Abigail Garofalo: 00:06

Welcome to another episode of the Everyday Environment podcast, where we explore the environment we see every day. I'm your host, Abigail Garofalo.

Erin Garrett: 00:14

And I'm your cohost, Erin Garrett.

Abigail Garofalo: 00:16

And today, we are joined by Sue Gasper and Gemini Bhalsod, our, Cook County educators in STEM and horticulture respectively to chat about composting and all about, you know, composting and how climate change has to do with that. So welcome, you two.

Gemini Bhalsod: 00:35

Welcome. Thanks for having us.

Sue Gasper: 00:37

Yeah. Thank you.

Abigail Garofalo: 00:39

Yeah. And, again, we're talking about climate change this season, so we're really trying to figure out what are some solutions, what are ways that we're addressing it, how are things impacted by climate change. And so we're really excited to address this kind of food waste sector of climate change and how we're addressing food waste and and, greenhouse gas releasing. And so let's just start with the basics. Can you explain to us what composting is and and how it works?

Sue Gasper: 01:06

Yeah. So composting is really the controlled, aerobic, biological decomposition of organic matter into a stable product called compost. So it's basically the same process as natural decomposition, except it's enhanced and accelerated by mixing organic waste with other ingredients to optimize microbial growth.

Gemini Bhalsod: 01:33

Yeah. So really with composting, our job as humans is to just manage the composting environment because we wanna optimize microbial growth. Those microbes are doing that decomposition work.

Abigail Garofalo: 01:46

So we're again, lessons from nature. One of my favorite things to talk about is how can we just find nature based solutions and make life work just a little bit easier for us because nature's got it going on already. So that's great.

Erin Garrett: 01:58

So what are some of the main benefits of composting, for our environment, but also for us, for the everyday person?

Sue Gasper: 02:08

Yeah. So a major benefit to the environment of composting is the removal of organic waste from landfills. And when we say organic, we're talking about stuff that was once living. And so when that goes into a landfill, it undergoes microbial decomposition but in the absence of oxygen. So that's called anaerobic decomposition. And that mode of decomposition generates a gas called methane that's a really potent greenhouse gas. So composting organic waste, instead of putting it in the landfill, means that there will be less methane generated, and less methane in the atmosphere means less energy trapped in the atmosphere and less global warming.

Abigail Garofalo: 02:56

Okay. Yeah. So lots of buzzwords when it comes to climate change, things that we wanna know. Right? So we got methane. We got, greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere, global warming. So worse what you're saying is, like, the that methane really accelerates that kind of greenhouse gas effect. Right? It kind of that

Sue Gasper: 03:15

Exactly.

Abigail Garofalo: 03:17

Yeah, and then that's what's accelerating our changing climate or the results of our changing climate is global warming. Right? So

Sue Gasper: 03:25

I know, like, Gemini and I looked up some EPA stats about Illinois, and Illinois landfills receive typically, like, almost 20,000,000 tons of waste per year. And it's kind of astounding. Like, 20 nearly 21% of that is food scraps. So we have a lot of food scraps going into landfills that could be composted.

Abigail Garofalo: 03:51

That's so I think about, so I compost in my house, and when I go visit, like, my parents who don't compost, I'm always like, this just the trash goes in the like, you you forget how when it becomes normal in your house, you forget, like, how much actually people put in the trash when they don't compost because it's like a whole other sector of your trash can that isn't, doesn't have to be in there. That's crazy.

Gemini Bhalsod: 04:14

I was just gonna say that there are some other benefits outside of just the the process of composting if you wanted to chat about compost usage and how we can use some of those end products to benefit people in the environment as well.

Abigail Garofalo: 04:30

Yeah. I absolutely wanna hear those things. I think we all wanna hear that. Right?

Gemini Bhalsod: 04:35

So, obviously, at the end of the composting process, you have this thing called compost, and you can do a lot of stuff with it. You can create you know, you're creating your own soil amendment for your home or for your local community garden or community environment. And that compost when put on your soil does a lot of good things for it. Right? It slowly releases nutrients over time. It's good for plants. It also can increase soil water holding capacity, so decreases runoff and controls erosion on a really large scale. Compost has been used on the banks of, like, river or water, sloped banks to help control that runoff and erosion. But it is important to be cautious about a couple things, you know, compost is great, but it's not just a magic thing that will fix all of our soil problems. Right? It's really important to understand your application and usage rates because over application of compost can really lead to nutrient runoff and downstream effects that we're unaware of. It can also it's really important to also avoid contaminated feedstocks, especially if you wanna use that compost, around growing food and growing vegetables.

