Community Composting: A Start Up Story in South Dakota - A Conversation with Deirdre Appel

SolPods Cassie Freyeisen sits down with Deirdre Appel, founder of SoDak Compost, the first non-profit community composting center of its kind in South Dakota.  Deirdre's journey from New Jersey to Brooklyn, and eventually settling in Sioux Falls in 2021 amid the pandemic, drove her to create  SoDak Compost, addressing the lack of food scraps recycling options for urban apartment residents. Learn more about Deirdre's inspiring journey, innovative solutions, and the community impact of SoDak, highlighting the potential for transformative sustainable practices in other new environments.

Check out SoDak's website here.
Follow SoDak on Instagram: @sodak_compost
United States Composting Council
Dakota Rural Action
Institute for Local Self Reliance
Iron Fox Farms
Cherry Rock Farms
Community-Scale Composting Systems by James McSweeney
Follow @compostable.kate on Instagram 

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Transcript

Lucy Intro: 00:03

Welcome to SolPods Studio. We're not your average social network. We're a community of professionals, enthusiasts, and students taking sustainability to the next level. Join us on our journey and get inspired by Earth Heroes just like you.

Cassie 00:19

Welcome back to another episode of SolPods Studio. I'm Cassie Freyeisen and I'm joined here today with Deirdre Appel, founder of SoDak Compost based out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Deirdre grew up in New Jersey, lived in Brooklyn for several years, and then moved to Sioux Falls in 2021. Shortly after the pandemic. As an apartment resident in her area, there was no option to recycle food scraps or compost. The absence of composting options led her to create her own solution, SoDak Compost. This is a nonprofit that offers easy, affordable solutions for Sioux Falls residents to divert their food scraps from the landfill. Deirdre, I'm delighted to have you here today and I cannot wait to get into the dirt.

Deirdre 01:02

Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Cassie 01:03

Awesome. Let's jump right in. Deirdre can you tell us a bit about your background and how your knowledge of sustainability inspired you to create your own nonprofit, SoDak?

Deirdre 01:14

Sure, so my experience getting into composting certainly isn’t a linear path. I didn't grow up composting, nor did I go to school for soil science. I majored in public policy. And after graduating, ended up in Washington DC for a few years where actually working full time at a nonprofit. And on the side, I got a job on the weekends at a farmers market. And this was really my first, I think, insight into the world of local food systems, farmers, sustainability, kind of all of that opened up for me. And I just had more consciousness around how food is grown, the people that grow it, the resources that go into growing it. And it was kind of like that point in life where kind of things changed at that point. And at that stage, I just became fixated on growing my own food, learning about local food systems, and over the years just began getting more and more involved with it. And as I grew into gardening, composting was just a kind of secondary thing I became interested in. And that's really where the path of sustainability really started.

Cassie 02:36

It's so funny how when you start with that green thumb, I feel like it just gets greener and greener, am I right? You start with one thing and then you just want to keep going and learning more. And then five plants in your house turns into 50 plants in your house and one garden then turns into three gardens, you know.

Deirdre 02:52

Oh, yeah. No, absolutely. And it's very hard once you kind of open your eyes to some of the issues around where your food comes from, the people that grow it, the hands that grow it. It's really hard to forget. And you, you just, you know, some people get obsessed with it. Some people get impassioned by it. I'm a little bit of both.

Cassie 03:12

I love that, but I like how you're taking your passions and you're really putting them into practice and everything that you've learned throughout your career is getting you closer to your long term goal, which is amazing. So I know from previous conversations, your first compost pilot last year was a success and you are now out of the pilot stage and launching a second pilot in the Sioux Falls area. And I'm so excited for you and congratulations on this. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience starting your own community composting initiative? And really, what were some of the challenges in getting started?

