Steve Churchill is the founder and owner of the Urban Worm Company. A dad, a husband, a combat-decorated veteran, a Buckeye, and a proud American, Steve is a joyful promoter of vermicomposting via the Urban Worm Company.

He grew up near the small town of Sunbury, Ohio about 25 minutes north of Columbus and attended college at Ohio University. Upon graduation, Steve enrolled in graduate school and Air Force ROTC at The Ohio State University, receiving a Master's Degree in Journalism and a commission as an Air Force officer in June 1999.

After Air Force flight school in Del Rio, Texas, Steve flew the mighty C-17 Globemaster III and the MQ-9 Reaper for the next 22 years before his retirement in May 2022.

Steve has been a pilot for Southwest Airlines since 2007 and lives with his wife and their 2 children in the Philadelphia suburb of Plymouth Meeting, PA.

Our History

Steve burns fossil fuel for a living. So why would he do this?

After starting a hot compost pile in 2011, Steve was fascinated by the worms that moved into the pile after it cooled. The worms transformed the compost into a rich, dark material that looked like coffee grounds. Steve was hooked and began reading more about the amazing work these creatures do.

After achieving some success with very small-scale vermicomposting, Steve started the Urban Worm Company in 2014 and it was simply a blog aimed at teaching beginning vermicomposters about the basics of how earthworms can recycle organic waste into a valuable fertilizer.

After slowly building an enthusiastic online readership, Steve became interested in the entrepreneurial side of vermicomposting and vermiculture and the Urban Worm Company blog began featuring profiles of other business owners in the community.

He also began assisting other entrepreneurs in website design, copywriting, and marketing, and was asked to present at the 2017 Vermiculture Conference at North Carolina State University.

Motivated by both entrepreneurship and a passion for the good worms can do, Steve has grown "UWC" from a blog into a growing business with 7 figures of annual revenue as of 2022.