Small Creatures, Big Impact: Worm farming at any scale from backyard to community

Worms are quiet achievers. A backyard worm farm can process a household's food scraps into rich vermicast fertiliser — teeming with beneficial microbes, minerals, and trace elements — in a matter of weeks. Scale that up to a community garden, a school, or a neighbourhood hub, and the impact multiplies fast.

On Sunday 11 October, LOCCAL is hosting an online conversation with Kim Frankowiak from Great Southern Living Soil — a professional vermiculturalist with 20 years of hands-on experience. Kim will share practical insights for everyone from the home composter with a single bin to the community group or small farmer wanting to scale up their operation.

Date
Sunday 11 October 2026

Time

NSW, VIC, TAS, ACT (AEDT): 7 – 7.50pm

QLD (AEST): 6 – 6.50pm

SA, NT (ACDT): 6.30 – 7.20pm

WA (AWST): 5 – 5.50pm

The LOCCAL Annual General Meeting will follow directly after at 8pm. You're welcome to attend one or both, LOCCAL Annual General Meeting 2026: Our community shapes our future

What Kim will coverKim's presentation will walk through worm farming systems at three different scales:

• Domestic worm farms — including popular systems like the Hungry Bin and Worm Cafe, with practical do's and don'ts for getting the best results at home

• Fridge-style worm farms — a step up from the domestic bin, ideal for households or small groups wanting to process more scraps

• Row worm farms — a larger-scale system suited to small farmers, community gardens, and neighbourhood composting hubs

After Kim presents, we'll open the floor for questions and community discussion. We'll also be featuring photos, videos and questions submitted by the community beforehand — so the more you send in, the richer the conversation.

Make this event your own — send us your content

We want this to be a real community conversation. Before the event, you're warmly invited to:

• Send in a question for Kim — anything you've always wanted to ask a professional worm farmer

• Share a photo or short video of your worm farm — we may feature it on the night

• Share a tip, a win, or something that surprised you about worm farming

Send everything to info@loccal.org by Friday 9 October with the subject line Small Creatures. Let us know if you're happy for your content to be shared with the group.

About Kim Frankowiak — Great Southern Living Soil

Kim Frankowiak is the founder of Great Southern Living Soil and a passionate vermiculturalist with 20 years of hands-on worm farming experience.

After a career in engineering and multinational mining project management, Kim studied microbiology at Curtin University and developed a deep interest in soil science and regenerative agriculture. In 2007 he started with a small worm farm from his local council — and through research, trial and error, developed practical systems that produce high-quality worm castings and liquid fertiliser.

Today, based in Denmark, Western Australia, Kim runs commercial-scale production at Great Southern Living Soil while delivering hands-on workshops and practical support for community gardens, local shires and councils. His work has helped improve soil health across residential, community and municipal projects, and in 2015 he received an environmental award from the City of Vincent for his contributions to sustainable practice.

Kim is also a graduate of the late Dr Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web School and incorporates the importance of microbial soil health into everything he teaches.

greatsouthernlivingsoil.com.au

About LOCCAL

LOCCAL is the Local Community Compost Alliance of Australia — a volunteer-run not-for-profit connecting, supporting, and amplifying grassroots composting across the country. This event operates on a sliding scale — including a free option — so that everyone in our community can participate regardless of their financial situation. Every contribution goes directly toward supporting community composting across Australia.