'Bookworm' project in Guelph encourages composting
A project in Guelph is encouraging residents to let their literature be devoured by the real 'bookworms.'
The Bookworm Project at Double Rainbow Café is asking readers to donate books they have an emotional conflict with so they can be composted and fed to actual worms.
"It's also a way of encouraging people to think about items that they own and that they have in their world that they could let go of," said project creator Karen Houle.
The conflict with the book could be that it's tied to a difficult, personal relationship, may contain stereotypes readers don't agree with, or just have an aspect that feels outdated.
"This one is full of lots of 'helpful advice' from the 19th century about how you should or should not raise an infant," said donor Canace De Taeye.
Once the books are donated, the worms get to turning it into compost.
"The customers love it, mostly," said café owner Kimberley England. "Some of them are creeped out by worms, but the worms aren't very visible."
Houle, a former university professor, says the project is not about censorship or endorsement, but that it falls more under the eco-art category.
"It turns something negative or conflicted into something positive, which is soil," said Houle.
Anyone donating a book is invited to write down why they have a conflict with it. Donors also get to take home some of the soil.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted in Ontario double homicide: DOJ
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an 'innocent' couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Ontario school board trustees under fire for $100K religious art purchase on Italy trip
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
A photographer snorkeled for hours to take this picture
Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal
Three tobacco giants are proposing to pay close to $25 billion to provinces and territories and more than $4 billion to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and their loved ones as part of a corporate restructuring process triggered by a long-running legal battle.
More Trudeau cabinet ministers not running for re-election, sources say shuffle expected soon
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell CTV News at least one other, Marie-Claude Bibeau, doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
Robert Pickton's handwritten book seized after his death in hopes of uncovering new evidence
A handwritten book was seized from B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton's prison cell following his death earlier this year, raising hopes of uncovering new evidence in a series of unprosecuted murders.
Former members of One Direction say they're 'completely devastated' by Liam Payne's death
The former members of English boy band One Direction reacted publicly to the sudden death of their bandmate, Liam Payne, for the first time on Thursday, saying in a joint statement that they're 'completely devastated.'
Israel says it has killed top Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar in Gaza
Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man.
Indian government employee charged in foiled murder-for-hire plot in New York City
The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.