Abigail Garofalo: 05:53

Tell me more about, like, this contaminating feedstocks.

Gemini Bhalsod: 05:56

Yeah. So this is a part of, something that we are learning a lot more about, And so there has been a lot of concern about contaminated compost with, things like PFAS and those forever chemicals. And, you know, we're still learning about the science of what that how that works in the environment. Right? And so there's a lot of unknowns there, but we know that, like, composting can degrade certain chemicals, but certain chemicals, like, do not get broken down in the composting process. And so if you're starting with a contaminated feedstock and you're composting it, contamination might still be in your end product there.

Abigail Garofalo: 06:41

Yeah. Not everything decomposes the same, and there are certain, chemicals and and, products that may not decompose completely and stick around. And, what I love about this podcast is it's an ever growing, understanding of, like, how can we learn more? Maybe the lesson is, like, we're always try like, inform yourself, try and figure out what's going on, and asking those questions is really important. And so the answer that is unsatisfying, right, is, like, we don't know. It's still a growing body of research. That data is still not there quite yet, and we're all working on learning more about it. And so I think it's something important to know and learn about and kind of ask questions about. Right? And it's one part of the story of composting. Right?

Gemini Bhalsod: 07:31

Yeah, and if you're buying commercial compost, many of those commercial compost facilities, they will have a compost characteristics test, that you can take a look at. And so that might not include things like heavy metals or contamination, but many times it does, and so if you're concerned about that when you're buying compost from a facility, definitely ask for, some of that compost testing to take a look at.

Abigail Garofalo: 08:00

Yeah. I love that. If I always ask always ask questions, it's okay. You're buying that product. You can ask those questions, and if they don't give you answers, like, you ask more questions. Right? Like so. Awesome. Well so going back to the beginning process of composting, what materials can be composted, and what should be avoided?

Sue Gasper: 08:21

Yeah. So I can I can take a stab at that one. So for people that are composting at home, you know, with a bin outside, unless you're actively managing that compost pile to make sure that it gets up to temperatures of a 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 days at a time to kill pathogens and weeds weed seeds, you should really avoid composting weeds and diseased plant materials. Although, for, like, those home composters, like meat, bones, oils, cheeses, dairy, should probably not go into your compost pile because they have the potential of attracting rodents, which nobody wants at their home compost pile. And so those are compostable, but they're better done on a commercial scale.

Gemini Bhalsod: 09:17

Yeah. Along with that, also put pet waste in that bucket of something that's better to be done on the professional or commercial scale. We want to leave that, to the professionals because we wanna minimize pathogens, and you're likely not gonna be able to do that on the home composting scale.

Abigail Garofalo: 09:38

Yeah. There are definitely those different scales of what's allowed. Right? Like, because even if you're vermicomposting, which is worms, there are even some, like, plant materials that you might not wanna put in there or something because you're dealing with, like, that animal who might not react well to that, like, pH change or that certain product or something. So it really depends on what you're doing. So, again, inform yourself on how the compost is, decomposing. Really important.

Erin Garrett: 10:05

So after talking about things that should go in and things that shouldn't go into the compost, I think we can guess some common challenges that people face. But what are some of those challenges that people could expect when getting started with composting? I'm particularly interested in this question because I just started composting this year. And what can we do, myself included, to overcome these challenges?

Abigail Garofalo: 10:29

Yeah. I may have a question or two about my specific bin, but it's fine.

Gemini Bhalsod: 10:37

Yes. Well, no problem. We can help troubleshoot however we can. You know, one of the most important things for getting your outdoor compost bin right is really that brown to green ratio. The microbes depend on that, and so you wanna aim for about 2 parts of browns per one part of green per by volume. And that is the best way to kind of estimate on a small scale that microbial diet. Another thing that I really see

Abigail Garofalo: 11:09

Hold on, Gemini. Tell me more about browns versus greens. What is a brown? What is a green? How does, like, what how do I distinguish between that?

Gemini Bhalsod: 11:19

Browns are materials that are compostable that are carbon rich, and they're not always brown. We we call them browns because it's easier. And then on the flip side, greens are materials that are often green, but they are nitrogen rich. And so microbes really need a balance of carbon and nitrogen, and so we estimate that by giving them a diet of those browns and those greens.

