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7 September 2007 Some of the world’s most iconic personalities including the likes of Charlize Theron, Nelson Mandela, Leonardo Dicaprio, Robbie Williams, Kate Moss, Tiger Woods and Samuel L Jackson have all experienced the Mount Nelson’s stylish accommodation and now the hotel’s famous earthworms will also experience its famous, lavish and personalised service too. An improvement to the existing worm farm, otherwise known as the Mount Nelson’s Vermiculture Project, that was established a year ago as a pilot project, the worms will now officially be housed in their very own ‘hotel’. A structure has specially been built to accommodate 120 000 worms and it is projected that within six months of moving in, the worm family will grow to 240 000 worms!
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| | The project is the brainchild of Mary Murphy and Roger Jaques of FullCyle. Both are environmental activists involved in optimising waste disposal solutions. Rather than waste ending up in landfills or polluting groundwater it can now – with the assistance of the earthworms – be put back into mother earth and be utilised as fertiliser and soil conditioner.
Earthworms are unique little creatures. They do not harbour any bacteria or viruses harmful to humans and are completely free of parasites. They eat harmful organisms and excrete masses of beneficial organisms in their droppings known as worm casts. All leftover scraps and organic matter from the Mount Nelson’s breakfast buffets, the popular daily Afternoon Tea spread and dinners will be eaten and processed by the earthworm family, turning it into the finest soil conditioner. This end product, known as ‘worm tea’, is extremely rich in nutrients and will have the grounds of the Mount Nelson blossoming in no time at all! No family is complete without a father-figure and the worms will be nurtured and looked after by Sibongile Mutewa, who has been employed by Full Cycle to separate the organic waste and feed the hungry creatures. Sibongile is also a Big Issue magazine vendor and the Wasteman Group has also come onboard by sponsoring the worms’ new home to show their support of the hotel’s endeavours to minimise waste. The company has for some years already, been contracted for the hotel’s waste removal process. The Mount Nelson’s horticulturalist Paul Rice, hosts monthly morning garden walks of the beautiful 9-acre city sanctuary and includes a visit to the worm farm culminating with a delicious Morning Tea at the hotel’s famous Lounge. These special morning teas are priced at R95.00 per person. Guided school tours can also be pre-arranged. For bookings call (27) (21) 483 1737 or email restaurantreservations@mountnelson.co.za. Interesting worm facts:
*480 litres of liquid fertiliser i.e. “worm tea” will be produced by the worms each month
*The earthworms will initially produce 60 – 80 kgs of vermicast and this will double within six months
*Initial waste process is roughly 480 kg per month, which the hotel aims to double to 1 ton within 6 months as the family grows in size
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