Why I love compost

Campus composting work parties featuring solar-baked s'mores are just one example of why The Princeton Review ranks Skidmore among the top 10 schools in the country where “Green Matters: Everyone Cares About Conservation.”

by Rachel Entin-Bell '27, Zak Maxey ’27, and Chris Schuckers ’25

Chris Schuckers ’25 doesn’t deny that turning compost can sometimes make your stomach turn, too. But composting isn’t just important for the planet. At Skidmore, the role of student compost manager is also a paid role and can be a lot of fun.

Every Friday, the compost managers — who come from majors as diverse as philosophy and biology and grew up in places ranging from New York City to the Adirondack Mountains — organize work parties with student volunteers to collect buckets of food scraps from campus apartments, turn and aerate food waste with shovels, and toss items that won’t decompose.

The rich compost they help produce is used in Skidmore’s Community Garden, which grows produce for Murray-Aikins Dining Hall. (Composting parties are just one example of why The Princeton Review ranks Skidmore among the top 10 schools in the country where “Green Matters: Everyone Cares About Conservation.”)

Throughout the week, compost managers also collect buckets from buildings across campus that, along with food waste from the dining hall and other Dining Services locations, will be emptied and sent to an off-campus composting facility.

It might sound like a lot of icky and stinky work — and it can be — but Chris Schuckers ’25, Rachel Entin-Bell '27, and Zak Maxey ’27 also say it’s their dream campus gig. Here they tell us how they each developed their own affection for decaying food scraps.

Chris Schuckers ’25

Canton, New York

Environmental science major and English minor

I don’t know if you’ve ever slung rotten food before, but compost can be vile. The swarming fruit flies, festering maggots, layers of mold, and the combinations of nasty smells can be overwhelming. It can be hard to love steaming, stenchy piles of rot. Even so, I love compost.

I am a senior environmental science major here at Skidmore with a minor in English.

On campus, I have been involved with the Sustainability Office since my sophomore year. I also have a show on WSPN, our campus radio station.

I have always been interested in compost but really began to start composting myself after taking a class in environmental engineering. I took additional courses in environmental engineering while studying abroad in Stockholm, Sweden.

There, I saw firsthand Swedes’ very impressive systems of compost collection and processing, and my love for compost only grew stronger.

The entire composting process is full of love — it involves bacteria and mycelium and worms and protozoa and you — the same things that nurture forests and bring meadows to bloom. Microorganisms are working around the clock to break down our waste, and making nutrients available to others; the least we can do is give them a hand.

I was inspired to apply for the job of compost manager, not just because it might look good on my resume when I eventually apply to graduate school, but because I knew it wouldn't feel like a job.

Doing the right thing rarely ever feels like work, and that's exactly how my job as compost manager is: We have a great team, we have lots of fun, and I often forget that collaborating and working on compost with my fellow managers is work I'm paid to do.

Even so, compost sometimes pushes the boundaries of what I view as gross. We are hard-wired to react negatively to rotten food, and certain smells will send me walking away, desperately trying not to lose my lunch.

But nastiness is also part of the process. If more people took time to understand the process of natural decomposition, maybe they would pay more attention to the waste we produce. Perhaps, instead of scrunching their nose and turning upwind of the compost pile, they’d roll up their sleeves and put in the work, too.

I don’t need statistics or science to tell me that composting is good for the Earth. I can watch it unfold in the pile every day as I turn and care for it and watch the Earth care for itself.

Rachel Entin-Bell '27

Brooklyn, New York

Biology major with (intended) minors in geology and Spanish

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York City, in a home where the AC didn’t go on until it was 83 degrees, and the heat was only on after everyone was wrapped in blankets. We always composted, recycled, and air-dried our laundry.

Part of why I chose Skidmore was how much students and staff emphasized sustainability during my visits to campus. It was important to me that I attend a college that was actively thinking about its impact on the environment.

But still, when I arrived at Skidmore my first year, it was a shock to have such little control over so many parts of my sustainability. In winter, I found the heat cranked up, and some dorm rooms set to 80 degrees. Lots of lights are left on 24/7. And the truth of a college dining hall is that there can be a lot of food waste.

Then, a few weeks into my first semester, I went to a composting work party, where for two hours on a Friday afternoon I shoveled compost to turn it and got to hang out on the edges of North Woods (about 150 acres of forest adjoining campus that, you guessed it, Skidmore students also play a role in maintaining).

I learned about all of the different places on campus that compost was happening, and how many opportunities outside of compost there were for students to get involved on campus. And suddenly, everywhere I went, there were Environmental Action Club meetings and compost or garden work parties. Representatives from the Office of Sustainability were at nearly every event I attended, and they were making sure there was as little waste as possible.

And in April, there was Earth Day, a campus-wide celebration of the greenness of the Earth. Between that and taking Environmental Studies 100 and learning about all that our campus does to push towards sustainability, I realized I had walked onto a very environmentally aware community.

I learned that many of the sustainability programs are student-led and student-focused. I applied to be one of the compost managers, and here we are. Now, I get to run around picking up green buckets full of food scraps, napkins, and other delightful rotting goodies, and work to process it into nutrient rich fertilizer.

Working with volunteers at work parties on Friday afternoons is not only fun, but it also provides me with such hope to see how many people are willing to take action to help make Skidmore and our community more sustainable.

In addition to serving as a compost manager, I’m on the e-board (executive board) of Audubon Club, I’m a member of the frisbee team, I work for the Geosciences Department, and I do research in the Biology Department.

I’m not sure what I want to do after I graduate in 2027, but I know myself, and it has to be something outside, something with my hands. Composting is the perfect blend of that and of making sustainability accessible and realistic for individuals.

In our world, it's easy to feel helpless — like you can’t make a difference. But composting is a reminder that every banana peel, every tea bag, or eggshell, can be turned into fertilizer to feed new life.

Zak Maxey ’27

Philosophy and economics double major

Essex, New York

Growing up on a farm in Essex, New York, with alpacas, ducks, and chickens, I spent a lot of time working outside with the animals. When I wasn’t doing chores, I spent my time out in the woods fishing or exploring.

I have always been drawn to nature as it is the place where I feel most comfortable. Living in the Adirondack Park has further shown me how much the environment means to me. Composting allows me to build an even deeper connection to the environment.

As a philosophy and economics double major at Skidmore, I have spent my first and sophomore years considering how I can incorporate the environment in my plans for the future. I dream of becoming an environmental lawyer who helps change policies regarding the rights of nature.

Here at Skidmore, I have become hooked on the compost program, as it is a chance to give back to the environment that I appreciate so much.

The compost program allows me to feel even more connected not only to the Earth but also to the Skidmore community. It gives me a sense of purpose knowing that my efforts in composting allows the Skidmore campus to be as sustainable as possible.

When I first heard about the compost program as a first-year student, I was thrilled. I immediately jumped on the opportunity to contribute at the work parties, for it seemed like a great way to be involved on campus.

But my commitment to sustainability is only part of the reason why I’m happy to serve as compost manager; composting at Skidmore is also a lot of fun.

I started attending compost parties simply because I enjoyed them. I still feel delighted every time I head over to the work parties on Friday, as I get to spend my afternoon outside and working hard.

It might sound silly but physical work is really something I enjoy, and compost allows me to work hard while also contributing to a sustainable cause. I also let off some steam by participating in activities like intramural soccer and volleyball, which allow me to keep my body engaged, and partaking in clubs like woodworking and geology where I can get hands on with natural materials.

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I have to be a part of the compost program here at Skidmore. I really couldn’t ask for anything better.