Learning About Decomposers

As a part of our winter goal for Eco School (www.eco-schoolsusa.org) we have been learning about waste and consumption. This has had us looking at what goes in out trash, and learning about reducing, reusing, and recycling. We have a compost bin, and now we also have a worm bin. Both of these need decomposers to work.

We have learned that decomposers are fungus, also called mushrooms, bacteria, which are so tiny you need a microscope, and invertebrates, or animals without a backbone.We went onto the playground one day to see if we could find some decomposers. We decided to look under things.

"Look! A potato bug!"

There were lots of things to find.

"Look! Fungus!"

"Mine has fungus, too."

"A worm!"

"I found a slug."

"I think it might be a beetle."

"It's a black beetle. Them doesn't have pincers. It might be a cousin."

"It's white under here!"

"Bugs have been eating it."

"Maybe bugs are making tunnels and eating their way out."

"If we could cut it open, we would see a lot of bugs!"

"That is a grub."

"I think it is a chrysalis."

"This log is falling apart."

"It's getting soft."

"It's fallen apart a lot since last year."

"It falls apart in our hands!"

"I saw a little bug. It was white."

"It's growing mushrooms."

"The stump is growing a plant."

"It can grow a new tree."