Deirdre 03:48

Yeah, absolutely. So, you mentioned before, I moved to South Dakota, Sioux Falls, particularly, from Brooklyn, New York. And I grew up on the east coast and had a few years living in Brooklyn where I was lucky enough to have a brown bin, which was part of the city of New York City's composting efforts. So I took my trash out. I took my recycling out and I took my organic waste out. It, you know, I had three bins and it just became such a common practice during COVID. The budget for that program was, you know, diverted, but there were always other options in New York City to compost. You could drop off at farmers markets, you could sign up for a private collector to come pick it up. There wasn't really a reason to be throwing your food waste or organic waste away like you would in your garbage. And so I moved out to Sioux Falls and really thought I was going to continue this habit that I had cultivated and upon moving here, found out that there weren't any programs really nothing, especially for someone living in an apartment. So that was kind of the big challenge in terms of moving somewhere new and finding out that there isn't anything available. But that was also the, you know, the challenge but also I guess the opportunity for what we've started here. And over my first year living here, it was really just talking to people in the communities and some of the events I went to and just asking, you know, oh, what do you guys do with your organics? You know, do you recycle? Are there programs I can get into? And everyone was saying there really wasn't anything available. And there isn't anything in the state that does it in terms of cities or, or local governments. So a lot of people were saying that's a great idea. You should start something. We’d totally sign up. And so kind of riding on the wind of the support of other people that I met in town, they kind of encouraged me to start something. And so after a little less than a year of living here, we had founded a nonprofit and really started the first community composting efforts in the state, the whole state of South Dakota, which is wild because it is a massive state, but it's also a farming state. There's so much agriculture here. And so I think my assumption moving was that, of course, there's gonna be composting and it really wasn't the case. So I think that was one of the challenges of just, you know, learning that not every city is the same, there's not always the same opportunities and, and that was part of what kind of led us to, to where we're at.

Cassie 06:46

It's incredible. Was there a bunch of people who came out in the beginning and said they're willing to help or did you have to really go out there into the community and recruit these people that have the experience or also the passion to do it or was it, would you say it would be a mix of both?

Deirdre 07:02

Yeah, I think it was a little bit of both. I kind of came into it because I had been, like I said, interested in the local foods movement, the sustainable food movement. And so I was kind of tacking on with a few different other existing nonprofits in town. One of them is Dakota Rural Action. They do a lot to support family farmers, small scale farmers in the state, things like that. So I go to their events and happy hours and things like that and just start talking to people and part of it is speaking to the converted, you're already talking to people who are very interested in sustainability and closed loop systems and things like that. So certainly a part of it, but now that we've grown, there are so many more households and families and businesses that weren't necessarily a part of that initial circle that have been involved and really want to become more, more involved. So certainly a mix.

Cassie 08:00

And can you tell us what actually are the benefits of composting? You know, there is a greater push to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. So I think a lot of people want to know, you know, what are the benefits, what is the value add?

Deirdre 08:16

Yeah. So I think for me, especially because I am not coming at composting as an expert or a soil science expert. I'm really just coming at it from someone who happened to do it because I was living in New York City and I had a brown bin. so just coming from an individual just trying to recycle and create less trash and live more sustainably. So because it came to me, I guess later in life, I've just found it to be this really incredible thing that just exists in nature, even without us. Of course, you know, composting has been since the beginning of time. Plants die, they decompose, animals die, they decompose, it all goes back to the soil, everything we do goes back into our soil. And so for me, I've just found it to be this really magical process of ensuring that anything that's grown or made, you know, naturally doesn't go to waste. It all goes back into the circle of life essentially. And so in terms of the benefits, I like to break it down to a few different buckets. So we have environmental benefits in terms of, you know, some of the environmental challenges, climate change, things like that. There are soil benefits, there's economic benefits and of course the community and individual benefits as well. And so for the first one, it's the environmental benefits and that really comes down to global greenhouse gasses and emissions. And so something that I had learned probably too late in life was how problematic it is to send food scraps and organic matter to the landfill. And what happens when you send food scraps or organic waste to the landfill: they're breaking down and they're basically being buried and decomposing in a way without all of the necessary ingredients that they need. There's no air, there's no oxygen, there's no sunlight. And when this happens, they're breaking down in a way that they're releasing methane, a greenhouse gas. And we know that methane is also a more potent greenhouse gas than  even carbon dioxide is and landfills are one of the biggest culprits of methane. They're right behind livestock and the natural gas industry, which is just wild something you're throwing out that really shouldn't be there in the first place that it's really having such a negative effect. And so that's, that's really interesting as well because when we look at our landfills, of course, there's a finite space to them, right? We're gonna seal them up at some point. We're going to have to create a new landfill or we're sending our trash and we're recycling overseas, to China and all these other places. So we have to be resourceful about the space and the longevity of these landfills as well. And 15 to 20% of our landfill is organic waste. So 15 to 20% we're putting in landfills that really shouldn't be there in the first place. So that's the environmental benefit. You know, we can cut greenhouse gasses by just composting and avoiding the landfill. I guess the secondary benefit and you know what's even great about it is it doesn't stop there. If we divert the landfill and we compost, we're left with something from what we're, quote unquote, deeming as trash and garbage at the moment, something we have at the end of the composting process, that's an amazingly rich soil additive. So it's not even like we're just throwing something away that we don't have use of, we're throwing something away that we really can use and make use of. And so as you know, compost improves the soil, the structure of our soil, it adds organic material to it. It makes it healthier, it feeds all the, you know, plants and food that we want to grow. And it's really just an amazing thing both for, you know, a natural fertilizer, but also for soil erosion and whatnot as well. And then I think in terms of the community side, there's so many benefits to  the community in a way that all these different participants can come together from those that are growing our food from those that are cooking our food, producing our food, schools, all of these people that are just living around us are able to participate in it and really, you know, produce something that's gonna support the whole community. And individually, I think it's just great for your own garbage. I think once you start composting, you see how little actually will go in your trash if you're recycling and you're recycling your plastics and your cardboards and whatnot. And your composting, the amount that has to go in your trash is so minimal and you'll be taking your trash out way less and  you're also feeling better about how much you're producing and what you're sending to the landfill as well.

