February 28 , 2007 |
1. Dedication and Anniversary Highlight Division Events
2. CSES Club Named Volunteer Group of the Year
1. Dedication and Anniversary Highlight Division Events
Two special Division of Agriculture events are scheduled this spring and summer in addition to usual lineup of field days.
The dedication of the Dan Felton, Jr. Building at the Lon Mann Cotton Research Center in Marianna is set for April 6 following the monthly meeting of the U of A Board of Trustees in the new headquarters building.
An event to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Northeast Research and Extension Center at Keiser is scheduled for August 23, with details to be announced.
Other events are scheduled as follows:
March 20: Cow-Calf Conference,Southwest Research & Extension Center, Hope.
April 6: Dedication of Dan Felton, Jr. Building at the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station, Marianna. Dedication follows monthly meeting of UA Board of Trustees.
April 17: Forage & Forestry Field Day, Livestock & Forestry Branch Station, Batesville.
April 26: (Beef and Forage Field Day (4:30 p.m.), Southeast Research & Extension Center, Monticello.
June 5: Blueberry & Blackberry Workshop, Fruit Substation, Clarksville.
Early August (TBD): Southern Pea Field Day, Vegetable Substation, Kibler.
August 8: Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart.
August 14: Arkansas Cattle Grower's Conference at Clark County Fairgrounds, Arkadelphia. Sponsored by Southwest Research & Extension Center.
August 16: Crops Field Day, Pine Tree Branch Station, Colt.
August 23: 50th Anniversary, Northeast Research & Extension, Keiser.
Dates to be Determined: Crops Field Day, Southeast Branch Station, Rohwer; Grape Workshop, Fruit Substation, Clarksville.
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2. CSES Club Named Volunteer Group of the Year
The Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences (CSES) Club received the 2006 Volunteer Group of the Year award from the City of Fayetteville's Department of Parks and Recreation for the club's project of helping to restore a wetland area at Bryce Davis Park in Fayetteville. The award was presented at the Department of Parks and Recreation's annual banquet in December at the Fayetteville Botanical Gardens Center.
Members of the CSES Club also won second place in the student poster contest for a poster about the wetland project at the Agronomy Society of America National Meeting in Indianapolis in November.
Dr. Chuck West, faculty sponsor, said the club's goals are to restore the wetland area to its natural state and increase public awareness about wetlands. Other faculty advisors are Dr. Mary Savin and Dr. Penyin Chen.
The club works at the park about two weekends a month removing invasive plant species such as Japanese honeysuckle, picking up trash, transplanting plants grown in greenhouses and field pots, and restoring native grasses and wetland plant species.
Vice president Josh Meyer said that about three-quarters of Arkansas wetlands have been destroyed in the last 50 years. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden's Web site, mbg.net, wetlands are disappearing at a rate of 300,000 acres annually in the United States. Meyer said wetlands provide the important functions of flood control, filtering contaminates from water, groundwater re-charge and habitat for wildlife.
The CSES club is also working to increase awareness about bio-fuels and sustainability. "One of our goals is the promotion of sustainability by composting," said Bodie Drake, club president. "We compost the plant waste we remove from the wetlands and give it to organic farmers; these organic farmers then use it in growing their organic vegetables. So it's really an effective way to promote sustainable living."
The CSES Club meets a few times a month and works at Bryce Davis Park about two times a month. Membership is open to all majors. "We have a good time and help give back to the environment," Meyer said.
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| VOLUNTEER AWARD: CSES Club members with the plaque for the 2006 Volunteer Group of the Year Award from the City of Fayetteville's Department of Parks and Recreation are Tiffany Bogan, Josh Meyer, Bodie Drake and Evy Rice. | CSES WORKERS: Tiffany Bogan, Josh Meyer and Bodie Drake remove invasive plant species from the wetland area at Bryce Davis Park. | ||
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| POSTER AWARD: Pictured with their award-winning poster at the ASA meeting in Indianapolis are Aaron Daigh, Josh Meyer, Lindsay Copenhaver, Ashley Rashe, Brittany Kaufman. |
AAES and Bumpers College Web sites:
http://aaes.uark.edu/
http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/