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2019 New Year Edition

Walking in a winter wonderland.

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"Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge. Remedies from chemicals will never stand in favor compared with the products of nature, the living cell of the plant, the final result of the rays of the sun, the mother of all life."
~ Thomas Edison

How can you tell which end of a worm is which?

Tickle it in the middle and see which end laughs!

• Now is the perfect time to start a vermicomposter. Have fresh beautiful worm castings ready just in time for spring planting.
  www.cathyscomposters.com
  
• Sprouts offer the opportunity to have fresh, nutritious vegetables over the winter.
  wwww.cathyssprouters.com

Random Pictures

What's the buzz?

Visit our Photo/Video Galleries

It was a cold winter day. An old man walked out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, dropped in his fishing line, and waited patiently for a bite. He was there for almost an hour, without even a nibble, when a young boy walked out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice not next to him. The young boy dropped his fishing line and minutes later he hooked a Largemouth Bass.
The old man couldn't believe his eyes but chalked it up to plain luck. But, shortly thereafter, the young boy pulled in another large catch.

The young boy kept catching fish after fish. Finally, the old man couldn't take it any longer. "Son, I've been here for over an hour without even a nibble. You've been here only a few minutes and have caught a half dozen fish! How do you do it?"

The boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rrarm."
"What was that?" the old man asked.

Again the boy responded, "Roo raf roo reep ra rums rarrm."

"Look," said the old man, "I can't understand a word you're saying."

The boy spit the bait into his hand and said, "You have to keep the worms warm!"

Featured Videos
of the month:

Nature Is Speaking
Julia Roberts is Mother Nature.

Giving nature a voice.

Click here to see video

Sprouting Beans

Are you ready for a new sprouting taste sensation? Try out the newest sprouting beans & seeds.

Broccoli or Bok Choy? How about Fenugreek, Chickpea or Blue (French) Lentils. And of course Mung beans will always be available.

A full list of all the sprouting beans & seeds currently available at Cathyssprouters.com.

Save your money!

Want/need worms? Want to save the shipping?
Why not attend one of our upcoming events and pick up your worms at the same time. Come and see the worms up close and personal.

We often sell out at events, pre-orders will guarantee you can what you want.

To see when we will be coming to an event near you please visit our events page.

FYI

AgriProtein is a British company that operates 2 fly farms in South Africa. Each farm contains 8.4 billion flies, which consume 276 tonnes of food waste and lay 340 million eggs each day. Those eggs (maggots) are dehydrated, flattened and used as animal feed.

The company is worth $200m, and they’re planning to open 100 more factories around the world by 2024. [Andrea Lo]

Using a middle initial makes people think you’re clever. [Wijnand A. P. Van Tilburg & Eric R. Igou]

How do you escape a T.Rex.? Just outrun it. The maximum speed of a T.Rex. is 12 mph, while most humans run 10 to 15 mph on average. [BBC]

In this issue:

Spouting off About Sprouts

Looking to make a healthy start to the year? Sprouts could be the place to start.
Start here ...

Laughter Yoga

Laughter in the Olympics?

With your help it just might happen.

Dr. Madan Kataria (the founder of Laughter Yoga) has started a petition to have Laughter Yoga included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Find out more ...

What's new in the ...

World of Worms

Worms in the classroom?
What are the teachers saying?

The 7 Things You Need to Know About Sprouts & 3 Reasons Why You Need to Grow Your Own.

On a nutritional basis, Sprouts are one of the best foods on the planet. Long considered a super-food, sprouts can pack a nutritional wallop that will benefit your body like no other food source. Are you looking to loose some weight? Need a more nutritious diet? It would be difficult to find anything that is this good for you this easy to get started.

1. One of the most enzyme rich foods available. Up to 100 times more enzymes than in raw fruits & vegetables. Enzymes help extract more nutrition from the foods we eat and aid in digestion.
2. An extremely valuable source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and protein in their most natural forms.
3. An excellent source of B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, thiamin, folic acid (essential for normal cell division). By sprouting mung beans you increase vitamin B1 by up to 285 percent, vitamin B2 by up to 515 percent, and niacin by up to 256 percent.
4. A great source of fibre – Fibre stimulates the body's internal self-cleansing abilities. Essential for weight loss.
5. Biogenic - alive and capable of transferring life energy to your body.
6. Excellent source of antioxidants. Consuming sprouts has been said to slow the aging process.
7. Sprouts are alkalizing. Cancer and other illnesses have been linked to acidic conditions in the body.

• Food Security - The ultimate locally grown food. Grow your own sprouts to control the quality. Be confident your sprouts do not contain any unwanted pesticides or food additives. You know how fresh the sprouts are, so no more wondering how long they have been sitting on the shelf.
• Inexpensive - Its low cost to produce a batch of sprouted beans. Very few foods come close to sprouts as a source nutritional value.
• Convenience - Grow fresh, healthly food at home, school or office.

