Specifications for all materials:

• No trash

• No invasive/aggressive plants such as poison ivy, knotweed, virginia creeper 

• watch for vines and root systems in materials

• No snake worms (see photos below)
  

• Explore the top 2 - 3 inches of materials and look for the worms

Soil building materials

​Accepted materials:

​     wood chips, hard or softwood

     sawdust/shavings, hard or softwood

     leaves and pine needles, any kind from trees

     cardboard, corrugated, undied

     compost - lots!

     manure, raw or composted

​Wood chips

Hard or softwood

Best from recently cut trees (to avoid piles on the ground that might have snake worms)​

Sawdust/shavings

Hard or softwood

Great to mix with manure for composting, also useful in a soil building mix

Leaves and pine needles, any kind from trees

Please only give us leaves or pine needles if you are positive there are no snake worms in your yard! (see photos below)

Cardboard

Remove all tape and staples (glue is okay)

Flatten boxes

Larger pieces are preferred

Plain, corrugated (not colored)

Compost

Manure compost or food scrap compost

No recognizable food scraps (to prevent wildlife from foraging)

No trash

Manure 

Can be fresh or aged

Any animal manure

With or without bedding

Separate on site by type

Donated plants

No aggressive or invasive plants, such as: goutweed, loosestrife (add more…)

Do they match our design?

Here's what snake worms look like.

Here is a good website about snake worms, or jumping worms:

https://arboretum.wisc.edu/news/arboretum-news/research-update-jumping-worms-and-sleeping-cocoons/

It also tells about their cocoons that overwinter and grow in the spring. So it's not enough to just watch for the worms!