After retiring from a job where he made his living from the air, Bill Clark is enjoying his “retirement” at a much lower elevation—starting a worm casting business in Gloucester.

Clark, who retired recently after 32 years as an air traffic controller, now operates Moose Hill Worm Farm on Roaring Springs Road, about a quarter of a mile from the main entrance to Beaverdam Park. Partners in the business are his wife, Barbara, their daughter Robin, and Carolyn Fetter, all of Gloucester.

The partners purchased African night crawlers, a type of earthworm, Clark said, and they sort and package the worm castings, or as he described it “worm poop,” as a soil amendment that’s nutrient-rich.

At present, they have about 9,000 worms, Clark said, and plan eventually to have several hundred thousand worms all contributing to the soil enhancer that they sell at several farmers’ markets in the region. The worm product is also available at several retail loca...