Guest post by Ginny Johnson
Hello Citizen Scientists! I’m Ginny Johnson, Boxerwood sustainability educator. One of the Boxerwood programs I coordinate, in addition to school-based composting (more on that next week) is COREworks. You may have noticed a reference to COREworks on the form you signed at the start of the Backyard Compost Challenge. So what’s the connection between composting and COREworks? Here goes:
First off, a primer: COREworks is Boxerwood’s home-grown carbon offset marketplace. Its goal is to increase earth care projects in Rockbridge County through a unique funding mechanism. These projects include tree-planting, solar installations, and yes … composting! In essence, the COREworks website lists local projects that are preventing carbon release into the atmosphere. Measured as metric tons of carbon prevented, purchasing carbon offsets help people balance out their own carbon-intensive activities like flying. All proceeds from these marketplace transactions go back to COREworks to help fund even more green projects.
So how does COREworks relate to the Backyard Compost Challenge? We know that keeping food waste out of the landfill prevents methane emissions, a harmful gas that contributes to climate change. The data you submit each week reports the amount of food waste diverted from landfill, and we have formulas to help translate that data into methane emissions prevented. This means that COREworks can list those collectively prevented emissions as marketplace offsets. Customers then purchase those offsets from COREworks, enabling COREworks to use those proceeds to help launch even more projects like tree planting, thus sustaining that cycle of good.
There are plenty of carbon marketplaces that operate on an international scale, but COREworks is one of handful that keeps its whole operation local. Every project funded and verified by COREworks happens where we live. Basically, COREworks is a perpetual motion machine for funding earth care initiatives here in Rockbridge, and you’re a part of it as a BCC participant.
Bottom line: During the 10-week Compost Challenge, you’re not only creating healthy soil for your garden, you’re collectively helping COREworks fund the next meaningful green project in our community. Thank you!
To learn more about COREworks check out COREworks.boxerwood.org. If you have any questions, please email COREworks@boxerwood.org.
Now, please click the green button below to access the simple data upload page. Thank you again for your participation!