Ahhh … university … your halls smell so sweet. Well folks. This story is about one of those strange idiosyncrasies of life. About how people get worked up over little things. My tale begins with a simple desire. The desire to live a sustainable life and explore the multifaceted world of sustainable engineering. And so, of-course, where else to begin ones study but the humble earthworm 🙂
The humble earthworm. Ah yes. They’re the cutest little things, aren’t they? … Oh, I know what you’re thinking. “Ewweew! Gross!” …. Well, once upon a time, I thought so too. But in the last two weeks, my viewpoint has forever been altered.
Having come to Edinburgh University, I’d expected to encounter an institute making great leaps and strides in sustainable engineering. But, alas, all was not right in these sweet university halls. I’m in THE Institute – you know the one … the one where a huge effort is underway on a new generation of WIND, WAVE and TIDAL energy generation systems. Wow! You say. That’s amazing! And yes indeed it is. But, beware … don’t mention solar energy … for there is no solar energy in dreary grey and wet Scotland. Nope … none at all. Not a single photon.
Well all this is besides the point. You see, I had a rummy idea. My impression of Edinburgh is that it’s not a particularly sustainable city. Surprising considering that Edinburgh hopes to become the most sustainable city in northern Europe by 2015. … I don’t think this is likely to happen. “Why so skeptical Siraj?”, you ask … Excellent question dear reader. Well many reasons, but none I’m going to list at the present time – intellectually lazy would be a completely justifiable description.
Now, my idea. Yes. Well, I woke up one morning thinking of hands-free worm composters. I thought to myself … “why not give it a whirl?” So, I did some research to make sure I could handle earthworms without being infected by some horrible disease. Then, promptly found a local supplier, ordered a kilogram of the little critters and had them shipped to the University. And so it was, a few days later I got myself a bucket of worms! Here they are below:
The first day I got them, they weren’t rolling around as you see in the pictures. They were hidden away in nutrient rich dirt with little round green egg-like things on the surface – which as I later discovered were, in-fact, eggs! The pictures above are from 1-2 days later. And I think the eggs hatched resulting in the swarm in the right hand picture. I’m a bit suspicious though – they don’t look like baby worms.
While I was busy taking care of my beautiful little creatures. A storm was brewing at the University. For rumours had spread. Someone had ordered worms and had them in a University office, at that! No no no! Bad Ph.D. student! Bad!
The University responded promptly to correct this deviant behaviour: A visit from one of the head administrators of the Institute. Alas, unfortunately, I wasn’t there in the office. So my poor colleague got a lecture about health and safety at the University instead. An email was circulated through the Institute mailing list about how, among other personal items, worms were not an appropriate thing to order to the University. I got the impression that the email had a rather specific person in mind. Who’d have thunk, eh?
During this interval, not one person had bothered to come and ask me why I had ordered the worms or what I intended to do with them. Every item I’ve ever ordered to the University has been related mostly to my Ph.D. and occasionally to other interesting engineering projects. These expenditures have all come from my own pocket. And the worms were no different. Had anyone asked, I would have told them about my intention to build a hands free electronically monitored indoor worm composting system. In fact, the worms were to test the viability of a device like this. After all I needed some familiarity with these cute creatures before deciding if my idea was worth pursuing and, correspondingly, worth applying for a grant for.
Earthworms induce a certain perception …. germs! Disease! … Oh god, gross!. The ick! factor … “Oh, Siraj why take such an ENORMOUS risk? You could get sick!” … and “Its irresponsible putting other people’s life at risk!!!”
Yes, its true. I do risky things. But, all my risks are taken from an informed perspective. I usually start from paranoia and move to a more reasonable attitude. Paranoia is a useful tool for survival – however, it’s intrinsically irrational and so should never be used to restrict avenues of education or innovation. Blanket (and unjustified) restrictions to what you can and can’t bring into a university environment effectively ensures that students and staff alike are fitted into a very small box with their hands tied behind their backs. Perhaps, not an appropriate stance for an educational institution.
I’ve never liked insects particularly. And yet even I have to admit that the belief that earthworms are dirty and disease ridden is a somewhat false notion – unless you eat them or rub them on open wounds or shove them through orifices, they are unlikely to cause any health problems – especially when they are enclosed in a water tight bucket! …. Really … When encountering an earthworm, I recommend common sense and you’ll probably emerge unscathed.
Worms are an integral part of our soil and agricultural land, and certainly come into regular contact with food crops. I know of quite a few people who have eaten unsterilized fruits and vegetables without washing them and survived. I submit to you, thus, that perhaps, worms aren’t as much of a health and safety risk as some of us would like to believe.
The University uses terms like sustainable development to attract new students, however, this appears to be a marketing strategy. There is a need for some among the old guard to move from talking the talk to walking the walk. Engaging with staff and students who are making an effort to understand sustainability can go a long way. Treating them like they’re doing something wrong – well … when has that ever helped anyone?