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Cub Scout Adventures > 
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 Champions for Nature Bear > 
DIY Composter
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Bear – 3rd Grade
Champions for Nature Bear
Elective
Requirement 3

DIY Composter

Bear – 3rd Grade
Champions for Nature Bear
Elective
Requirement 3

DIY Composter

Snapshot of Activity

Cub Scouts will build their own composter. 

Indoor
4
4
2
If you want to know more about The Adventure Activity Key click here.
  • Bear handbook 
  • One empty two-liter soda bottle for each Cub Scout 
  • Sharp knife 
  • Nail for each Cub Scout 
  • Shredded newspaper 
  • Dirt (not potting soil, use dirt from outside) 
  • Compost materials: grass clippings, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds 
  • Small handful of dead leaves 
  • Flat plastic dish to hold composter for each Cub Scout 
  • Spray bottle with water 

Before the meeting: 

  1. Rinse all the two-liter soda bottles and peel off labels. 
  2. Using the sharp knife, cut off the top of the bottle, approximately 1-2″ inches below the neck of the bottle. Cub Scouts will need both pieces of the bottle. 
  3. Set up meeting space for Cub Scouts to have room to move around. Cover any tabletops. 

During the meeting: 

  1. Have Cub Scouts investigate the types of soil found in their handbooks. Discuss with them the differences in soil and what things each type can do. Talk about what compost can do well. 
  2. Set out the shredded newspaper, dirt, compost materials, and dead leaves. 
  3. Give each Cub Scout a bottle, a nail, and a flat dish. 
  4. Ask Cub Scouts to carefully use a nail to punch 8 to 10 small air and drainage holes along the sides and bottom of the bottle. 
  5. Tell Cub Scouts to put their bottle on their flat dish. Have them put some dirt, shredded newspaper, and old leaves inside the composter as their compost starter. 
  6. Have Cub Scouts use the spray bottle to wet the compost starter. 
  7. Tell Cub Scouts to add compost materials to their compost. Next, have them turn the bottle top upside down and place it in the open top of the bottle.  
  8. Explain that Cub Scouts will take their composter home. They should place it in a spot where sunlight can reach it and should cover the top with a kitchen towel when not in use. 
  9. Tell Cub Scouts to check the composter each day to see what it looks like. Every few days, Cub Scouts should stir the compost and make sure to keep the contents damp. As their compost breaks down, they can add more kitchen scraps or plant litter, as well as some more soil from outside to mix in. 

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Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.