Abigail Garofalo: 11:46

Okay. So rapid fire. I'm gonna ask, what I put in my compost bin, and you're gonna tell me if it's brown or green. Ready?

Sue Gasper: 11:53

Love it. K.

Abigail Garofalo: 11:55

Newspaper.

Sue Gasper: 11:56

Brown.

Gemini Bhalsod: 11:57

Brown.

Abigail Garofalo: 11:58

Amazing. Leftover bottom of my lettuce, right, that I don't eat?

Sue Gasper: 12:02

Green.

Abigail Garofalo: 12:04

Coffee grinds.

Gemini Bhalsod: 12:05

Green.

Abigail Garofalo: 12:07

Oh. Tricky. Yeah. That's a tricky one because it looks brown.

Sue Gasper: 12:12

Mhmm. Exactly.

Abigail Garofalo: 12:14

Yeah. Now my leaves in the fall.

Sue Gasper: 12:18

Browns.

Abigail Garofalo: 12:20

Okay. So you kinda start to see a pattern here. Right? Like, if it's dead already, it's probably a brown. It's dried out a little bit. Interesting. It's a little more moist. Okay. Cool. I just wanted to kinda check-in about that.

Sue Gasper: 12:34

One thing that people that are doing composting, like outside composting in a bin, not having enough browns stockpiled is often something that's hard to deal with. Like, for the spring comes, the summer, you wanna compost. You have all this green matter to compost, but you're short on browns. So something that we always recommend is, like, save your browns in the fall in a secure container, you know, so that they can be dry and preserved until you need them in the spring summer. So saving those those dead tree leaves, that's a great thing to do.

Erin Garrett: 13:18

That was my problem. So Yeah. Except for

Abigail Garofalo: 13:21

You're like, I'm out of browns.

Erin Garrett: 13:23

I am. I've got a little bit left in one spot, but, that is my that is my main struggle. So I was like, what am I gonna do? That I mean, that was my guess is save up my leaves, but that's good to good to hear.

Sue Gasper: 13:35

Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, you can still add to your pile during the summer, but it's just not gonna go as fast. And so in the fall, when you do get those leaves and you start, it'll probably really start cooking and heating up and decomposing more rapidly because you're striking that that proper balance of browns and greens that the microbes want. But another important thing about your ingredients is chopping them up to maximize the surface area so the bacteria work on the surface of things. So by chopping things up into, like, about 1 inch diameter pieces, you're giving the bacteria plenty of surface area to work on. So putting in really big things are gonna take a long time to decompose just because there's less surface area exposed for the bacteria to chomp away.

Abigail Garofalo: 14:34

Now are there other problems with, like, maybe putting in my whole banana peel versus, like, chopping it up? Does that cause other issues beyond it just takes forever to decompose?

Sue Gasper: 14:49

Having really big pieces can lead to not enough air getting in there, getting compacted, and then it goes anaerobic, so it starts decomposing in the absence of oxygen, and that can generate a lot of bad smells and be kinda slimy and nasty. And that's the kind of stuff that gives composting a bad rap.

Abigail Garofalo: 15:12

Are there any other challenges that people face when it comes to composting? We talked about, you know, putting in the right products, putting in the right, ratios of things. What else are we looking at here with challenges?

Sue Gasper: 15:23

I mean, in Cook County, rodents are a big concern, so maybe that's less of a concern if you're in a rural area, but there's mice and stuff too. So really trying to avoid issues with rodents by using maybe an elevated system like a tumbler or a composter with, like, a rodent proof base. So having, like, a really solid base that's hard for rodents to chew through to get into the compost pile is important. You know, when it gets cooler out, they wanna be warm, and the compost pile is a great source of heat for them. So then also turning your pile often to avoid those places where they might want to nest.

Gemini Bhalsod: 16:11

Yeah, another thing you can and should be doing for rodents as well is, capping your compost pile with a thick layer of browns. And so you have those browns and greens in the middle mixing and working, but if you cap it, with your browns, then, the greens aren't as exposed, and that's usually the food, that's not exposed and readily available for rodents. Yeah. I think a really another big thing that I wanted to touch on is just underestimating the time and energy required to actively manage a pile. You know, we really wanna encourage people to choose a system that works for them, and hot composting requires turning, watering, management, checking in on it on a regular basis to help reach those hot temperatures, and so, you know, really being aware of that and planning for that, time and energy that it needs.

