Last week we caught up with our favourite composter, Hannah (aka The Worm Monger) and chatted all about how she first started composting to the pros and cons of being a compost influencer.
If you don’t know who the amazing Worm Monger is, she’s a PhD student, composter, influencer, mother and so much more. We’ve known Hannah for over 2 years now and can undoubtedly say that she’s a pretty cool human. That’s why we figured she'd be perfect to feature first in our new segment, Humans of Monty, where we’ll be profiling some of the most inspirational compost people out there.
If you’d like to see more of Hannah and follow what she does, all of her links are listed at the end of the blog.
When and how did Hannah first get into composting?
The parents of The Worm Monger composted with a worm farm for over twenty years so Hannah has always been exposed to it her entire life, taking out any sort of “ick” factor. When she then moved to Israel for work several years ago, she found being in a completely new country pretty lonely and, looking for a wholesome hobby, decided to set up a rooftop garden where she lived. The worm farm was set up after “randomly finding a worm provider” and as the garden flourished, so did the people she met and the community she built.
How did Hannah start her current composting hub and how is it managed?
Upon returning from Israel, Hannah started with her personal home compost and slowly expanded it by inviting her neighbours to take part. It has since taken off and officially reached three tonnes (!!) but with its massive success comes massive responsibility and it’s gotten to the point where she needs to improve the operation’s efficiency.
Hannah’s biggest tip to someone who wants to compost?
Wondering how you could be a compost queen like Hannah? Her biggest tip is to just do it. “Get your hands dirty because if you mess up it's not the end of the world”. A lot of people have fear over starting to compost and, according to the expert herself, it's just about giving it a go and getting started.
What made Hannah decide to start sharing compost content on social media?
The Worm Monger Instagram page was initially just something that she started to share her gardening journey in Israel while educating and entertaining people. That kind of content is clearly something that the people do want though because, from those humble beginnings, it's grown from zero to a whopping 16.4k!
So what does and doesn’t she like about social media then?
For Hannah (and for us as well), her least favourite thing is how focused on advertising social media has gotten. Utilising her account can sometimes make her feel, and this is a direct quote, “like being part of the ‘Zuckerberg Machine’ ” and that’s something that’s pretty scary. On the other hand though, it's allowed her to create a global community to educate and spread the word of compost to which makes social media kind of essential.
And it doesn’t end there! How has composting and gardening affected Hannah’s life in other ways?
When Hannah returned from Israel, she was on maternity leave and then unfortunately COVID-19 hit hard. While she knew she could've gotten a new job if needed, something made her want to take her Worm Monger platform further and make it the absolute powerhouse it has become today.
This would not have been possible without the power of compost, which is one of the reasons we love Hannah so much. The Worm Monger believes that “composting has affected her life in so many ways because it always surprises her with something new every day”.
We couldn’t agree more.
How can you keep following Hannah’s journey?
Be sure to check out Hannah for more compost content and tips. You can visit her website through this link here or click here for her Instagram account.
For our worm lovers, she also has a fantastic information-packed e-book for $4.99 which you can download here.
If you loved this one, be sure to stay tuned for our next Humans of Monty feature! We also have so much other exciting content coming up soon so be sure to follow our Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, YouTube and LinkedIn to not miss a single one.
Special composters can also pre-order a Monty here.