Food Waste to Bunny Taste: Demonstrating the benefits of rabbit manure in building healthy soil and climate resilience in urban environments.

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures, food loss and waste recovery/reduction, food loss and waste recovery/reduction

Food waste and organic waste across the food supply chain contributes to environmental impacts such as: soil degradation, air pollution, and climate change. According to the “Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics” released on December 2, 2023 as a joint effort on behalf of the USDA, EPA, and FDA, food waste is the single most common material found in landfills and is responsible for 58% of landfill methane emissions released to the atmosphere. New and beginning urban farmers and ranchers in the St. Louis region consistently seek education and training on innovative and cost-effective practices to build soil health as many are growing on vacant lots and in need of soil amendments. Through this project,  we provided education to new and beginning, small-scale urban farmers and ranchers on raising rabbits as a means to building urban soil health through the delivery of on-farm field days, farm tours, and one-on-one's. Field days included demonstrations on: rabbit care & disease prevention, rabbit housing design & maintenance, manure catchment systems, manure application to soil, food waste handling, and soil health 101. Alongside these education activities, we installed a 24/7 food waste drop off location to collect food waste that could either be rescued and distributed to food insecure community members or used to supplement our rabbits' diet. We conducted outreach to neighborhood residents, businesses, and community-based organizations to participate in food waste diversion activities. We collected more than 2,000 pounds of food waste over the course of the project period with approximately 20% of this food waste going to our rabbits, reducing the amount we spent on commercial rabbit pellets. At New Roots Urban Farm, we utilized rabbit manure as our sole soil amendment and observed improved soil structure and moisture retention in our soil. Through the use of pre- and post-event surveys, we assessed the following amongst participants: 1.) an increase in understanding of soil health fundamentals; 2.) an increase in understanding of the benefits of rabbit manure for soil health; and 3.) greater confidence in integrating livestock into urban farming operations. 

This project focused on providing education and demonstrations to new and beginning urban farmers and ranchers on how to build sustainable farming and ranching operations by: 1.) diverting food waste and organic waste from landfills and converting it into animal food for rabbits; and 2.) utilizing rabbit manure to build urban soil health. Through this practice, urban farmers and ranchers can contribute to reducing methane gas emissions and building climate resilience through recovering nutrients to be reintroduced into the soil through rabbit manure. We sought to demonstrate how rabbits can add value to small-scale urban farming and ranching operations and soil health in urban environments as rabbits are natural composters and aid in the food waste and organic waste recycling process. This practice can benefit farmers and ranchers by reducing rabbit food expenses and providing an alternative to synthetic fertilizers while building soil health. This project included 8 educational demonstrations and field days hosted at New Roots Urban Farm’s demonstration site for new and beginning farmers and ranchers to receive education on recycling food waste and organic waste through composting and conversion to animal feed; raising rabbits with proper care and housing; introducing rabbit manure into urban soil; and observing and evaluating soil structure and moisture retention. We provided hands-on demonstrations on: utilizing proper tools for working with food waste and organic waste; how to install housing and shelter for rabbits that is safe, appropriately spaced, and protected from inclement weather; how to clean rabbit housing; how to sort and safely feed rabbits food waste and ensure their food, water, and nutritional needs are met; how to properly care for the health of rabbits and prevent against disease and parasites; how to set up rabbit manure collection system; and methods for applying rabbit manure to soil. Teaching methods also included individual technical assistance and mentorship to farmers and ranchers seeking to implement these practices in their operations. All demonstrations included a pre-event survey collecting information from participants on their knowledge levels on the topic and a post-event survey where participants provided feedback on: the relevance of the information presented, improved understanding on the topics presented, their interest and likelihood of adopting practices in their operations, and an option to request follow-up technical assistance. We used the following materials in this project: rakes, shovels, gloves, hand trowels, leaf blower, organic waste bags, wood and leaf mulcher, rabbit hutches, rabbit feeders, rabbit water bottles, rabbit manure collection troughs. 

Objectives:

1. Evaluate the usefulness of rabbit manure in soil quality/health.  

2. Evaluate increase in knowledge and intention of new and beginning and small-scale urban farmers and ranchers in raising rabbits to build urban soil health. 

3. Install 24 hr food waste and organic waste drop off location, the first of its kind in North St. Louis City.  

4. Share findings through consistent documentation and outreach and two conference presentations.