Ear to the ground

“He’s getting married this afternoon and needs to be limbered up for the event.”

– A Durango dog owner while taking Fido in for a chiropractic adjustment

Green wigglers

Bayfield Elementary will welcome 40,000 new green employees on Earth Day, this Thurs., April 22. The new workers – red wiggler worms – will be tasked with composting the school’s fruit and vegetable food waste, approximately 40 pounds per school day.  

The wigglers’ workspace is a solar-powered vermicomposting bin that is 4 feet tall, 5 feet wide and 8 feet long. The worms, officially calledEisenia fetida, are part of a BP grant-funded science project with the goal of turning all of the school’s compostable cafeteria waste into rich, fertile worm castings. The project was made possible with help from the Durango Compost Co., Clearheart Designs LLC, and Durango SolarWorks. However, the worms and their microbe associates will be doing the heavy lifting.

Jennifer Craig, co-owner of the Durango Compost Co., explained, “Twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week the worms, bacteria, fungi, mold, protozoa, nematodes and mites are breaking down peaches and beans, corn and peas, carrots and apple cores and even napkins from the school’s lunchroom and kitchen.”

The wigglers will go to work following an Earth Day ribbon-cutting ceremony, set for 2:15 p.m. at the school.

Silver suds

Once again, Durango beer has risen to the top. Durango Brewing Co. claimed a silver medal in the World Beer Cup, which met April 10 in Chicago. The competition evaluates beers from around the world and gave a nod to Durango Dark Lager.

Durango Dark took the silver in the American-Style Dark Lager category after judges praised its medium body, mild hop character and drinkability. As an added plus, the award came right on the heels of the brewery’s 20th anniversary celebration.

“We couldn’t ask for a better way to kick off our 20th year in the craft brewing community,” said Scott Bickert, managing brewer. “Along with a Bronze Medal at the Great American Beer Festival, this most recent award serves as a sort of bookend for our 20th anniversary.”

Durango Brewing squared off against 3,401 entries from 642 breweries in 44 countries during the World Beer Cup.