Who We Are
Denver Urban Gardens’ Community Composter Training Program is a training course hosted in partnership with Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency (CASR) and Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI).
Please reach out to Judy Elliott at judy@dug.org for more information on how to join.
What We Do
The program coursework involves extensive education in the composting process, including compost biology and microbiology, vermicomposting, and other topics related to compost and organic waste diversion. Guest speakers from CASR, DOTI, Denver Botanical Gardens, EcoCycle and many other environmentally-focused organizations also participate in the training. Through a lens of environmental justice and climate action awareness, program participants are prepared to share their newly acquired composting knowledge and skills with the community.
In addition to the 40 hours of in-depth training, each Community Composter is required to complete 40 hours of self-paced volunteer outreach over the course of one season. These outreach experiences allow Community Composter volunteers the opportunity to give back to the community in a wide variety of settings. Outreach events and give-back hours are hosted throughout metro Denver and often occur on evenings and weekends. Community Composters must provide their own transportation to outreach events.
In-person training classes are mainly held at Denver Urban Gardens’ headquarters at The Horse Barn, located at 1031 33rd Street in the Posner Center for International Development in Denver. Other training sessions are held at the Denver Compost Demonstration Site located in DUG’s Gove Community Garden at 1325 N Colorado Boulevard. The cost for participation in the Community Composter program is $150.00. If cost is a barrier for you, please let us know what you can afford to pay.
This program is very popular and spots fill up quickly. Applications for next year's program are open now, with interviews happening in the months of December and January. Visit https://dug.org/learn/community-composter-training/ for more information.
