North East England Master Composters

Enrich the Earth is a multifaceted campaign run by the NGO Sizzle, aiming to promote composting of food and garden waste.

Garden Organic has supported parts of the campaign, specifically the establishment and training of a network of Master Composters, and the development of ten compost demonstration sites, including at Crook Hall Gardens in Durham, The Comfrey Project in Gateshead, Scotswood Community Garden in Newcastle, Cresswell Walled Garden, Coronation Park Gardens in Cramlington, Newbiggen by the Sea Community Garden, Space to Grow in Sunderland, and Shildon Alive Community Garden in County Durham.

The aims of a Master Composter volunteer are to:

• Raise awareness of the benefits of composting
• Encourage more people to compost at home
• Support those already composting to ensure they are successful in their home composting activities

The first step to becoming a Master Composter is to attend a training course. The purpose of this training is to ensure that all volunteers have the same basic level of knowledge.

Your place on the Master Composter scheme will be fully funded and you will not have to pay for the training course or any resources.

You can claim expenses incurred whilst carrying out volunteering within the project area. You will be supported in your role by a Volunteer Coordinator.

Master Composters come from many backgrounds and age groups; their unifying feature is their enthusiasm for composting and their ability to engage with and make a difference to their local community. People’s attitudes and behaviour can be influenced by family, friends, neighbours or work colleagues and it is for this reason that our volunteers can provide a unique and much needed role.

This role will suit people who:

• Have an interest in composting and sustainable waste management
• Have good communication and listening skills
• Enjoy talking about and promoting home composting
• Would be happy to participate both individually and as part of a team
• Are able to share knowledge and/or present information to others
• Have a positive, organised and flexible approach to volunteering
• Are looking to extend their knowledge in sustainable waste management and horticulture
• Are able to attend Master Composter training events

The Master Composter volunteer role is designed to be flexible and suit the strengths and opportunities volunteers have. We ask volunteers to promote home composting in their local communities, but how this is undertaken is at the discretion of the volunteer. Some of the commonly undertaken volunteer activities are listed below:

• Attending events - stands at small, local, or larger regional or national events, allotment or parish fayres
• Giving talks and demonstrations at schools and neighbourhood events e.g. village fetes, fund raising events and community days, Local garden centres
• Demonstrating to your next-door neighbours - set up a home compost demonstration site
• Producing written articles about the benefits of homemade compost for promotion in the local press, Parish/Community/Church/Allotment Magazines or on websites and social media
• Helping to promote future sales of compost bins
• Setting up or helping to run a community composting site.

Most Master Composters spend around 30 hours annually in their compost promotional activities. These 30 hours include all travel and preparation time. This figure however is not compulsory.