Meet Susquehanna County Conservation District’s Worms!
Photo of vermiculture provided by Susquehanna County Conservation District.
In September, PACD published an article about Susquehanna County Conservation District’s (SCCD) eel program. Did you know that Watershed Specialist Jillian Pagnnotti is also raising worms? The worms provide an additional food source for the American eels.
According to the SCCD’s Instagram post, “live food helps train the eels to hunt and be able to provide for themselves once released, and not to mention that they love to eat worms! Here at the SCCD office, Jillian has made a vermiculture! A vermiculture is essentially a worm farm. The worms are kept in a controlled environment, fed throughout the week, and used as live food for the eels. Our vermiculture contains red wigglers. A stable, controlled environment will allow the worms to reproduce and provide an endless supply of live food for our eels. The worms eat organic waste, such as kitchen scraps and yard waste, and convert it into rich, dark, crumbly compost. The process also produces a liquid called vermitea, which is collected and can be used as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer for houseplants or gardens!”