Burying underwear - for science

Photo by Katy Yoder

Sisters fifth-graders - including Bailey Moffat - did a fun science project on decomposition at Seed to Table Farm.

One of the funniest and most effective ways of showing what happens in healthy soil involves burying a new pair of white cotton undies and then six months later digging them up to see how they're transformed by decomposers. The results astonished students and teachers alike when Ms. Guthrie's fifth-grade class was on one of their Seed to Table farm field trips.

In Ms. Guthrie's fifth grade class, science lessons include a curriculum about decomposers, producers, and consumers. Seed to Table's farm-based field trips are a way to integrate science education for students, while getting their hands dirty (if they want), and eventually eating what they grow. What better place to bring their learning alive than a farm where all kinds of busy bugs are working hard to provide energy for plants. Seed to Table's Program Director, Hannah Joseph, works with Guthrie to support classroom learning and provide access to the outdoors. 

"The fifth-grade school year is focused on soil ecosystems and the decomposition food web, and how crucial decomposers can be found in the whole food web and farm ecosystems. It's so fun. The worms are always thrilling to explore," said Joseph in the Seed to Table office. "Even though I've done the undies experiment multiple times, I'm still baffled that all the cotton is gone when we dig them up. We buried white cotton underwear in October for the fifth graders' fall field trip. We also planted some cover crops in the student gardens, seeding plants directly over top of the undies, leading us to talk about how cover crops benefit soil health. Students predicted what the undies might look like when they dig them up. The big reveal happened in April this year, and there is no cotton left at all on the undies - just the waist band! Students then explored how the soil FBI (which stands for fungi, bacteria, and invertebrates) were working, even over winter, to decompose the undies."

Student Camden Martin described the undies his class unearthed at the previous field trip. "It was all stringy with the stretchy part still there but the rest dissolved."  To further investigate the decomposers on the farm, students were given a sheet called, "Compost Bingo," with a list of decomposers. When they found one, they put an X through it and once they'd found them all they got to yell, "Bingo!"

Fifth-grader Gabriel Scott articulated what he saw with an in-depth description. "Many insects, snails, worms, and fungi decompose the undies for food to make it into soil that helps plants grow, therefore making more food." He had bingo with a pill bug, roly poly, grub, ant, and a beetle. 

Students wrapped up their Seed to Table series this June. During Ms. Guthrie's final farm field trip, the fifth graders formed three groups focusing on three activities: 1. Exploring decomposers by investigating what's under rocks, in the compost pile, and in the soil. 2. Giving back to the farm by helping with weeding and other farm-related tasks. 3. Harvesting veggies they grew, which were then used in a pizza party for the whole class, and cooked in the farm's wood-burning pizza oven.

Each activity used a technique called Visual Thinking Strategies which is designed to foster participation and support different ways children learn. Joseph is grateful to Seed to Table board member, Mirka Jablonski, who introduced staff to the learning technique. It was well suited to the undies experiment where students reflected on the tattered remains of the undies that were eaten and broken down by decomposers like spiders, worms, slugs, rolly pollies, springtails, centipedes, grubs, millipedes, ants, snails, beetles, earwigs, and mites.

"Mirka has done training for our educators. VTS provides space for everybody to be engaged. It's a student-centered approach that focuses on an image. In this case we focused on a plant, bug or soil, which concentrates discussion on that object," said Joseph. "It's more student-driven and encourages them to learn by processing what they're seeing. We're hearing students express themselves scientifically as they make their observations. It's pretty cool to witness that." 

Eating the wood-fired pizza on the farm was an obvious highlight for the students. One boy asked where the meat was, but soon forgot about it when he tasted the pizza he and his friend had made. "This was our first time eating pizza with our own recipe. It was a 10 out of 10. I liked the flavor, the sponge of the bread, and the cheese. We put everything we'd grown on it: chives, spinach, and kale. We'd eat this veggie pizza again," said Waylon Turpin, sharing a pizza with Camden Martin. 

Joseph is encouraged by the students she teaches. They're full of curiosity, courage, confidence, and an expanded sense of community. Seeing students treating baby plants gently as they plant them with loving care is always gratifying to see. 

"We know some students may be a bit disruptive in class, but we get to see another side of them where they show real intention and care," said Joseph. "They gain confidence in understanding where food comes from and how to grow it and enjoy eating it. All the instructors like seeing students engage with an open and experimental mind."