CSES Student Club Honored for Work with Students on Holt Middle School Garden

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CSES Student Club members include (from left) senior Brooke Mosely, sophomore Patience Vaught, senior Madison Brown (president) and sophomore Paul Wolf.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Based on a service-learning project with Holt Middle School in Fayetteville, the Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Club from the U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences earned third-place honors in national poster presentation competition.

The U of A group, which included seniors Madison Brown and Brooke Mosely, and sophomores Patience Vaught and Paul Wolf, competed at the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America meeting in Phoenix in November. Brown, Mosely and Vaught are environmental, soil and water science majors while Wolf is in crop science.

The outreach project focused on educating middle school students on pulses, which are part of the legume family harvested for the dry seed. They are high in protein and fiber, and low in fat. Common varieties include all beans, peas and lentils such as baked beans, red and green beans, chickpeas and black-eyed peas, among others.

"The CSES Club had the privilege of working with Holt Middle School this fall to educate the gardening club about pulses and how these crops are not only healthy, but also a very cost-effective food option," Brown, club president, said. "Our goal at the end of this project was to have taught these wonderful and intelligent kids about how pulses can positively impact their daily lives and equip them with the knowledge they need to make smart food choices every day." 

The group presented information showing servings of pulses are a fraction of the costs of beef, pork and chicken while providing rich sources of complex carbohydrates, micronutrients, protein and B-vitamins.

The club created a farm-to-table experience for students through hands-on experiences, and discussions on the nutritional benefits and recipes throughout the growth stages. Students sampled pulses in dishes including brownies, edamame, hummus and lentil soup.

Club members worked with Holt Middle School's Garden Club and helped students in their garden, emphasizing the importance of adding nutrient rich, cost-conscious foods into their garden and diets.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.