Abigail Garofalo: 17:07

That's a really good point. I'm all about solutions that work for the person's life and their own personal philosophies on how they manage things. Again, I'll say I feel like I say it every episode. I'm a lazy gardener. You know, the the least amount of management I can do is possible. For me, like, a little, like, tumbling composting bin really works well for my family because it's easy. I can add to it. I don't have to, like, do a lot of labor to turn it, and it's also kinda fun for my kids to turn it. They really like that aspect as well. So, you know, we're seeing composting. We've talked about it kind of on an individual scale and choosing what works for you. What are some, ways that communities can promote and support composting?

Gemini Bhalsod: 17:50

Yeah. Local folks can support composting efforts by learning about composting, just really even understanding what it is, what it's not, the different ways to compost and manage food scraps can, give folks some insight into the whole, like, composting system and ecosystem beyond their backyard, because it's likely that their community garden might have a composting effort, or maybe their city has a food drop off or something. So really just learning about composting will help, promote composting, I believe, also as an educator. It's folks can also look up composting events near them. A lot of places have events like pumpkin smashes, for example, in the fall to help divert pumpkins from landfills after Halloween. And so getting involved, will be at one of those events, could be a great way to learn as well. And just really staying up to date on any composting related legislations. Maybe there's something that people are passionate about and they wanna advocate for it.

Erin Garrett: 19:00

Awesome. Are there any, policies or regulations that are out there or that are in the works that you know of that help encourage or support composting?

Sue Gasper: 19:11

Yeah. So it's kind of exciting in Chicago recently. Within the last 6 months, they've adopted a food scrap drop off program through the Department of Streets and Sanitation. And so I believe that right now, throughout the city, there are 17 sites where residents can sign up on email, and it's it's a free program. And we can take our food scraps and drop them off into secure bins from, like, 7 AM to 7 PM. And so it's it's really I've been participating in it, and it's really a nice way for me. Like, I don't compost outside because of the rat issue living in Chicago, and I do vermicomposting inside, but it's really nice to have just a bin on my counter that we add our food scraps to and just drive it over and drop it off.

Sue Gasper: 20:13

So things like that are really good. To find efforts locally near other municipalities, the Illinois Food Scrap and Composting Coalition has a list of compost related legislation in Illinois. It may or may not include, like, local ordinance, municipal guidelines, but it's always a good thing to check your local, you know, check your municipality and see what their what their policies and regulations are on composting. For example, like, in 2015, the Chicago City Council approved a composting ordinance allowing community gardens and urban farms to compost different types of organic materials, including those accepted from off-site.

Sue Gasper: 21:07

And so, looking for regulations like that, really, you know, it's not it I think it's really for communities. It's not practical to expect everyone to compost their own waste. So having those ways for people to drop off, to have it composted is really important.

Abigail Garofalo: 21:32

Oh, that's really interesting. So, like, the community garden kind of serves as a composting hub beyond just, like, producing food in that community. It's also taking food waste and, from other people who are in local and having food scraps in their house. So they're kind of a collection center, essentially.

Sue Gasper: 21:51

Can be. Yeah.

Abigail Garofalo: 21:53

Interesting. I know there was there's a project, that's an ex it's extension project that's related to it's, like, on a hospital grounds, and it's a community garden, and they are taking, like, so many buckets of food scraps from that hospital a day and composting it. I'll have to look it up and put it in the show notes later to make sure I'm I'm accurately describing it, but it was really it's a really interesting way to see how we can, kind of okay. The hospital doesn't wanna kinda have the infrastructure kinda thing, but they have, like, a a neighboring project that they can pull from that and test it out on this small scale to see if it is something that could work, which is really interesting.

Abigail Garofalo: 22:34

So, I know I live in a community where they do have a composting program where when when they collect the yard scraps, they also will accept all kind of, composting materials, including meat and fats and things like that. And so the like, that's a way that that on a a community level, like, on a legislative village level, they are collecting all and diverting food waste from their their waste facilities. So which I think is pretty cool and, an interesting way to approach the problem as well of food waste is, like yeah. Like you said, it can't just be individuals. That's not practical for everybody. Can we take it and with the infrastructure that exists? You know, we have people picking up yard scraps anyways. Let's just add to it. So Yeah. You know, you all are from Chicago, and I'm in Cook County. A lot of the times we hear when composting, it's about, like, limited space. Right? I don't have a ton of space to compost. What are some things that urban residents or even just people with limited space in general? Maybe they're not in an urban environment. They're in an apartment complex. They're in a just a smaller space. What can we do to still participate in composting?

