Build compost from cafeteria scraps for the garden beds at Sidney Lanier High School

Cafeteria vegetable trim and the garden's own plant waste go to the same landfill bin every day while the culinary-program beds could use finished compost every semester. Standard: USDA-NRCS Soil Health assessment; SDG 15.3. Proof: application record + before/after photos + depth checks at 3+ points + GPS Method (USDA-NRCS soil-health in-situ assessment, ~45-90 min): 1. Navigate to the plot; record GPS; sketch the sampling layout. 2. Photograph each sampling station. 3. Run the infiltration ring; record time to infiltrate 1 inch. 4. Assess aggregate stability and note visible organic matter, roots, and biology. 5. If compaction is in scope, record penetrometer resistance by depth. 6. Collect 0-15 cm cores if a lab subsample is specified; bag, label, complete COC. 7. Enter all measurements with units + depth, GPS, photos into the proof record; sign. Equipment: soil auger or trowel, infiltration ring + measured water + timer, penetrometer (if compaction in scope), clean bucket, sample bags + labels, gloves, GPS phone, camera Done when: Infiltration time recorded; Aggregate stability + organic-matter observation recorded; Each in-scope measurement recorded with units and depth; GPS waypoint + station photos + site sketch

Where

Sidney Lanier High School, 1514 W Cesar E. Chavez Blvd, San Antonio, TX 78207

Pay

$55 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash. You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

application record + before/after photos + depth checks at 3+ points + GPS

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

intermediate

Open until

2026-08-17

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it. Typically 90–360 minutes. Method of record: Compost application per NRCS CPS 336 / CDFA Healthy Soils quantification (rate, quality, incorporation for the site) — finished compost only; assess→apply→verify

Bring

• finished compost meeting the quality spec (temperature-cured; STA/US Composting Council tested where available)
• spreader, wheelbarrow + rakes/shovels at garden scale
• camera + GPS + tape/bucket for rate calibration
• gloves + dust mask for dry material handling

Steps

1. 1. ASSESS: photograph the application area as found, record GPS boundary and area, and confirm the application rate (tons/acre or inches of depth) and compost quality documentation against the plan.
2. 2. Calibrate the rate (bucket-per-area or spreader pass test) so the applied depth matches the plan.
3. 3. Apply compost evenly across the area; keep material out of waterways, drains, and off pavement (sweep any spill back onto soil).
4. 4. Incorporate or leave surface-applied exactly per the plan (no-till surface application is valid under CPS 336).
5. 5. VERIFY: photograph the finished application from matching vantage + a depth-check photo (ruler in the applied layer) at ≥3 points; log source, quantity, rate, and date as the application record.

If it does not match the plan

• Compost not finished (hot, ammonia smell, recognizable feedstock) -> reject the load; immature compost harms the soil it should build.
• Rain forecast that would wash material to a drain before incorporation -> delay application.
• Application area drains directly to a waterway with no buffer -> route to the conservation planner for a setback plan first.

What counts as done

• Application record complete: source, quality doc, quantity, rate, area, GPS, date
• Depth-check photos at ≥3 points match the planned rate
• No compost in gutters/drains/waterways (site-perimeter photo)

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.