Cassie 13:48

I totally agree. And I think that when you're going to put something in the trash, you're going to think about it the next time, when you're composting, you're really truly, you're realizing that there is so much waste that we can prevent from going to the landfill. And I think that when you have a garden and when you start composting, the waste really becomes a real tangible problem because you see it firsthand, right? You see that all waste breaks down and what that breaks down to is this magical soil. And I think that it really does then impact you as an individual when you're going to take your trash out and when you see the waste and how can you minimize that waste? And I love what you mentioned on the individual community element. I have a soon to be three year old and she knows what composting is already. We have a garden and she's learning what can then go into the compost, you know, a leaf that has turned brown or something that's been rotten. And so she already understands composting and what that means. And I think that is such an invaluable skill to teach children. So that way, when they're older, they'll hopefully follow these same practices in their house. So totally agree with you on the community element and individual elements as well. And as I just mentioned, you know, I am an active composer here in the Nashville area. But I would really love to know from you the expert. What items do you recommend to compost? What can beginners do to learn more about composting and what items would they need to get started, whether it be at home or alternatively if they wanted to launch a community composting project like SoDak? 

Deirdre 15:28

Well, that is awesome you're composting at home. That's really great. And I would say, you know, you had called me an expert on it. I think one of the things to just remind folks and people of that and this is something I had even been, you know, a little weary of when I first started, was that, yes, there are people who have phdS and Masters degrees in, you know, soil science and, and, you know, make their careers out commercial scale composting. But it really doesn't take too much. It is something that, like I said, nature has been doing for forever. So with just a little bit of knowledge and a little bit of training and a little bit of trial by error, it is something with this space depending on how much you have, it’s certainly something that you could take on or look for community composters in your area that could do it for you. But if you're looking to do it at home and you're a beginner starting off, I would say, there are a lot of really great small scale composting that you can do. And these, you know, some people start with a Tumbler which is,  if you Google Mr Spin Composer, you'll find some of these products, but essentially, it's, it's really just a cylinder on a, on a spoke almost and you're filling it up with the food scraps that you're producing each week. And I like to tell folks that there's really four ingredients to a good compost pile and they're no different than four ingredients that you and I actually need as well to live and continue to live. And so you'll hear a lot about greens and browns in compost or, or the green to brown ratio carbon to nitrogen. And the way I break it down is that greens will be your nitrogen source. So the way I like to remember it is that there is a G in nitrogen and there's a G in green. And so your greens would refer to anything basically that you're cooking or your food scraps, your banana peels, things like that. And then you'll have your browns or your carbon source. So carbon also has a B. That’s my, my kind of way to way to remember it initially and your browns will be really your brown source that you're putting in thinking, you know, newspaper, cardboard, mulch, things like that that are allowing all of your nitrogen sources or green sources to feed in the pile. And then the third ingredient is water. You do need a good level of moisture in your compost pile to be able to thrive and continue to do the work of all these amazing microbes in your pile to break down the organics. And then depending on what kind of composting style you're doing, our fourth ingredient is air. There is composting that you can do anaerobically without air. That's totally different. That would I think be on the commercial scale, but it is possible to do it without air. But when we're talking about at home, composting, the fourth ingredient is air. And this you achieve by turning your pile, by spinning your pile, by really ensuring that you're mixing all of these four ingredients every once in a while as well to break down. And it's incredible when you get these ratios right. And the balance between all these four simple ingredients, how quickly you can see things breaking down and how hot the pile also gets because the microbes are at work. And they're releasing heat as they're working too. So at home, you might not see temperatures as high as we do at our community scale. But in the summer, our compost piles