Gemini Bhalsod: 23:45

Yeah. If you don't have space for a hot composting pile in your backyard, there's a lot of compost like systems out there that are better suited for a small space or indoors even. So, for example, like, worm composting, like you mentioned earlier, Abigail, is a compost like system to help, you know, use up those food scraps and give it to the worms, and then that vermicompost at the end can also be used as a soil amendment. You can also there's also systems like bokashi, that people can use to process their food scraps. I live in a condo in Chicago and I utilize a food scrap pickup service, so it's a private service that, you know, we have a tote in our back alley that has a lock, and I drop off my food scraps in there, and different folks in my neighborhood can also subscribe to that bin and drop off their food scraps as well. And so using those pick up or drop off services can be a feasible option as well.

Erin Garrett: 24:49

So what can we do to kind of scale all of these efforts to have a greater impact globally? Right? We talk a lot about individual actions that we can take. We did get to the community level and talked about some different examples, but what can we do to continue scaling scaling composting up?

Sue Gasper: 25:07

Yeah. In addition to the community level scaling, I think that's in terms of composting waste, getting more communities composting is the way to go. But one thing that we do need to remember is just to kind of try to minimize our food waste in the first place. Like, you know, we we tend to especially in the US, we have a lot of lot of food that gets wasted. And so really just trying to really be conscious of how much we're buying and using and eliminating that food waste from the get go so that composting is, like, not a primary solution to food waste, but, like, what we can do with the little bit of food waste that's left over. So really trying to minimize our food waste instead is is something that we we can all be better about.

Erin Garrett: 26:09

How much of our food doesn't actually even make it to our plate? Right? Or, like, some produce, like, if it has a bruise on one side, it's gonna sit at the grocery store and then it just, like, goes. So being okay with more, like, imperfect produce. And I know for myself since really getting into starting my vegetable garden and it actually being successful this year, like, for the first time, it is amazing how I will, like, have so much food. I'm like, we have to eat it all before it goes bad because I put all this work into it. I'm so much more invested in not wasting this food versus like getting it from the grocery store. And I'm like, well, why? I should be doing that there too. So I was just like having a different perspective for me. Lately, I've been just a lot more conscious of food waste and seeing what we're taking out to the compost versus putting it in the garbage. I'm like, oh my gosh. There's so I have so much green. There's so many greens and my compost can be so many vegetables, and it's, like, constantly vegetables and fruits, and there's so much of just, like, the ends that you chop. But, yeah, when something goes bad in the fridge and then you have to toss it, you know, making sure, like you said, buying the right amount and then prioritizing eating it, not, like, bringing home your bag of lettuce that sits in the fridge every week and then goes into the garbage and then is replaced by another bag. Right? That definitely is a big piece of it.

Abigail Garofalo: 27:28

Yeah. And the the thoughtfulness behind all of that. Right? Like, it's, I've seen lots of people try solutions of, like, how can I make my vegetables more visible in my fridge? Like, the, you know, that you have, like, the typical drawers where vegetables go in your fridge, and I've seen people, like, replace and put the condiments in those drawers and then put the vegetables in the doors. So that way it's like they see them every time they open it, because how many times have you thrown a, you know, a carton of strawberries in your fridge and just they got moldy before you even realized they were there. Right? So just kind of I think a thoughtfulness is so important to, like, what do we eat? When do we eat it? How often do I eat it? Do I need to buy it? Maybe, okay. I'm gonna make this dish that uses all of these veggies. My recent favorite hack I found is, I have, like, produce and in my fridge, and I'm like, it needs to be eaten, so I'll I'll type into AI, like chat AI, and be like, I have these four things that need to be eaten. What dish can I make with it?

Sue Gasper: 28:30

Oh, I love that.

Abigail Garofalo: 28:32

So, like, just different there's, like, different innovative solutions to figuring out why we are wasting food. Right? Some of it's on a larger scale of like, a cultural scale of, like, it's just funny shaped, but we can still eat it. Some of it's like a just a systematic in your home. You just don't realize. I'm a really forgetful person. I seriously just forget that there are certain things in my fridge all the time. And so having that kind of shift in in your in your fridge even just might be helpful. So,

Sue Gasper: 29:02

Like, I guess I would drive home, like, finding what works best for you. Like, what and and it may not be composting yourself. It may be, you know, go bringing your food scraps to a drop off-site. It may be having a pickup service. It may be, you know, like being an advocate for composting legislation, and telling other people what you've learned about composting, but really figuring out what fits your interest, abilities, and budget, I think, is important to stress.

