tearful update

it's been a while since i've updated and a lot has happened.
the worm bin wasn't able to reside in the nutrtion building storage as we'd hoped - it was moved to the campus greenhouse which is cooled by a giant swamp cooler. i was skeptical at first but it seemed cool enough at 72 degrees and nice and damp. i checked the bin regularly maintaining moisture levels and things were going nicely - no fruit fly issues, the worms were thriving - they were plump and slimy and active. we had the occasional mushroom or sprout but no stinky bin and no mold. plans were to harvest the compost on the last day of class at the childcare with the kids and let them fertilize their garden before summer break.

that was last thursday. i went to pick up the bin and was devastated to find not a trace of a worm! i couldn't believe it. as i was feverishly searching through the scraps i noticed how hot it was in the greenhouse. apparently the water supply to the swamp cooler had been broken since monday - possibly over the weekend. the temperature was 92 degrees at 10:00 am. the outside temperature had been hovering around 110 degrees all week. our worms had baked and and been completely reabsorbed back into the soil in just a few days.

it's taken me this long to be able to write about it and i'm still sick to my stomach.
there was another student in the greenhouse who had taken over tending an instructor's vermicompost and her worms were gone without a trace as well. i don't think she was quite as attached as i was. :,(

the kids and i still harvested the compost and had fun feeding it to their garden.
such a sad, sad end to a really worthwhile and successful project. boo.