We are hoping to start a composting program at Regis Jesuit with the added plan of starting a community garden that would use the resulting fertilizer from the composting program. The crops that would grow in the garden would then be donated to soup kitchens or other organizations that provide for the poor to give them a healthy and natural option.

As a school centered around community, we trust that a composting program and community garden here at Regis Jesuit would foster a feeling of community with the greater Denver area. The food that we produce will be sent to soup kitchens and other organizations downtown so that they have fresh and organic produce to use and offer the people that they help. The health of our city is extremely important and organic food is better for a person because it is free of the chemicals used in conventional farming. However, organic food is priced anywhere from 10% to 60% higher than conventionally farmed produce. Opening up the option of organic food for the poor and homeless in Denver will also work toward improving their health.

We believe that this idea will not only connect Regis Jesuit to the greater Denver area but will also strengthen the community here as Regis. By working together as students from divisions, faculty, and alumni to bring this idea to life, we are all working toward one common goal. It would be something that everyone could work on and would be encouraged to help with. The composting program and community garden would show the strength and solidarity that our Regis Jesuit community has.

To add to the local community that we would be working for and with, the greater community that exists between nature and human society would also be strengthened. Composting is better for the environment because it turns our waste into something that can help sustain the environment -- fertilizer. It also keeps a lot of our trash out of landfills and working towards something far more meaningful than collecting in heaping piles somewhere. On a smaller level, the fertilizer created by composting improves the soil around it. It provides the organisms living underground to have something good to eat and that, in turn, helps the soil and our plants. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are naturally produced in the composting process which keeps everything in the garden healthy and free of harmful added chemicals.

Logistically speaking, there is an alumnus who owns the major composting company in Colorado who would be willing to help us with our program. His company would provide the bins for us as well as handle the processing of the compost. The only thing that we need to iron out is a sturdy location to have the garden, however, we would be able to use large barrels for planting that could be placed around campus, saving space and also adding something aesthetically to our already beautiful school.

The following members of the Regis Jesuit community support and want a composting program as well as a community garden implemented at Regis Jesuit High School.

(if you could please state in a comment what role you have in the community. ie. student, faculty, student, alumnus)

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