Fear Factor
I fear worms and I bet only a handful in our class love this creature. I get goose bumps whenever I see one. But I gradually conquered this fear when I joined the “Earth Saver’s Club” when I was in grade school. My mom encouraged me to join the club since the brochure said there will be plenty of nature walk which I do love. We did have nature walk and it was the President of the school herself who joined us during one of those refreshing walks. Lucky us!
Now the challenging part. We worked in tandem and the task was to prepare a plot and plant it with any vegetable variety we want. We would pass the club if after the semester the vegetables have grown and are healthy. If they die, our grade would be buried with those vegetables. I was in grade 4 then and was lucky because my teammate was a 7th grader who had been with the club for a couple of years and therefore has mastered preparing a plot. And dealing with earthworms.
I shrieked and goose bumps appeared when the segmented creature crawled while I was digging the soil. My partner just smiled and told me to calm down. She asked me to stop so we could talk about earthworms because whether I like it or not, they will be around for the entire semester. These are what I learned from her that made me lessen my fear with earthworms. Because they loosen the soil through burrowing, the roots of the plants can grow more easily because it makes easier for water and air to circulate within the soil thus making the soil more fertile. When worms eat and digest organic matter like dried leaves, they produce “poo” called castings which acts as excellent composting element which when added to soil, helps to drive away pests and other diseases. Worms are fantastic because they are able to recycle almost any organic money.
We always say “the early bird catches the worm”. And literally, worms are a vital food source for birds. So if we want more chirping birds to wake us up, let’s not be afraid of worms. If we want more worms to feed our birds, let’s keep the soil or garden well-watered. Didn’t you notice worms love damp places?
Well, those goose bumps still appear whenever I see worms but they disappear just as fast when I think that they act as environment “soldiers”. And aside from learning and appreciating worms, that club gave me the chance to meet and talk to Nikki of the defunct “Studio D” program of Disney Channel ( in case you still remember) who was in town then to campaign on tree planting. That was the first tv appearance of the club members, too!
