It all started back in 2020, when Lauren Click was stuck quarantining in her Scottsdale apartment. Like many of us, she took up a new hobby—for her, it was gardening.

Around this time Click was gifted an electric composter. Although she appreciated the gift, and it got the job done, it tended to get jammed. A lot. Plus, it wasn’t exactly the most environmentally friendly tool to use for what is an otherwise sustainable practice, due to its reliance on electricity and plastic.

After visiting her sister, who also lived in a small city apartment, Click learned how to compost with worms. Inspired by her experience, Click finally said goodbye to her electric composter and ordered a worm tower. Needless to say, it was a total game-changer.

Composting quickly became more than a sustainability practice—it was her passion, one that she wanted to share with as many people as possible.

So, in 2022, the eco-activist founded Let’s Go Compost in Scottsdale, where she now resides.

Since then, the 501(c)(3) non-profit has provided 112 public schools across 10 states with free composting education, materials and hands-on support for teachers and students, “…empowering schools to take control of their food waste and turn it into a resource instead of landfill-bound waste,” says Click.

We recently sat down with Click to learn more.

Q&A With Lauren Click, Founder of Let’s Go Compost

A lot has happened since we last spoke. Please, fill us in.

It’s seriously so humbling to look back at where we started and see how much we’ve grown. Since 2022, Let’s Go Compost has expanded from a single school initiative to supporting 112 public schools across 10 states, with 102 schools here in Arizona. Seventy-five percent of schools we support are designated Title 1. We’ve provided free composting education, materials and hands-on/virtual support to teachers and students, empowering schools to take control of their food waste and turn it into a resource instead of landfill-bound waste.

Materials that we typically send to our schools include indoor worm farms, school garden units, books about soil and worms, gardening hand tools and gloves, and, of course, compost and worms. We love shopping local when we can and highly recommend the Arizona Worm Farm.

This rapid expansion has been fueled by partnerships with Stanley 1913, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Kroger, Bashas’, Whole Kids Foundation, M3F Music Festival and other incredible funders, ensuring that composting education is accessible at no cost to public schools. We are also so grateful to collaborate with national organizations, including the U.S. Composting Council and Pollinator Partnership.

This past January, I was named Young Professional of the Year 2025 by the U.S. Composting Council for my work in the industry. I also had the pleasure of serving as a Founding Board Member of the Arizona Composting Council, which took home Rookie Chapter of the Year 2025 by the U.S. Composting Council. I am very optimistic about the future of composting and soil in the state of Arizona, thanks to the dozens of incredible groups involved at the Arizona Composting Council, from universities and municipalities to composters and soil scientists alike.

Beyond schools, we’ve also worked with municipalities, waste haulers, the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary (the largest reptile sanctuary in North America, tucked away in a luxury neighborhood in North Scottsdale!) and community gardens to build localized, decentralized composting systems that support both urban and rural communities. I truly believe that decentralized composting is one of the best scalable tools for climate resilience in Arizona’s extreme environment.

What about your upcoming plans?

In 2024, I was selected as a beVisioneers Mercedes-Benz Fellow, an opportunity that provides mentorship, funding and global networking to scale impact-driven solutions. I am the only fellow currently located in Arizona. In April I will travel to Germany to present Let’s Go Compost’s growth and impact at the Fellowship’s Global Summit. This opportunity will allow me to highlight our work and connect us with international leaders in sustainability, circular economy and corporate responsibility. My goal is to learn from global food waste diversion models and bring back strategies that can further strengthen local composting efforts in Arizona and beyond.

How can people help support Let’s Go Compost?

We’re always looking for volunteers, community partners and schools interested in bringing composting to their campuses.

Anyone interested can:

-Download our free classroom composting program materials (we also have a Girl Scout version)

-Volunteer at local gardening or composting events—we share these on our social media as they come up.

-Support our mission by donating or sponsoring a school program. We accept gently used garden tools, if anyone is doing spring cleaning

To learn more about Let’s Go Compost, visit letsgocompost.org.