The Worm Ladies are all about Worms!
We are your best resource for everything regarding vermiculture: the practice of raising red wiggler worms to consume food scraps and some other household waste, thereby reducing our dependence on landfills and lessening our impact on the environment.
The Worm Ladies:
• sell vermiculture supplies and worms by the pound
• run workshops on vermicomposting
• consult with individuals and companies about using worms for waste management
• provide complimentary help and information concerning all aspects of vermiculture
Download our instruction booklet (PDF) for an Intro to Vermicomposting
The surprising facts about food waste:
• The average U. S. family of four produces about 2,000 pounds of food waste each year.
• According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food waste is the third largest category of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the U.S., accounting for about 13 percent of MSW material.
• Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food we prepare, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Welcome to the newest Worm Lady!
It is with great excitement that The Worm Ladies of Charlestown, Inc. welcomes Susie Fehrmann as a new Worm Lady. Susie has been ‘hanging around’ the worms for months and has now formally joined the corporation. There is a lot I could say about Susie, but I will let her do that.
To my new friends…
At no part in my many past lives did I ever dream of becoming a Worm Lady. That is not to say that it isn’t a good fit or that I am not excited — it just was never on the radar. I grew up in New York State in the Hudson Valley region and spent my childhood in the woods and streams, turning over rocks and climbing trees. I went on to major in Biology in college but then got sidetracked into business, spending years on the commuting treadmill while simultaneously raising 3 children. After my youngest child got very sick and my best friend died of breast cancer, I spent some time re-evaluating my life. I had always regretted not going on with my education and decided that it was now or never to take on that challenge. Last month I graduated from Western Connecticut State University with my Masters in Biology and Environmental Science, more than 30 years after my college graduation. It was a huge undertaking after so many years, but I loved every minute of it and am now ready to put it to use being a Worm Lady.
The summer I was 14 I read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and was profoundly moved and scared. From that summer on I have been an environmentalist and believe wholeheartedly in the work that red wigglers do. Eating our garbage and producing enriching worm castings that can be returned to our soil is an important part of the soil food web. If every household composted their kitchen garbage with worms and then used the castings as fertilizer, the world would be a much richer place — both physically and economically.
There are a lot of buzz words tossed around these days: sustainability, green, renewable energy, etc., and the more we hear them, the easier it is to become immune to their meaning. Learn about Eisenia fetida, red wiggler worms, and become closer to the earth, save space in landfills, and just plain have fun! I plan to learn more and more about these fascinating creatures and I will willingly share what I learn with anyone interested. I can’t wait!
