As a final project, soon-to-be master composters might arrange to help local community gardens by building different types of compost bins. A wood pallet type bin might be constructed at one community garden, a wire mesh bin at another. After building the bins, composters could aid the gardeners in creating compost by arranging for the proper components of green and brown wastes, asking a local horse farm for a contribution of manure, local nurseries for fertilizer, or for homeowners to bring by yard or kitchen wastes.
Master composters will be in demand as teachers of the art. Teaching composting workshops to community organizations or to block parties, organizing composting science classes at local schools, or giving presentations on the value of composting to civic associations such as Rotary Clubs would satisfy final project requirements. Training and teaching others will be a major component of a master composter's opportunity to serve.
Interest in all aspects of gardening has grown exponentially over the last decade, as has demand for information regarding sustainable living. Master composters will be able to provide valuable advice to many diverse groups. Creating brochures, posters and newsletters on composting topics would be worthy final projects. Composing fact sheets on different aspects of composting such as composting with worms, aerobic or anaerobic composting, or carbon to nitrogen ratios are ways of providing needed information to interested community members.
Research projects could include a study to discover how a greenhouse could be heated by compost piles or bins; creating a recipe for a compost "starter," and testing its effectiveness; a study of differing schedules and ways of aerating a compost bin or pile and its effects on temperature of the compost; and how various kitchen scraps affect growth of red wigglers, the worms used for composting. Each research project would be designed, written up and presented to the class of master composters. These projects could then be turned into fact sheets or brochures for future classes.