Don't go chuckin' your pumpkin in the landfill!

Source: http://www.annarbor.com/news/saline/great-pumpkin-roll-races-smashes-composts-pumpkins/

 

 

Some folks get pumpkins for Halloween, some for Thanksgiving, and some just to celebrate fall.  One thing is for sure, pumpkins abound at this time of year.  Although pumpkins are a minor crop for North Carolina growers, they still take up an estimated 3000 to 4000 acres of production per year!  Illinois is the number one pumpkin producing state, putting out nearly 5 million pounds per year.  Imagine if all of those pumpkins ended up in the landfill.  Below is a list of ideas for how you can use your pumpkin to it's max and keep it out of the landfill when it's final days have come:

 

Source: http://pan.intrasun.tcnj.edu/501/projects/
Asay/pumpkinsciencelesson.htm

1. Remove the seeds and make a delicious, healthy snack!  All it takes is a little oil and some salt.  Roast your seeds at 300 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Check them often and stir them around.

 

2. Conduct a science experiment with your kids.  Try and determine if there is a correlation between size of pumpkin and the number of seeds.  This involves getting multiple sized pumpkins and counting the seeds in each one.  Don't forget to come up with a hypothesis first! 

 



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3. Save the pumpkin guts for making a broth.  Mix the innards with some water and bring it to a boil on the stove.  Once the water boils, reduce the heat and let is simmer.  The longer the better.  Also mix with carrots, celery, and other vegetables good for making a stock.  Once you are satisfied with the flavor, you can strain the solids out of your broth.  Then throw them in the compost heap!

 

4.  When your pumpkin has finally slumped and is starting to attract bugs and other fauna, don't throw it away!  Composting is a faster and safer process if you first chunk your scraps into smaller pieces.  Here is where fun for the kids comes in.  Pumpkin smashing with permission!  Make sure no person or thing will be harmed, and your pumpkin chucking can't be construed as vandalism and then let the kids smash away.  To make it more fun and raise awareness, you can organize a neighborhood event, or even challenge each other to make the most effective pumpkin sling shot.  If you turn the age old neighborhood prank into an event approved and managed by adults, you'll be sure to see premature pumpkin smashing decline on your street.

 

Learning Extensions: As always, you can optimize most activities into learning moments for your children.  Talk about why you are smashing your pumpkins and trying to use them for all they are worth.  You could even turn it into a field trip to your local landfill.  Remember, don't focus on the negative environmental impacts with small children.  Just show them where our trash goes and explain that we are helping by trying to reduce our waste that goes there by composting things that bugs, bacteria, and fungi like to consume!  And by doing so, you are creating your own microcosmic ecosystem in your backyard.