are 160 degrees and in winter, in the midwest winters, you know, you could see us working out there, there's snow on the ground, you know, a foot of snow and our piles are steaming because they're still achieving 130 degree temperatures, which is just incredible when you're thinking about what's possible. And what's at work in your pile, as you're working. So, I would just say just start, I think that there's a trial and error to it. You’re gonna learn as you go, which is totally fine. And I think that's kind of the fun part of it, but I would recommend that if you are starting at home, depending on where you live, if you have neighbors, if you have animals, which a lot of us do, to look for something that does have coverage. Because if you're leaving, you know, food uncovered, you're gonna get some problems in terms of smells or animals and that's always something you'll hope to avoid. We don't at our location currently accept dairy or poultry or bones and things like that. That's not necessarily because they don't compost. They absolutely do. We are just in our first year and we're avoiding some of the hot items that like to draw some problems with animals and things like that. So we were just getting our bearings first. But if you, again, if you're at home, this might be something that you just want to avoid for the early months as you get your bearings and, and things like that, but again, totally able to be compostable and break down it’s just your comfort level at the time. 

Cassoe 21:36

These are all great tips. Thank you so, so much. And I actually have one of each. I have one open bin, one close. So I have one where I just leave it out. It's all my greens, my clippings and we do a breakdown with just a lot of the browns and the greens mixed together but really nothing from in the house. So no vegetables. But then we have the closed system, that way we can put all of the rest of our food scraps. So we have a mix of both. and it works really well for us. But I think, like you said, it depends on where the individual lives, what works best for them. Maybe they just need one closed bin system and that works. So it's all trial and error and you learn a lot along the way. And so you, you talked a lot about the individual. How about if one of these individuals had the idea to then go out and start a community project, what would they need? And how could they get started?

Deirdre 22:33

So how we had started out, I ended up reaching out to a lot of other community composers, not in South Dakota because none had existed yet, but in the neighboring states in New Jersey where I used to live, people that have done this already and had started initiatives or businesses or nonprofit and just emailed them and said, hey, my name is so and so, are you able to chat for 30 minutes so I could just ask you some questions about your own experience. And maybe it's a composter thing, maybe it's just a people thing, but everyone is willing to talk and help and share their experience, especially if they've started where you were not so long ago. And so we're not even a year out. And I'm already getting some emails from people like where I was at a year ago being like, hey, can you chat, it sounds like you're at a, you know, an early stage and I'd love to talk about your experience and how you got started. So certainly just reaching out to people who have been in your place before was super helpful. If not for networking also, just for encouragement, everyone has been super helpful and very kind. And then within your community, I would just start asking around as well, you know, getting in touch with like-minded folks who might want to partner. If there is an urban garden in town, they could be a spot where you could host your bins. If there's community gardens in town, they might want to partner with you. looking into your, you know, master gardeners, any farms that might be local, your 4H society, all of these areas that might be growing food might be a possibility of using the end product of compost. And then also thinking about your, your local city government too, if there's a sustainability department, if there's an urban agriculture department and how you can kind of partner with folks that are like minded and, and doing some of this work as well because what I've found is that people do want to support other organizations that have similar goals and whatnot. And then  more, I guess, nationally, there are some amazing resources from the Local Institute for Self Reliance. They do a lot of work and research and support for community composters. They have a community composter coalition for those who have gotten off the ground and are established organizations. But we have, you know, multiple email threads a day of just people sharing thoughts and experiences and tips and it's just been a really, really rich resource for that. And then at the very least  you can find my information and, and also give me a call if you're thinking about launching a community project and I'd be happy to talk with you as well.

