{"id":11573,"date":"2026-02-24T17:15:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T16:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/st-albans-and-district\/?p=11573"},"modified":"2026-03-02T16:32:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T15:32:22","slug":"compost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/st-albans-and-district\/2026\/compost\/","title":{"rendered":"Super-Green Event with Soil Squad Composting, Chiswell Community Garden and Ripple Effect Garden Twinning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Soil-Squad<\/a>What a “super-green” event on Monday 23 February, learning about all things “compost” from the amazing Soil Squad<\/a>, news from Chiswell Green Community Garden<\/a> and how to twin your garden and support a family in Africa with Ripple Effect<\/a>!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Soroptimist International St Albans & District’s Planet Team organised this excellent event with Helen Byrne leading. The group welcomed several members from various community gardens and horticultural groups, so it was a great opportunity for future collaboration. The meeting focused on two main topics: \"Vicky<\/a>composting and garden twinning.<\/strong> Vicky shared her expertise on composting, explaining how Soil Squad<\/strong><\/a> collects food waste and create compost using coffee grounds and wood chips. She described the community aspect of composting and invited others to participate. The group then learned about the Chiswell Green Community Garden<\/strong> from Anne Pringle, who detailed its \"Ripple<\/a>establishment and recent achievements. Anne highlighted how Chiswell Green Community Garden became the first St Albans community garden to be twinned through the charity Ripple Effect to support a rural family in Africa. Ken Young from Ripple Effect<\/strong> demonstrated his passion for the charity. He talked about their fantastic work in Africa, clearly explaining how they help transform lives through sustainable farming, enterprise development, and gender inclusion initiatives. Chair Helen commented on the brilliant overlap between Soroptimist goals and the work of Ripple Effect and about our Club’s enthusiasm to encourage gardens to twin and support Ripple Effect’s work. The conversation ended with an invitation to local Community Gardens and other gardening groups and gardeners attending to consider garden twinning, with Ken agreeing to provide more information about the programme.<\/span><\/p>\n

Click here to watch the 34 minute video recording of Vicky talking about the amazing work of Soil Squad<\/strong> https:\/\/youtu.be\/Dp6MR4JS2Vo<\/a> – you can also download her slides by clicking here Soil Squad Presentation 23 Feb 26 compressed<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to watch the 5 minute video recording of Anne talking about the Chiswell Green Community Garden<\/strong> https:\/\/youtu.be\/y9J-7rbOoeY<\/a> you can also download the slides by clicking here Grow Chiswell Green Feb 26<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ripple<\/a>Click here to watch the 21 minute video recording of Ken talking about the wonderful work of Ripple Effect<\/strong> https:\/\/youtu.be\/UpfK8QU-iBk<\/a> you can also download his slides by clicking here Ripple Effect Ken Young 260223<\/a><\/p>\n

As always there were lots of great questions.<\/p>\n

Please keep reading to find out more!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Soil<\/a>Soil Squad’s Local Composting Initiative<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vicky Gutteridge, founder of Soil Squad, presented on the organisation’s work in St Albans, which collects food waste to compost at their community allotment. Soil Squad operates a closed-loop system where volunteers collect food waste in sealed buckets, which is then composted using a hot composter (Ridan) and worm bins. The resulting compost is returned to local schools and businesses, closing the loop on organic waste. Vicky emphasised the importance of focusing on local soil health and demonstrated how composting can be a healing process, both for the soil and for people involved in the work.<\/p>\n

Composting Hub Community Initiatives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vicky presented on the composting hub’s activities and achievements, highlighting their work with local schools, cafes, and the St Albans Community Pantry. She explained their closed-loop food waste composting system and the educational workshops they offer to the community. Vicky emphasised the importance of inspiring people to compost by showing them the benefits rather than forcing them to do it, and she discussed their plans to engage more volunteers and participate in the National Open Garden Scheme. In a year they have created 6 tonnes of compost and redirected more than 2.5 tonnes of food waste!<\/p>\n

Vicky’s energy is infectious! she enthused everyone showing how composting can:<\/p>\n