Paul Bass Photo
Schandra Madha on the hot seat at Common Ground.
One of New Haven’s coolest places was also one of its hottest Thursday morning.
Most outdoor thermometers in town were reading in the 20s. The needle on Schandra Madha’s outdoor thermometer crept eight times as high.
Madha was standing atop one of the steaming compost piles at environment-themed Common Ground High School’s urban farm off Springside Avenue in the shadow of West Rock.
The day before she and four Common Ground students involved in the Green Jobs Corps had helped mix a fresh 500 pounds of leftover food scraps into the pile. One hundred twenty of those pounds came from the school cafeteria. Another 300 came from the bicycle-powered Peels & Wheels home-pickup composting operation.
Thursday morning, Madha, Common Ground’s compost program coordinator, stuck the thermometer two feet deep into the mound below her elevated feet.
“At the center of the pile we have 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Which is great: 131 is our goal,” she said during a conversation on the “Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program.
“That temperature tells us that we are doing everything we need to be doing to make sure the microorganisms have the food, air and water they need to break down all this food waste.”
She and the students created the organic furnace below her feet by mixing the food scrap “greens” like corn cobs and orange rinds with twice as much “brown”: wood chips, animal muck, farm waste, compostable cups from events.
Private landscapers donate the wood chips to save money in a “win-win” deal. They save on the costs of private disposal. Common Ground gets needed pile components.
Once the pile disintegrates into newly rich soil, it will help the farmers grow new vegetables — including for Common Ground’s cafeteria and for Common Ground student families, completing a virtuous circle that keeps both the environment and human beings healthy and going strong.
The extra-high temperature allowed Common Ground to accept sausage links in this pile as well as dairy. Don’t do that at home, Madha warned: Backyard piles don’t generate enough heat to break down meat or cheese.
Madha, who’s 32, began her job last summer. She spends two hours with the students every Wednesday adding to the pile. They have rescued more than 40,000 pounds of waste that can now help generate new food rather than add to polluting landfills or trash processing facilities.
“Once you start composting, it sucks you in. You get really passionate about it,” she said. (Fact check: That’s true.) “If we care about where our waste goes as much as what we put in our bodies,” the planet will shift in a more sustainable direction.
After checking on the pile, Madha planned to devote the afternoon to helping get out the word for the upcoming 15th annual Rock to Rock community bike event — another way New Haveners are building community and a better world at the same time.
You can watch the full conversation with Schandra Madha on the “Word on the Street” segment of WNHHFM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program in the video above.
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Click here and see below for previous “Word on the Street” episodes and write-ups.
Word On Winthrop: Mom/Daughter TCBs
Word On Whalley: Wings Rise; Neon Fades
Word On Beers Street: That’s The Drill
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Word On The Street: New Loos Arrive
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Word On The Street: The Gig Cycle Spins
Word On The Street: Dumped Trash Disappears
Word On The Street: Job Interview Awaits
Word On The Street: Callaghan Suits Up
Officer McKernan Refuels For Double Duty
Word On The Street: Fred Keeps Moving
Word On The Street: Mimosa Mania
Word On The Street: Terry Hands Over The Brakes
Safety Hunter Keeps Eye On The Rising Tiers
Leather’s Grandson Returns To The Soil
Jorge Opens A Door
Word On The Street: Dad Awaits The Call
Word On The Street: Bridgette Beats The Sun
Word On The Street:“Blessed,” & Ready For Busy Barber Season
The Word On Brownell Street: Call Luciano
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The Word On Garden Street: Turkey Times Two
Dr. J Clears The Way
Estelita Makes The Journey Back Home
Butts, Burger King Wrappers Vanish At Wendy’s Drive-Thru
Skateboard J Does A 360
Word On The Street: The Banana Vote Emerges
Word On The Street: Sprinkler Heads
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Word On The Street: Keep On Truckin’
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Without Illusions, Lamont Stewart Makes The Most Of His Morning Walk
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Timmy Turner Takes The Long View
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Legion Ave. Rite Aid Closing; Actor Bummed
Word On Church St.: Drugs Are Everywhere
Indoor“Sunrise” Breakfasts Resume For The Hungry & The Homeless
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Reggie Gibson Makes A Clean Sweep
Sorry, Wooster Street: This New New Havener Has His Eye On Whalley Pie
Demons Stalk Methadone Run
Surveyor Bundles Up
Grandpa Boyd’s Toes Froze
Jay Jordan Shows Up Early For First Day At Mickey D’s
Track Champ Sets Sights On Firehouse
Can Collector Seeks Redemption
Reborn Stetson Library Opens Its Doors
Mom Prays To Pause Violence
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Word on the Street: Math
Word At The Barber Shop: Ukraine Needs Our Help
Word On The Street: Pain At The Pump
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Turbocharged Community Soup Kitchen Plans Return To Indoor Dining
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Word on The Street: New Beginnings
Lyric Hall Goes With The Flow
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Word On The Street: Paying Rent, Staying Safe
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Word On The Street: Caffeine
Word On The Street: 10 AM Georgia Hots
If we asked our stores and institutions to donate leftover and day old food to the food pantries and soup kitchens, and composted inedible foods scraps, then we could feed more people and have less trash to dispose of. A compost food scraps collection program and a redistribution of donated leftover and excess food program, would help make this happen.