A couple of weeks ago I started a new compost collective called “Hilde’s Heap” in my Minneapolis neighborhood. This collective is named after St. Hildegard of Bingen, the 12^th century naturalist, abbess, composer, artist, and mystic, who said – “The truly holy person welcomes all that is earthly.” Hilde’s Heap is a hyper-local holy experiment in neighbor-love and earth care, and the weekly rhythm of tending to the collective is a spiritual practice that grounds me in God’s presence as I live and move through these death-dealing, ecologically devastating times.

Here's a little about the genesis of Hilde’s Heap. I developed a passion for compost this spring.  Back in 2021 when I became a Master Gardener in Hennepin County, I was inspired to get going with compost – and my woodworker husband built me a beautiful 3-bin system on the side of our house. For four years, I simply dumped our food waste in the bin without doing anything more. The bins are covered, and the dry environment and lack of turning meant that decomposition was very very slow. Four years later, I still didn’t have compost for my garden.

Finally, this spring, I read a little about composting and started layering ‘greens’ and ‘browns,’ watering the layers to the right dampness, and turning weekly. The first time I went out and discovered that the heap was 140 degrees, I was ecstatic! Those microbes were having a smorgasbord disco party right there on the side of my house. The steam rose to God like incense. What life! What transformation! I was hooked. My spring heap matured into beautiful compost with weekly turning and attention in about a month’s time, and my garden was very happy to receive the extra goodness this summer.

Before long I started dreaming about how I could do more with compost. I have a huge front-yard garden on our tiny city lot – with 2 fruit trees, a serviceberry bush, 2 red currant bushes, raspberries, strawberries, and lots of flowers, vegetables and herbs. I want to keep the soil food web happy and my family and community delighted and nourished with the abundance of our garden. One day when turning my heap, the vision of getting neighbors involved in a new hyper-local compost economy came to me. Hilde’s Heap was born.

The weekly rhythm goes like this. On week one, I distributed 5 Gallon buckets to all 10 households that are participating – all households within a 3-block radius of my house. I included a list of what can go in the bucket and what can’t. Every Saturday, I roll my squeaky old wagon around the neighborhood, picking up buckets and bringing them back to my compost bins, emptying them and returning them rinsed for the following week. I turn, add, layer, water, tend…and once the compost is mature, I will give each neighbor a glorious 5 Gallon bucket of garden gold.

This holy experiment is so much more than just about compost. Just a couple of weeks in, I have enjoyed multiple spontaneous neighborly interactions and discoveries. I am arranging a day for some homeschooled kids to come over to help out for their ‘science’ class. One neighbor saw me pulling my wagon and gave me 2 extra buckets he was about to throw away. We intend to harvest our neighbors’ fallen leaves this fall for a ready free source of ‘browns’ for the heap. I love being in my neighbors’ lives and imagining how a hyper-local economy of sharing could continue to emerge right here. Jesus said “the kingdom of God is among you.” I’m grateful to glimpse this upside-down kingdom and the miracle of death turning into life as I tend Hilde’s Heap.