Abigail Garofalo: 29:38

I think, like, vermicomposting is a good example because there's a lot of ick factor. Like, some people are like, I don't want worms in my house. That was a whole thing with my family for, like, a couple of years, and I was like, the worms are fine. Leave them alone. And so, yeah, that's, like, about what works for you. And if you're someone who, like, wants to take that as kind of a learning opportunity. When I had my, compost bin, I was, like, sharing a lot on, like, my social media pages. I was, like, I added cantaloupe and now there's, like, little flies everywhere. Like, it really accelerated that process and caused certain reactions to occur and and, kinda took it as, like, a science. And it is a science.

Abigail Garofalo: 30:19

Right? Like, I'm asking questions, and I'm I'm trying out if something works, and then I'm figuring out why and and things like that. And so thinking about it in that way, and I also say, like, joining a community, there's so many, like, little groups on Facebook or, like, people who are special interested in those things to, like, troubleshoot with because there is a lot of troubleshooting. It's it's with composting, and it's like, oh, it did this work. Why didn't it work? Does anybody know why? Has anyone faced this problem before? What did you do to address it? And talking to your local Extension staff and asking them those questions finding your community of people that can help support you in that journey as well because you're not in it alone. There's us you know, we have, you know, these two wonderful people on our podcast who are exploring this, not just because it is a really wonderful solution to food waste and greenhouse gas emissions when it comes to that food waste, but also because there is an interest by communities to address it in this way. And so I think that's a really great way to just kind of know you're not on this journey alone. Try composting and find people who like it too.

Sue Gasper: 31:26

Well, I like what you said about it's an experiment. You know? Like, you try things, maybe it doesn't work. You try to figure out why and think about it critically. I love it.

Abigail Garofalo: 31:38

Well, Sue and Gemini, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on composting. Now we're going to finish today's episode with everyday observations where we highlight the mundane and normal of our environment that is actually really interesting. Erin, I'm gonna call on you to go first. What's your everyday observation this week?

Erin Garrett: 31:58

Alright. Well, I've kind of talked about it a little bit, but for me, this past year has been, we've been in a new house, so we've been able to finally put in the vet, start putting in vegetable garden of my dreams. This is phase 1. It will grow. Putting that in, starting the compost, and so we're just finally starting to see, like, the circle of the system, right, which is really exciting to be able to grow our own food and then, you know, food waste, scraps go into the compost. And then eventually because I have I need to work on my ratio as now I know, which I already knew in the back of my head, but it's been confirmed. Oh, I need more browns. Eventually, right, then being able to take that compost and put it back into the garden, will be really, really exciting for me. So it's just been fun seeing I've never had a successful vegetable garden before because I didn't have a good spot. So if you all lived close to me, I would give you all of the cucumbers that I have because I am overwhelmed, but it's still it's a good problem. So, it's been it's been fun just to kinda see the whole system as it as it's been working.

Abigail Garofalo: 33:00

Well, that's awesome. I would say make cucumber salad, but you've already probably

Erin Garrett: 33:04

Every day.

Abigail Garofalo: 33:04

Cucumber dishes.

Erin Garrett: 33:05

Every night. Every night. I just came back, yeah, from from vacation, and it's I picked all the cucumbers before I left and gave them away. And there it's they're all there's a ton. There's a lot.

Abigail Garofalo: 33:18

And there's more, and you've already run out of people. They're like, no more cucumbers from you. No more. Run into Erin on the street. She'll give me a cucumber kind of person.

Erin Garrett: 33:27

There's gonna be a stand outside my house pretty soon that's, like, free. Please take.

Abigail Garofalo: 33:33

Not a bad idea. I'd want to finish. So alright, Sue. What is your everyday observation?

Sue Gasper: 33:41

So this past week, I had my husband asking me, like, oh, I've seen these, like, really huge, like, slow moving wasps. Like, what the heck are they? And then our neighbor, just like 2 days ago, had this huge mound in his yard that looked like a massive anthill, and we figured out that they were the cicada killer wasps. So that was really cool.

