Drumming up interest

YIMBY Composters teamed up with ‘’Dig It MainFM program and Growing Abundance and took to the streets in the Castlemaine Show Parade this last week to make some noise! Three down to earth institutions in Mount Alexander Shire who highlight the fun and serious business of composting and gardening.

By all accounts, much fun was had in the 10 minutes it takes to walk down the main street. Led by Gianni, a talented Argentinian drummer, who conducted the bucket, wheelbarrow and spade orchestra, the group moved slowly, loudly and with delight. 

Why march in the show parade you might ask? And why are people so excited about compost and gardening anyway?

This week's Compost Conversation veers left for a moment  to draw attention to what makes YIMBY tick, why composting matters and what the noise is all about.

Marching loudly behind Central Vic Climate Action, YIMBY embodies a practical and local climate action. 

Everyone agrees that getting organics out of landfill is important, but the YIMBY approach provides benefits to the community and our local soils. Growing food close to home while taking care of our own waste is powerful, doable, connects us to the cycles of life, each other AND brings down emissions. 

Building communities of microbes, one compost pile at a time, but also building our human communities motivates YIMBY composters. Collectively, 25 YIMBY composters are now connected to 332 neighbours by composting their food scraps. Moving in and around the streets on a weekly basis, quietly picking up buckets of food scraps, carefully combining them with garden organics and other essential ingredients, making great compost. 

For just a few moments, our composters were loud, celebrating their achievements and aiming to inspire others to get involved. To date, YIMBY has collectively processed over 65,000 kgs of food scraps, from almost 20,000 buckets. YIMBY is much more than a waste collection service, it’s a connected, sustainable way of life. And anyone can do it, just ask your neighbours!

AUTHOR: JOEL MEADOWS

Joel Meadows works with *Yes In My Back Yard, (YIMBY), a community-scale composting initiative in Castlemaine and surrounds. Send questions or comments to hello@yimbycompost.com or to book in for a compost workshop!

This was first published in the Midland Express on 12 November 2024