TAKING THE "EW" OUT OF VERMICOMPOSTING

Looking Back

The seed for Smart as Poop was sowed years ago when we moved our young family to a rural property in Ottawa, Ontario. We had two young children at the time, the eldest was two, and was filled with wonder for the mysteries, big and small, of her new surroundings. We chose to foster and fuel this curiosity by creating a home environment that immersed our two rapidly developing minds in an environment that inspired and encouraged questions. My partner and I turned to nature, gardening and vermicomposting in our quest to immerse our growing family in learning experiences at home. Young children are naturally curious and inquisitive, to squash their thirst and enthusiasm for knowledge would have been tragic.

Our Roots are Firmly Planted in the Classroom

Doreen founded Smart as Poop in 2016 with a primary focus and goal of Bringing Science and Innovation to the Classroom with a strong focus on experiential learning. 

Doreen has worked extensively with:

• Vermicomposting in the classroom
• Garden Tower 2 (soil-based vermicomposting vertical garden planter)
• Tower Garden (aeroponic vertical growing tower)
• Developing innovative curriculum linked programming
• Supporting teachers’ and students’ indoor classroom garden goals.

Doreen’s background in Health Sciences (believe it or not) lends itself beautifully and naturally to all aspects of her work with Smart as Poop.

Doreen's Journey

Doreen voluntarily stepped back from her business’ classroom portfolio to manage, develop and deliver the Ottawa Network for Education’s (ONFE) Classroom Gardens Program from Feb 2019 – June 2021. In this capacity, she oversaw over 100 indoor vertical gardening towers in over 70 Ottawa schools across all 4 of Ottawa’s public-school boards (French and English). She quickly became known for

• Her exceptional customer service
• Trouble shooting skills
• Anticipating teacher’s needs
• Ability to support teachers remotely
• Developing user friendly step-by-step instructions
• Creating innovative programming. Her dedication and commitment quickly made her the Go-To resource for Ottawa Teachers for all things indoor gardening. ONFE’s Classroom Gardens Program saw unprecedented growth and development during her tenure.  

Our Path to Smart as Poop

For my partner and I, it was only in looking back that we realized the path that we have been on for the last 12 years.

Spring 2008

Purchased 27+ acres of land in rural Ottawa.

Spring 2009

Reforested our 27+ acre rural property with 15000+ trees.

Fall 2010

After a disappointing gardening season (despite having added A LOT of local composted sheep manure) I researched vermicomposting, ordered 2 pounds of worms and got started. For the record … our garden has been AMAZING ever since!

Spring 2011

Started a little hobby farm (eggs, chicken & turkey) so that our kids would grow up knowing where food comes from and to have a healthy respect for both the work and time that goes into food production AND the farmers that make it possible.

Our little hobby farm soon blossomed into a small business offering fresh eggs (roadside stand on an honour system), chicken, turkey and vegetables to local customers.

To this day, our farm and gardens utilize almost exclusively gravity fed recovered rainwater.

Summer 2011

Installed a 10 KW solar array that feeds back into the grid.

Summer 2014

Purchased a Nissan Leaf, 100% electric vehicle.

Began producing our own Maple Syrup.

Our Ongoing Efforts

Compost 100% of our organic waste.

Planted 15000+ trees on our property in rural Ottawa.

Operate our farm and garden operation almost exclusively with gravity fed recovered rain water.

Produce all of our own eggs.

Produce much of our own meat.

Produce much of the produce that we use on a daily basis.

Make our own maple syrup.

Operate our roadside egg stand.

Drive a 100% electric vehicle.

Have a 10 kW solar array.