Abigail Garofalo: 34:13

Yeah. Largest wasps in Illinois.

Sue Gasper: 34:16

Yeah.

Abigail Garofalo: 34:17

Oh, they're huge and alarming, but they're really not interested in people. Like.

Sue Gasper: 34:23

Yeah, not at all. So that was pretty exciting. It was kind of funny how, like, my husband noticed them, and then the neighbor was asking. He thought maybe he had voles or something in his yard, and then he got really excited because he saw one going in and out, and, yeah, it was really cool.

Abigail Garofalo: 34:42

Oh. Yeah. I'm, like, kind of keeping note too if you see it next year because, like, we're in that dog day cicada period right now.

Sue Gasper: 34:50

Yeah.

Abigail Garofalo: 34:51

Alright, Gemini.

Gemini Bhalsod: 34:53

So at the beginning of July, I was supposed to go on this camping trip in Wisconsin. It got rained out, and so I pivoted. And, a couple weeks ago, I was on an all day canoeing trip on the Kankakee River. It was beautiful. The water was, clear and lovely, and we saw an eagle perched up in kind of a half dead tree on the bank of the river, and it was, like, flying and swooping around the river. It got quite low, while we were while we were canoeing just right along it for a little while, and it's always so amazing to, you know, see an eagle that close. And I'm very infamously, like, not the best, like, wildlife observation person as, like, a plant person, gardener, horticulturalist. And so every time I have a cool bird or wildlife experience, it really sticks with me because I don't have very many.

Abigail Garofalo: 36:00

I feel like an eagle sighting is really special too. Like, it's just really kind of and they're so distinct looking when you see, like, the ones that that do have the like, the older adults that do have, like, the white head if they're not juveniles, and it's yeah. That's really it's they sticks with you. It's a good way to say it. So

Gemini Bhalsod: 36:18

Yeah. It's really it is also possible there was a juvenile with the adult as well, but, like, I would not be the person to be able to tell you that, because I just don't know.

Abigail Garofalo: 36:30

Very cool.

Erin Garrett: 36:31

Alright, Abigail. You're up.

Abigail Garofalo: 36:33

Okay. So I, have been, like, going around, Cook County lately, and I was headed back from, like, a field day. And I was like, why don't you know, I have some time today. Why don't I stop by, you know, a local nature preserve just to kinda see what's going on there? And I stopped by Indian Boundary Prairie, and it's like this really random Illinois Nature Preserve.

Abigail Garofalo: 36:56

It like, you you don't look like you should be able to walk in, but you, like the doors open, and you're like and it's gated, and you can see, like, the expressway from, you know, one side. And it's it's very odd the way it's surrounded, but I was just so excited to see it because it's really good. We're recording this in July, so this it's really good, like, flower season right now to see flowers in the prairie. And so it was exciting because I got to see lots of flowers that were also blooming in my yard, because I have a lot of native natives growing in my yard, so I got to see butterfly weed. There was, like, a little, like, orange spurt of it, and I have, wild indigo, wild white indigo, and so I got to see that, Culver's root and just like a lot of other plants that I was like, oh my gosh. That grows in my yard. That grows in my yard. And then to kinda see how it grows a little differently with all of that root competition in a native prairie was just really interesting to think about. You know, like, that one's not flopping even though it rained yesterday. Mine is.

Abigail Garofalo: 37:56

And so, to kind of think about how could I apply that to my yard and and all of that, it was just really, really cool. And then I also got to see lead plant, which I don't have in my yard, and I just love lead plant. I think it's so pretty and just different. And so it was just it was really neat and really exciting, and I love a chance to go kinda do just a I got it to only be there for, like, 20 minutes because I had to kinda get going, but I didn't have to, like, go into it very far to see some really cool stuff, and it was neat. So alright.

Abigail Garofalo: 38:26

Well, thanks you two for sharing your everyday observations and Erin as well and, just kind of being with us to chat about composting as a solution, for one of the solutions for climate change. It's a grand challenge that we're facing, and so different ways to approach it and different ways to talk about it is is just really exciting to explore all of that. And, well, this has been another episode of the Everyday Environment podcast. Check out next week for our last episode of the season where we talk to Duane Friend about climate action.

Abigail Garofalo: 39:04

This podcast is a University of Illinois Extension production, hosted and edited by Abigail Garofalo, Erin Garrett, and Amy Lefringhouse.

Matt Wiley: 39:15

University of Illinois Extension.