THE UPPER VALLEY SUPER COMPOST PROJECT
Growing Social and Soil Resilience
The Upper Valley Super Compost Project (UVSCP) is a nonprofit initiative to bring tailored compost infrastructure to public schools and support the development of cooperative, fully integrated school composting programs.
Super Compost systems are collaboratively developed with schools and communities to support effective food scrap recycling, student learning and leadership, real-world problem solving, reinvestment in school staff, and the development of social and soil resilience.
In 2023, Super Compost Project built its first compost pavilion at Sharon Elementary School (pictured above). In 2024, we installed six more systems across the Upper Valley region. Our program is designed to be replicated in other towns.
Participating schools receive site and program assessments, construction support, essential supplies, and two years of technical service to monitor and improve operations. Super Compost staff work with schools for at least a year to prepare for composting, and for two years after their system is installed to provide technical and classroom integration support.
Tending community ground
Super Compost communities extend beyond school grounds and connect students to the social and ecological ecosystem around them.
Embedded by practice in their surrounding communities, our sites support people to address problems together. Making compost, like growing or preparing food together, is an opportunity to transcend political and cultural differences and be neighbors. Super Compost communities are tending this ground and growing ties for a more cooperative future.
Securing healthy soil
Soil health is the superhero of community security. Healthy soil leads to nourishment, food security, and economic stability for communities. When soil is rich and alive, it fosters biodiversity, prevents erosion, and helps retain water, making communities more resilient against floods and droughts. In turn, thriving ecosystems support local economies, stabilize food supply chains, and reduce poverty, increasing our chances to thrive. We are investing in soil to fortify our neighborhoods and a secure future for generations to come.
Replicable by design.
UVSCP is designed with replicability in mind. Our pilot of composting sites at 24 regional schools will develop a toolkit of resources and templates other communities can use to implement similar initiatives elsewhere.
Seeing is Believing
Come see for yourself! Tour a working system and hear from the students, teachers, and volunteers who sustain it. To join an upcoming tour or schedule a visit, email us or visit the UVSCP website. At our website you can also view a 3 minute video featuring UVSCP project director Cat Buxton, a leader in community-based organics management in Vermont.