Cassie 25:48

That is so kind you're the best. And how does SoDak really collaborate with other local organizations? You gave already a couple of examples. But could you highlight some other key partnerships that you have with SoDak?

Deirdre 26:05

Yeah. So I, I think the most important one is with a nonprofit in town called Iron Fox Farms. They started just around the time that I was. They’re an urban agriculture organization in town that bought a vacant lot and have converted it into this amazing community garden and urban garden. And they partner with a local elementary school that's right up the street. So throughout the year, they're teaching classes and they're bringing students to the plot who are seeding and growing their vegetables from seed in the classroom, they're transplanting it and they're getting into the dirt in terms of learning where their food comes from. But also, you know, so many different elements of, of science and whatnot that comes along with it as well. And so I had the kind of, I guess luxury but also, you know, wonderful timing of life to meet the founders of this nonprofit Dan and Meg at one of the events in town for Local Foods. And they had presented about some of their initiatives and I was there at the crowd and just spoke with them afterwards to say, you know, oh, I'm really interested in starting a composting organization and they said, well, you can host your bins at our site if you want, we have a lot of land and it kind of spiraled from there. It's been an awesome partnership. We work with the elementary school that they work with. We've done some workshops. They also have free range to all of the compost that we produce through the community for their own gardens. And it's just really great to see this kind of full cycle of what the community is dropping off in terms of their food scraps and how we're producing compost that then goes back into growing food for the the community, which is awesome. So definitely other nonprofits in town. And then we have a range of people that reach out that are just interested in learning more. So we present it to the master gardeners about compost, which is a little intimidating because you're talking about compost to literally master gardeners who know a lot. But they've been awesome in wanting to learn more about mainly how they can get their hands on compost for their own gardens, but they've been awesome partners as well. And then, we've even had a nursing home reach out to us and say, our residents are really interested in composting and a lot of them are previous farmers, would you want to do a workshop here? So it really ranges from all the different audiences. But there's really a thriving movement I feel in Sioux Falls falls for sustainability.

Cassie 29:06

That's amazing. It feels so full circle and I love that. It touches on the lives of so many people from master gardeners to nursing home residents. It's really incredible. And I have to know, do you have any funny stories from anyone that has been involved with the composting initiative, whether it's a volunteer or a student. Do you have any funny stories from composting? You know, you think dirt, so, you think there's got to be something here that makes people laugh.

Deirdre 29:38

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we have a handful. I mean, there's a few, I think there's always a few funny stories of people that– it's not for everyone, of course, not everyone wants to spend their Saturdays above a 100 degree pile of decomposing food scraps. But we have a few dedicated amazing volunteers and then we always enjoy when someone has come to volunteer and they're an awesome team player, they're there for their whole shift and we say, definitely come back if you ever want to help out again and we never hear from them again, which is totally fine, but it's just a funny reminder that it's, especially in the either Midwest winters or summer, it’s not for everyone. But then we have some awesome elementary schoolers who really just school us on composting in general. You know, we come there, we're trying to teach these lessons and these seven, eight year olds are like, oh, my grandma knows exactly what composting is. And I've been composting with my grandma since, you know, I was two and three and four years old. So that's always funny to hear from these little ones, which is also super encouraging because  we hope that they  just carry the torch and continue to, you know, lead these efforts and it also becomes something that they kind of expect as well with what they do with their trash, they're expecting the compost and, and they're kind of maybe expecting it to be a resource in their own community as well, which is awesome. So, it's always fun to partner with little kids. You always have funny stories with working with them.

Cassie 31:29

Oh, the things you'll hear from the kiddos, right? When you get them involved, they love it and you get to enjoy all that with them as well. So that's super cool. So, Deirdre, I have a question for you. How do you really envision SoDak expanding in the future? What are your longer term goals for the organization?

