, I learned a lot during the information session we had. I learned how worms have sex (did you know that worms have both male and female sex organs and when they do the nasty both worms get pregnant? I didn’t). I also learned how to keep my worms happy without odours or fruit flys.

No problems with the worms so far. I’ve fed them lots of yummy banana peels, carrot tops, and broccoli stems. I hope they’re happy.