So how do I get started?

Sprouting is an easy and convenient way to take up those vitamin & minerals that your body needs and craves. Sprouting can be as easy as placing beans between 2 damp paper towels but traditionally people have been using jars. Place your beans in a jar and fill with water. To avoid bacteria build-up be sure to rinse your beans twice a day. To rinse your beans place a filter or cheesecloth over the jar and tip the jar to let the water run out. The problem with this method is that it is hard to get all the water out.

Warm water is the perfect place for bacteria to grow, so we need to be very careful when rinsing our beans. This is why we recommend the Super Simple Sprouter. With this Sprouter beans sit atop the wire mesh so have limited direct contact with the water. Rinsing is a simple matter of lifting the wire mesh out of the Sprouter, dump the water, rinse the beans, replace the water. The dome acts as a greenhouse and as a result your sprouts are ready much faster with little risk of contamination.

For more information about sprouts and sprouting please visit our Cathy's Sprouters website: www.cathyssprouters.com. Here you will find more about the benefits of sprouts as well as some recipes and testimonials from other sprout growers. Want to order a sprouter or some beans? Or would you just like to see what's available. There is plenty here for everybody.

Upcoming Events

Want/need worms? Want to save the shipping? Why not attend one of our upcoming events ... come and see the worms up close and personal. We often sell out at events, pre-orders will guarantee you can get what you want.

For a full listing and directions to all events please visit our website.

Anyone who has attended a Laughter Yoga session knows the peace and euphoria you feel afterwards. That soft glow of happy wellness that comes wirh laughter is the result of an increase in endorphins, the hormone that induces happiness. The same exercise decreases the level of cortisol, the stress hormone.

After a good laugh with a group of people you share the happiness and joy the laughter brings but you also enjoy a stronger kinder fellowship. Now imagine what would happen if we invited the whole world to join us.

Dr. Madan Kataria started a petition to be presented to H. E. Thomas Bach, The President of International Olympic Committee, H.E. Yoshiro Mori, Chairman of the Japanese Olympic Committee and Canada's Richard Pound representing The International Olympic Committee.

To: H. E. Thomas Bach, The President of International Olympic Committee, H. E. Mr. Yoshiro Mori, Chairman, Japan Olympic Committee and Canada's Richard Pound representing The International Olympic Committee.

We, the undersigned, are strongly requesting that you consider incorporating “One Minute Laughter Yoga” into the Opening Ceremony of 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

1. “Laughter” is a globally common language.

We consider it very meaningful for peaceful Japan to globally dispatch a message of laughter, the internationally common language, during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics and Paralympics.

2. “Laughter” removes any fence or wall among people’s hearts.

Laughter is contagious. No war can be fought in laughter. Incorporating laughter into the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics/Paralympics is tantamount to dispatching a positive message for world peace from Japan.

3. “Laughter” promotes health

Laughing increases endorphins, the hormone that induces happiness, and decreases cortisol that is a stress hormone. Irrespective of the age, sex or physical condition, laughter can promote both physical and mental health in a person. Laughter has a relaxing effect. It will help all the participating athletes to demonstrate the maximum result of their daily efforts.

“Laughter Yoga” is a healthy exercise combining laughing to the conventional yoga breathing. Though called yoga, no difficult pose is required. It is a yoga method of breathing that takes in fresh oxygen into one’s body by laughing out loud. It does not depend on humors or jokes, but considers laughing as an exercise. It is said that since our brain cannot differentiate between fake laughter from genuine laughter, even a fake laughter has the same positive effect on the brain. Laughter Yoga was developed by an Indian medical doctor, Madan Katarina in 1995. Today, over 3 million people practice laughter yoga worldwide. In Japan, there are more than 17000 Laughter Yoga Clubs all over the world and 700 Laughter Clubs in Japan.

We ardently believe that Laughter Yoga can lead to the spirit of “Encouraging the establishment of peaceful societies that emphasize human dignity” elucidated in the Olympic Charter. Laughter can support your effort to make 2020 Olympics into an event which naturally accepts and recognizes differences in races,

Let's get the whole world laughing.
Follow this link to sign the petition: Laughter Yoga Olympics.

Find out more about Laughter Yoga Visit Cathy's Laughter Club.

Vermicomposting in the classroom.
Teachers speak out.

Eitz Chaim Schools Experience

Dear Cathy,

The Wonderful World of Worms

Who wants to hold one?
Me!, Me!, Me!
Me first!
I want two!
Me!
Me!

There is nothing quite like opening the box of worms and asking SK children if they would like to hold the worms.

Little hands cup together, ready to have one or two of the Red Wrigglers put into their palms.

“They tickle!”

“Look how they are twisting and turning!”

“What do they eat?”

“Where do they live?”

“They’re so cute!”