Deirdre 31:48

We're just coming up on our year anniversary. So, we've just been working less than a year now. I think June 15th last year was when we collected our first bucket of food scraps from one of our participants. And we're going to be breaking ground on our second location this month, which is super exciting. So we'll, we'll have that under our belt too, to expand. And we're hoping to just look for additional locations like what we have now; finding other community gardens in town where we could just set up our three bin composting systems and just begin to multiply in the community, and the vision would be that any community garden in town has composting and has these bins available for either households around the neighborhood that want to drop off their food scraps or at the very least, you know, the yard waste and things like that that's produced from the community gardens and it can go all right back into that soil where that community garden is. We don't need big, you know, trucks on the road. We don't need, you know, any major infrastructure. It's really all there and small scale but really makes a difference. And that's certainly on the household level, I would love to be able to partner with businesses for larger scale projects. I think at our scale that we're at right now, we just don't have the capacity to work with restaurants or other venues that produce a lot more organic waste. And so looking at how we might be able to do that, what grants we might be able to receive, how we could work with a business in town to be able to collect from them. That would be amazing. Just thinking about the kind of impact we could have if we scaled at that level. Someone from Costco reached out the other day being like, “oh, I run some sustainability efforts here at Costco. I'd love to, you know, figure out how to, how to partner with you all”. And, you know, part of me was like, oh wow, if you only knew like, we're making an impact, but it's small if you only knew, the size of our operations and things like that. So we're of course educating them on, you know, what other alternative options might be available and what they might be able to do. But just the fact that an organization like Costco in town is reaching out to think about what they could do with their food waste is incredible. And, and so, you know, I guess the sky's the limit if we have enough funding and employees and capacity and whatnot and time. But really looking at, at the community side of things and, and tapping into that is, is going to be a big goal for, for the future.

Cassie 34:45

Dream big, Deirdre, dream big. And we're calling on those businesses in South Dakota. If you want to partner, please reach out and you, Deidre will see how you can partner in the future. Maybe you have some, you know, a space near your facility that could work as a prime time location. So just reach out to her, all of those businesses who are interested in South Dakota. That's awesome. And how could those locally in Sioux Falls and other surrounding towns get involved with SoDak and for those who do not live in South Dakota, how could they help support community composting initiatives? 

Deirdre 35:25

If you're local in Sioux Falls and you find yourself listening to this, I would definitely visit our website. SoDakcompost.org and you can fill out a form there to begin to participate. We'll email you right back and, and send you all the information to get you started with your own composting efforts. If you're not interested in composting just yet, you could follow us on Instagram @sodakcompost because we post about tips and tricks and some ways that you could learn more about why we compost and what we do. And then of course, we always welcome volunteers, whether it is just that one time volunteer or if you want to become more regularly staffed, things like that, we always need extra help and extra hands and we just love, you know, especially now that it's nice and sunny out just, you know, getting to know other people in the community or who's dropping off as well, there's always a task for, for anyone. And then, you know, if you're outside of Sioux Falls and you're just interested in getting involved, I would say that there are a lot of ways just to support community composters, whether that's through donations or through perhaps looking at certain organizations like the Institute for Local Self Reliance that does do a lot of support for us, looking at donating, maybe not with a individual composter, but looking at how you could support an organization that supports all of us is also awesome. And really just looking at, I think also who you are electing, you know, who's in office in your town, in your community, state, that's supporting these efforts because the government support for some of these initiatives can also be a game changer as well. And having the right people in office who care about sustainable sustainability efforts is key as well. You know, as individuals, we can do so much and we can make a change. But when governments are behind us it can make a big difference.

Cassie 37:43

Could not agree more. And I know from previous talks that you also are working or you work from time to time at a local farm. Cherry Rock farms. You're such a busy bee. What are some of your favorite activities on the farm? Have you been able to really incorporate any learnings from the farm and put those into action for SoDak or even at home?

