Description

We are excited to welcome back the "Worm Wizard" of Michigan State University, Sean Barton, and his vermicomposting sidekick, Julia Haider, to the Antrim Conservation District.  
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Sean Barton is the Operations Supervisor for the Michigan State University Surplus Store and Recycling Center.  He and his team are responsible for managing MSU's waste as a resource by processing over 7 million pounds of recycling and hundreds of thousands of pounds of food waste through vermicomposting year-round in a passive solar hoop house.   Diverting material from the landfill, maintaining a healthy worm population in a cold climate, supporting research, packaging & sales, and developing soil blends are all part of our recently upgraded facility's daily operations.  Sean started vermicomposting at home in 2009 with a small Rubbermaid bin and in 2020, successfully transformed a research vermicomposting project into a mid-scale operational facility that closes a portion of MSU's food loop.
 
Julia Haidler is a Vermicompost Operator at MSU’s Surplus Store and Recycling Center and has spent the past two years on the project learning from Sean Barton and Dr. John Biernbaum about vermicomposting. She is a recent graduate of MSU, double majoring in Environmental Studies and Advertising Management, and is focusing her work on the development of advertising and marketing strategies for vermicompost. Having 5 years of experience in the recycling field and other horticulture and sustainability jobs, she’s passionate about public education opportunities to connect more people to sustainable agricultural practices.