For the past five years I have had the privilege of introducing some of our youngest students to the wonderful world of worms.

From teaching the students that worms are “photo-pho-bic” (afraid of the light) to all the good that the worms do in our soil, having a worm composter and being able to introduce worms to the world of little people has been a life changing experience at Eitz Chaim Schools.

And now - as the first students have grown up - there is still that curiosity about our world, what worms do and why we should respect all living things.

Thanks Cathy!

Thanks worms!

Frank Samuels
General Studies Principal
Eitz Chaim Schools

A Vermi-Update from Rick Hansen Public School

Dear Cathy:

It was great to speak with you at the Eco Fair on Saturday, as you could tell I was very excited to tell you about our worms. So as promised, I am sending an email along from the staff and students at Rick Hansen Public School in Aurora to let you know how our worms are doing.

We received our Red Wrigglers in February 2013. In anticipation of the arrival of our new friends, the school held an Adopt-A-Worm program. Staff and students were asked to purchase pink paper worms for .25 to help raise money to buy the worms. A total of 543 paper worms were purchased and hung up throughout the school. During the Adopt-A-Worm drive, students who purchased the paper worms even went so far as to give them names.

One classroom was given the job of conducting daily announcements to encourage the students to help adopt-a-worm, as well as to educate them by giving out information on the worms. They did this by researching red wrigglers, coming up with a jingle and even making an actual commercial for our monthly assembly.

Currently, we have 5 classrooms that have EARNED green bins dedicated only to worm food. These are a kindergarten classroom, a grade 1-2, a grade 3, a grade 3-4, and a grade 7-8. These classrooms must differentiate between what goes in the normal green bin and what can go in the worm bin. They take their responsibility for our worms very very seriously.

As a brand new school (which opened in September 2012) it was important that the worm composter be brought in as quickly as possible (to get optimum buy-in) and it was important that the staff and students were educated on the worms and why we were getting them. I personally went around to classrooms and spoke about the worms, their habitat, their food needs and what they would give us if we took good care of them.
Students who were nervous about touching the worms found themselves holding them, and were even surprised to learn that they had 5 hearts.

We are a school of only 275 students, I am asked daily "how are the worms doing?", "have they had babies?" and I continue to conduct presentations about our worms, letting the students hold them, ask questions, and to see how their hard work and caring has paid off.

We have been granted a "Seeds for Change Garden" which will be implemented in September of 2013, it will be an awesome thing to be able to use our worm castings to enrich the soil in our Garden. Yes, we have had our challenges, but I now know why as I learn more about the cycle of feed and harvest. The attached photos give you a good view of what our vermiposter looks like, 4 plastic bins inside a wooden box with wheels which makes it great for presentations in classrooms. I also want to add that after my many presentations, students come running up to me after rain storms to say that they have saved worms by picking them up off the wet tarmac and putting them back onto grass or flower beds. The students have a better understanding of the role worms have in nature and why they are so important, so they now want to save as many as they can. :-)

So, we would like to extend our thanks to you and let you know that Vermiposting is a large part of the Eco culture at Rick Hansen P.S. in Aurora. The worms are happy, reproducing and giving us wonderful soil as a result.

Best regards

Kathleen R. Lacroix
Rick Hansen Public School

Children's Mental Health Access Centre
Kitchener, Ontario

I am a social worker who works with children and youth struggling with various mental health and behavioural issues. Recently, the agency I work for decided to “go green.” In order to help support this initiative I researched the possibility of vermicomposting. That is when I found Cathy. In speaking with Cathy I became enthusiastic regarding Red Wigglers and passionate about implementing this idea into my workplace.

Together Cathy and I developed a plan to bring Red Wigglers to my agency and introduce this topic to the youth. I must say I was nervous about how well it would go over, worms can be disgusting you know! To my amazement the youth were fascinated by Cathy and her presentation. She was able to excite the students and staff about her Red Wigglers! What was particularly amazing to me was how she was able to keep their attention. Picture this…a room full of 30 teenagers who have significant behavioural difficulties, all watching, listening and engaging with Cathy. They listened, participated and asked questions for an hour and a half. It was incredible!

Thanks to Cathy, we now have 4 vermicomposters at our agency and they are thriving! Both youth and adults are responsible for caring for the worms and they love it! I was so impressed at Cathy’s ability to engage these youth while stressing to them the importance of being environmentally responsible. Her presentation was both informative and interesting.

Thank you Cathy!

Kristin Eidse, MSW, RSW
Intake Social Worker
Children's Mental Health Access Centre
Kitchener, Ontario

Cathy's Crawly Composters

Bradford, Ontario
Local: (905) 775-9495
Toll Free: 1-888-775-9495
email us at: cathy@cathyscomposters.com

To find out more about Cathy's Composters, Cathys Sprouters and Cathy's Laughter visit our websites:
www.cathyscomposters.com

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