Deirdre 38:02

Yeah, I definitely like to stay busy. And so when I had first moved out here to kind of fill that need of being around farmers and local food systems, I stumbled upon an amazing family farm, Cherry Rock Farms. And they're just outside of Sioux Falls in a town called Brandon and I had worked with them on weekends over the summer just to continue to learn from, you know, those experts of generational farmers that are growing all of our food and doing all this amazing work. And so, I think through my work with them, it's just reinforced how important healthy soil is not even for growing our food. Of course, it is, you know, the healthier soil, the healthier our food, the better tasting our food, all of that. But also in a state like South Dakota and especially on the east side that is flat in prairie country and cornfields, soil erosion is so important. We've had major storms this year, last year, the year before and this idea of having, you know, healthy soil that could actually keep things in place and not be blown around with the crazy windstorms is also super, super important. And I guess, I think my favorite activity with them has just been their own ability to be, they have, you know, three kids, their family generationally and just, just to appreciate, I think even more where, where our, our food comes from and, and who grows it and how much tireless effort goes into it. It really just makes a difference. I swear it makes your food taste better.

Cassie 39:55

And my husband wonders what I do, spending like hours outside every night, watering and making sure, it does take a lot of time and it really is a passion that people, you know, I think you either have it or you don't. But once you get into it, it's going to stay with you forever. I really, I believe. My dad was an avid gardener and composter so I've had it in my blood since I was a baby.I was always out in the garden. So I really took it from him and then my husband's family, his grandfather is really big into gardening. So I'm, you know, when I was in France, spent many years living in Switzerland and I would go there on the weekends and help him in the garden. So I just feel like it's something that, you know, you acquire those skills and that love and it just needs to bloom and blossom. And what you said about good soil– I wanted to ask you, if you had one quick tip for building good soil aside from adding compost. What would it be? What's your quick tip? I mean, for example, like cutting up some banana peels and sticking them in the garden, let them do their thing. Do you have something else for a quick good soil tip?

 Deirdre 41:05

Oh, I mean, yeah, the compost is the easy answer. But again, I guess it depends on what you are, you, you know, growing and things like that. But this is a funny one in Sioux Falls, we have an incredible rabbit problem. There's just, you know, growing up in New Jersey, we had deer everywhere. We have rabbits everywhere. But actually this is funny, rabbit poop is an amazing fertilizer. So even though they will go to town on your vegetables and leave behind their droppings, those things can go right back in the soil and make your soil even more wonderful. So I guess that their present they're leaving behind if they eat all your vegetables. But, that's a good tip for you.

Cassie 41:57

So you heard that everyone: bunny poop. Keep it, keep it, use it in the garden. That's a quick fact. 

Deirdre 42:05

That's nature for you. There's, you know, nothing that can't be used.

Cassie 42:12

Exactly. The circle of life. Right. Can you tell us a little bit about your recent Earth Day event rallying with fellow environmental advocates? You were really advocating for a stronger climate policy in the Sioux Falls area. What was the outcome?

Deirdre 42:24

You know, I, like I said, getting into composting and starting a nonprofit for composting was, I don't think ever in my future, if I was living in Brooklyn, and that said, oh, you know, in three years, you're going to be living in South Dakota and running a nonprofit and speaking at Earth Day, I'd say, yeah. Right. No way. But, you know, here I am and I've just been able to meet a lot of people who are also super passionate about sustainability and somehow, you know, have ended up in a state that does not always prioritize some of these efforts. And so we had done a lot of work around Earth Day to kind of shine the light on a sustainability plan for the city of Sioux Falls. And it was coming at a time when there was a lot of federal funding for climate action policies and programs. So, the Biden Harris administration was basically offering every state $3 million if they, you know, chose to use it for climate action. And South Dakota, unfortunately, our governor was one of, I think three states to decline these funds. And so how the policy was written was that if the governor declined it, it would go to the mayor of the largest cities. And so Sioux Falls is one of the biggest cities in the state. And so it kind of landed in the mayor's lap. And, you know, unfortunately, with the whole, you know, passing the buck mentality, our mayor didn't accept it either. And so we could have had a lot of funds that would have been spent in the state in these great ways. It wasn't in their, you know, policy portfolio for whatever reasons. And I think it was just this, I guess reckoning with that, even if you know, the initial government may not be behind you at the time, there's so much work that you as an individual and you as other organizations can do and continue to do. And so we had showed up for Earth Day, we had some awesome people come out for speeches on why climate action was important and why sustainability was important. We had the former mayor of Sioux Falls from back in the late seventies who had run some amazing initiatives that we still benefit from today around sustainability and protecting parks and the environment and things like that. He had spoken and it was really just a great coming together of different, you know, partners in town. And it was a reminder of how I think important local politics are. I went to school for public policy and voting was always very important to me. But initially, it was always, you know, at the president level, at the vice president level, at, you know, your governor level. But local politics in terms of knowing who your mayor is and who's running your city and, and even down to your city council members and, and all of these other lower politics, local politics is so important. They're really where, where things are happening and where you can see a more immediate impact; turning on your faucet and knowing the water's coming out, that's, that's your local city government, you know, that your toilet flushes that your schools are running, that you have a good, you know, school, you know, president or, or board president and things like that. There's so much happening locally that, you know, you could, could get involved in or at the very least just, just vote for the people that you want to, to be leading in, in, in the way that you agree with.

