Building Sustainable Habits: Composting Takes Root at Eagle Rock School

At Eagle Rock School, we strive to create learning environments that extend beyond traditional classroom settings. Our new composting initiative, led by Special Projects Coordinator and Juniper House Parent Caitlin Welsh, reflects this commitment by integrating environmental stewardship, hands-on learning, and community participation into daily campus life.

Caitlin has been with ERS for four years and brings many years of experience in environmental education, agroecology, and conservation work. Before joining our community, she lived in Pennsylvania, completed a graduate degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and served in roles focusing on bird conservation and curriculum development at the Willistown Conservation Trust. Through her work at Rushton Farm (an extension of the Willistown Conservation Trust), she witnessed the full cycle of sustainable food production through community supported agriculture, including the essential role composting plays in healthy soil systems. These experiences inform her approach to building a relevant, practical composting program for ERS.

What drew Caitlin to Eagle Rock was our holistic educational philosophy and the opportunity to support students academically, interpersonally, and through place-based learning. What keeps her here is the alignment between her values as an educator and ERS’s emphasis on real-world learning, student autonomy, and environmental responsibility.

Designing a Composting Program That Meets Our Campus Needs

Launching a composting program at 8,000 feet presents unique challenges. The soil on campus is rocky and sandy, temperatures shift rapidly, and wildlife activity requires careful planning. Early attempts at composting relied on a community-built open-air system, but as Caitlin quickly realized, this structure was too accessible to bears emerging from hibernation. Instead of retiring the structure, students helped convert it into a raised garlic bed lined with ¼-inch wire mesh to protect roots and bulbs from pocket gophers and ground squirrels. Today, this repurposed space supports our 2026 garlic crop, planted this fall by students Milo Page Hanson and Hendrix Masters.

With the open-air system no longer viable, Caitlin began testing composting methods better suited to our climate. Our current systems include:

• Compost tumblers, including a black upright model that performs best in our dry alpine environment due to fewer ventilation points that would otherwise release critical moisture
• An indoor vermicomposting bin, which uses red wigglers (Eisenia fetida), a species of worm known for efficiently consuming organic matter and producing nutrient-rich castings
• Raised beds, which allow us to use finished compost in future soil-building efforts

These systems also support year-round composting. While decomposition naturally slows during cold weather and requires regular turning, the process can continue throughout all seasons.

This trimester, we introduced a pilot phase focused on building community familiarity with composting practices. Students and staff are composting simple, commonly generated items such as fruit cores, brown paper bags, and recycled napkins. This approach allows us to measure our overall food waste, identify habits that need reinforcement, and develop a shared sense of responsibility. During a recent campus gathering, Caitlin discussed why composting matters, sharing that 57% of organic waste on campuses nationwide ends up in landfills.

Since its introduction, others have stepped up to lead the effort. Trinity Sison, our Human Performance Fellow, brings prior undergraduate composting experience to the project, while student leader Milo draws from their background at a Waldorf-inspired community school working in the school gardens. Together with Caitlin, they are helping shape the program’s next phase.

Cultivating Skills That Extend Far Beyond Campus

Composting offers meaningful opportunities for students to develop practical and transferable skills. Through this initiative, students are learning how to balance carbon and nitrogen within a compost system, assessing moisture and airflow, evaluating waste patterns, and troubleshooting issues related to climate and wildlife. These competencies connect directly to science, sustainability, and systems thinking, while reinforcing ERS’s guiding principle that learning can occur in any setting.

The project also invites students to consider broader environmental questions: how communities manage waste, how soil health influences ecosystems, and how everyday choices contribute to long-term sustainability. Earlier in the year, students practiced closing ecological loops. After propagating geraniums from plant cuttings and raising them up as transplants over several months, students then created porch pots for their houses by using compost generated from community organic waste for their planters. These experiences help students understand both the immediate and long-term impacts of environmental stewardship.

As we look ahead, we envision expanding this program in ways that align with our community’s needs and interests. Future possibilities include integrating composting into the Changemaker cohort, increasing the number of compost bins across houses, and connecting composting to academic projects and community events. Our priority is to maintain a system that is accessible, consistent, and meaningful for all members of the ERS community.

For schools or organizations interested in developing similar programs, Caitlin emphasizes the importance of beginning with manageable steps. Establishing a clear, simple system helps build initial confidence and prevents overwhelm. She also encourages educators to experiment, collaborate with colleagues, and create a culture where learning through trial and adjustment is welcomed.

Connecting With ERS

As we continue to build a stronger culture of sustainability on campus, composting has become a valuable tool for teaching responsibility, environmental literacy, and community engagement. It demonstrates how individual participation contributes to collective impact and how schoolwide initiatives can support long-term ecological health.

If you are a prospective student considering Eagle Rock School, we encourage you to explore what it means to learn in a community that values growth, collaboration, and hands-on experience. ERS is a place where you can take meaningful risks, develop new skills, and participate in projects that shape both personal and community transformation.

To learn more about our programs or begin your application, we invite you to connect with us. We look forward to hearing from you and supporting you as you explore whether ERS is the right next step in your educational journey.