Composted – a Festival of Biodegradable Ideas
This event programme is designed to connect gardeners, scientists, environmentalists, and everyone in the local community in celebration of the life in our compost.
The programme centres on a self-guided garden trail and compost studio area showcasing approaches to composting large and small, alongside creative and practical workshops, and a conference event with Michael Kennard of Compost Club, fresh from appearing on Gardeners World. One exciting part of the festival is the chance to see the tiny, living creatures inside our compost under a microscope with local specialists Steading and Co and the chance to take home a Cambo compost ‘mother’ to develop your own garden compost too.
‘Composted’ will highlight how composting and other waste management approaches help to create healthier soil, trap carbon, and support biodiversity, while connecting traditional gardening methods with new ideas in sustainability practices that anyone can try with the space they have available at home or in their garden.
Cambo Heritage Trust Managing Director Keri Ivins said:
‘Composted is a fantastic programme to highlight and celebrate the unseen life in our soil and promote discussion and action on ways we can support biodiversity in large, small and creative ways. We have been developing approaches over several years at Cambo to manage our beautiful walled garden with nature in mind and want this festival to be an opportunity to share what we do and learn from other inspiring people to get everyone engaged with composting at whatever scale they can manage. We believe this is the UK’s first compost festival so join us to make it a good one!’
Event programme:
Composted at Garden Futures: V&A Dundee – visit the Cambo composted beds outside V&A Dundee as we work to improve the soil health of the area using Cambo Compost with monitoring from Steading and Co to see how it develops over the run of the Garden Futures exhibition.
Daily from 31 May – Compost Studio and ‘Dead but Alive’ walking trail 10am – 5pm
Pick up a map to explore the nooks and crannies of Cambo on our interpretative trail to see all the ways we are trying to promote life around the garden using creative processes you can use at home to manage garden and kitchen waste.
From our dead hedges, standing dead wood sculptures, habitat piles to varied techniques in our compost studio and No Dig Edible Garden area we hope you will join us in our mission to create better life in our compost and support biodiversity in our garden and yours.
Sundays 1 June to 27 July 10.30am
Composted Stay and Play sessions – create and make compostable crafts, see the science in our soil and enjoy a composted campfire. Free, drop in for families.
Saturday 7 June
Build a Compost Cake with Head Gardener Callum. This innovative method layers carbon, nitrogen, and soil to create humus-rich compost in six months—no turning needed! Transform garden waste into a living, nutrient-dense soil conditioner for your garden.
Saturday 14 June
No Dig at Cambo – Join Katherine to explore the past few years of experience developing our ‘No Dig’ edible garden area with a walk and talk from the studio to the garden highlighting what we do and what we have learned so far inspired by ‘No Dig’ champion Charles Dowding.
Saturday 21st June
Biodegradable Ideas – Composted Conference
Celebrate regenerative practices with a range of insightful speakers including Michael Kennard of Compost Club and Head Gardener Callum Halstead. Learn how soil health and sustainable practices transform ecosystems, get under the microscope with soil analysis from Steading & Co, network and create with local environmental organisations culminating with some live music and home-grown cooking to enjoy the beautiful grounds on midsummer’s evening.
Event listing page for more information –