Cassie 46:20

 Voting is so crucial. And it, what you just mentioned just touches on how important it is to stay informed, stay informed about your, you know, your local officials, what they stand for, what's important to you and how can you, you know, use your voice in a positive manner. I just learned that for example, states have the right to help protect animals in each state. So if if your thing is, you know, caring and protecting animals, stay informed about those policies. If it's, you know, around the right to, you know, around your garden, gardening and encompassing initiatives, you know, stay informed. All of these things matter and your voice does matter. So thanks for bringing that up. Really appreciate it. Yeah. So moving to some of our last questions, Do you have any favorites, zero waste or master gardener or even composting books or social media accounts that you really like to follow for inspiration? For example, I absolutely love this book called More Plants Less Waste. It's by Max Lamana. He has really super cool recipes and like Zero Waste hacks that are like around purpose. And I just think that's super cool and inspiring. How about you? What do you like? What do you check out on Instagram?

Deirdre 47:33

I think for me, this is more like the household composting level, but Compostable Kate on Instagram is amazing. She's based out of Australia. So, you know, she just has these amazing tips and tricks and such knowledge and amazing reels on composting at your household level and I've learned so much through her. And then I think more at the, you know, if you're looking at starting something or running a nonprofit or business, the Community Composting Handbook by James McSweeney has been, you know, like this textbook resource of getting started. There are so many rich resources and information there that I would just, you know, take it and read for fun before we had gotten started because it provided so much insight. And then if you are really getting serious about it, you could look into the US Composting Council, they offer a mentor mentee program. And last year I was paired with a woman, the composting kind of sustainability industry. And she's been incredible. And you know, I know that the US Composting Council prides themselves on offering that program every year too, to new mentors and mentees. And so having that individual leg as well was amazing over this last year. 

Cassie 49:10

Awesome. Thank you for providing all those wonderful resources. And in a year from now, I can expect Deirdre on the good dirt Instagram handle to follow, Right? Yeah, just wait for that. Awesome. I'll be your first follower. Finally, the question we love to ask all of our guests, what would your sustainability superpower be and why?

Deirdre 49:36

OK, so I know we, you know, we've talked a good around about composting and a good about, about local politics. So I think I'll stick with kind of the, the political superpower here and say that it would be to remove, I think the kind of political charged nature of the sustainability debate and really just think of it as something that's going to affect any of us and all of us, whether we are Democrat Republican independent, regardless of where you, you know, fall on the political spectrum that this is 100% without a doubt, a bipartisan issue and and should be, you know, approached as such. So if I could remove the dirty politics of it all and and make the change around it from there, that would be my, 100% my superpower. 

Cassie 50:35

Fits you perfectly. It really does. And I agree, bipartisan all the way, truly couldn't agree more. Deidre, Thank you so much for being here today. It really was inspiring and I truly believe composting is such an effective way for us as individuals to really help prevent waste and to live more sustainable lives. And we thank you so much for your courage to go out, create SoDak and help to educate and inspire others in the process. So we cannot thank you enough for all the work you're doing and thank you for being such an amazing earth hero. We can't wait to see your journey with SoDak and how it continues to grow and evolve as you bring on more volunteers. Convert more businesses to, you know, to change their practices and maybe start their own community compost. So, so proud of you. Thank you for being here today and we can't wait to have you back some time.

Deirdre 51:33

Yes. Well, thank you. And thank you to also the work of soul pods and for being my first podcast interview. This was, this was a lot of fun and, and thanks for the work you're doing too. 

Cassie 51:42

Absolutely. Thanks again. Have a great day.

Lucy Outro: 51:50

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