Looking for a way to your lady’s heart this Valentine’s Day? Want to keep chicks happy and warm? Want to ensure the survival of future generations? Try building a compost pile! This tactic works for our mates down under. Let me explain.

The Australian Brush Turkey Alectura lathami builds compost piles to attract mates and to hatch eggs. It is quite a unique process:

The males build large nests on the ground made of leaves, other combustible material and earth, 1 to 1.5 metres high and up to 4 metres across. The eggs are hatched by the heat of the composting mound which is tended only by the males who regulate the temperature by adding or removing material in an effort to maintain the temperature of the mound in the 33-35°C incubation temperature range. The Australian Brush Turkey checks the temperature by sticking its beak into the mound.

Amazing.

This bird is our hero. It constructs robust compost piles. It provides for future generations. It keeps the home nest warm. It is a communal bird with a communal nest. It monitors the compost pile with precision and care. This bird is, quite appropriately, our unofficial mascot here at Fraser Richmond Soil & Fibre, Harvest’s composting facility in the lower mainland of BC: we put him on our hats!

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, and spring around the next corner, we are ready to go with heaps of high-quality compost.

Story and photos: Meredith Sorensen, Harvest, Outreach Manager