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The Wonderful World of Worms!

4/30/2023

“Any environment, any single life is in a continuous state of change. This is just more obvious when you pay attention to earthworms. Their work may seem unspectacular at first. They don't chirp or sing, they don't gallop or soar, they don't hunt or make tools or write books. But they do something just as powerful: they consume, they transform, they change the earth.”
― Amy Stewart, The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms

What better way to celebrate Earth Month than to explore the wonderful world of worms! Worms help to create healthy soil by aerating the soil and adding humus through their castings.

Worm Hunting

The hunt for worms created an enthusiastic flow of questions:

Why are worms so slimy?
Why are worms so wiggly?
What do worms eat?
How long do worms live?
Where do worms live?
Why do worms hide under the dirt?
Can worm see? Can they smell?

Light or Dark?

Think about where earthworms live, do you think they prefer light or dark?

When half the box was covered in dark cloth all the worms eventually went over to the side covered with the cloth!

Wet or Dry?

Do you think worms prefer to live in a wet or dry environment?

When we put our worms in the middle of a dry paper towel and a wet paper towel, they quickly moved over to the wet side! Worms breathe through their skin and they need wet skin to be able to breathe.

Worm Habitat

To learn more about worms we created a worm habitat so we could observe some worms more closely. What do worms need to survive?

Soil! Water! Decomposed leaves! Fresh leaves! Protective logs and grass!

Now we can feed the worms with some of our lunch scraps!

Measuring Worms
To learn more about worms we created our own rulers and practiced measuring drawings of worms, then we measured some real worms!

Earthworm Hearts

Did you know that an earthworm has 5 hearts!?! We looked for their hearts by placing a worm in a petri dish and using a light to better see the pumping action of their many hearts!

Clay Worms

Spaghetti Worm Painting

Watercolor Worm Habitat

Worm Books

Firefigther Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup smooth almond butter unsalted
1/4 cup coconut oil solid but soft (use refined to avoid coconut flavor)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut sugar or maple sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together the almond and tapioca flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, and set aside.
In a separate bowl mix together the almond butter and coconut oil until smooth, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and continue to mix until very smooth. Add in egg and mix until fully combined.
Slowly mix in the flour mixture (with a spoon) until a sticky cookie dough forms, then fold in the raisins and walnuts. It helps to cool the mix for 15 - 30 minutes to scoop with ease.
Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop the mixture by 1.5 tablespoons onto a cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart since they will spread.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 12-13 minutes or until cookies are set in the center and beginning to brown around the edges. They will be very soft but don’t over-bake to maintain a chewy texture.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 12-14 cookies.

Once our cookies cooled we walked through our backyard gate over to our neighbors - the incredible Barnardsville Fire Department!

The firefighters really appreciated the cookies and they showed us a bunch of their equipment!

They even let us use the fire hose!!

Huge gratitude to these courageous firefighters that save peoples lives and homes! The fire department needs volunteers! You can learn more and apply on their website: Barnardsville Fire Department