County residents looking to adopt more eco-friendly waste disposal methods can learn about composting from displays at the Leo Creek Preserve in Suttons Bay and the Poor Farm Barn in Maple City. Kate Thornhill, a lifelong resident of Suttons Bay, made these displays after studying composting for close to a decade.
A Leelanau Conservation District release says the Leo Creek Preserve was founded by Thornhill. A land easement was donated to the Leelanau Conservancy in 2016 to protect the creek and woods from development. According to the conservancy website, the preserve spans a little less than nine acres and includes 2,250 feet of Leo Creek.
The Leo Creek Preserve was once a popular hangout for students at Leelanau Montessori before the school moved to Lake Leelanau in 2010 and became a chartered public school. The site still has the boys’ and girls’ wooden tents and other things that may evoke former students’ memories of their childhood, but Thornhill says she is more interested in taking care of the site and providing education on the soil.
Thornhill has collected some of her knowledge on composting in displays near the preserve’s entrance off the Leelanau Trail. To access it, park at the trailhead on Fourth Street, which is west of Hansen Plaza.
When the newspaper asked Thornhill for composting tips, she referred to her display at Leo Creek Preserve. Outside water and air, which come courtesy of mother nature, the required materials fall into two main categories: greens and browns.
The display says that usable greens include kitchen scraps; grass clippings; leafy plant trimmings; spent flowers, herbs; livestock manure; weeds not gone to seed; and organic pet bedding (but not from dogs or cats), hair, and fur. Browns include leaves, straw, nut shells, brown pine needles, corn cobs, shredded newspaper and cardboard, and sawdust and wood chips.
Lately, Thornhill says compost tumblers have attracted a lot of interest. These small bins can be purchased or built with household materials and can convert waste into compost in as little as three weeks. Thornhill said that she prefers creating compost piles, though, as she and other users have found them unsatisfactory.
“These round, plastic tumblers are barrel-like in construction and have a turning handle. You can turn your compost by hand-cranking it. I know many people who tried them, and I’d say maybe one out of 20 friends found it satisfactory,” Thornhill said. “However, any discussion on compost should include those black tumblers (because) a lot of people have asked me questions about them.”
Thornhill recommends starting compost piles away from the hot sun and where rainwater gathers. The pile should be about 4 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet with one-part green material and two- or three-parts brown material. She says to start with a thin layer of browns. Thornhill says to keep the pile moist while layering, lightly wetting down the material if they’re dry.
For faster composting, green and brown materials can be chopped up using a lawn mower or mulcher. Mixing soil or manure into the pile is not necessary, but it will kickstart microbial activity, according to the display.
From there, composters should add air to the pile weekly, turning it with a pitchfork or another similar tool. They should try to move material on the outer edges into the center, exposing it to hotter areas where decomposers are most active.
The display also includes some troubleshooting tips. For example, if a compost pile has a bad odor, it could be because there is not enough air or too much nitrogen. The display says the solution is turning the pile to add air and adding dry material if the pile is too wet.
On the other hand, if the pile is sweet-smelling and damp but will not heat up, it may need more nitrogen. The display says that good nitrogen sources include fresh gas clippings, fresh manure, or blood meal. Additional troubleshooting tips and information can be found on the display.
Thornhill said that a simplifi ed version of the Leo Creek Preserve composting display was also recently installed at the Poor Farm Barn in Maple City. She’s led several workshops on the topic, most recently at the Poor Farm Barn in May. The Northern Michigan Environmental Council recognized Thornhill as environmentalist of the year in 2023 in the field of education.
Thornhill continues to be caretaker of Leo Creek Preserve and can often be found working there. She recommends viewing the Leo Creek Preserve display for information on composting, and to approach her or other volunteers at the preserve with any questions.
