From left: Paul Pratt with Chesapeake, Jeannie Crnkovic with LSU AgCenter, Superintendent Ken Kruithof, Ricky Kilpatrick with LSU AgCenter, Burnadine Anderson, Troy Menard with LSU AgCenter, Sarie Joubert with Chesapeake, Johnny LeVasseur with LSU AgCenter, Louise McDonald (retired from LSU AgCenter), Dwight Landreneau with LSU AgCenter, Billy Montgomery, Kevin McCotter with Chesapeake.

Dr. Paul Coreil, Pace, Shuttleworth, Dr. Bobby Fletcher

Cummins, Peterson, Chesser

Awards, Recognition, Training

Northwest Louisiana represented at annual awards

The LSU AgCenter recognized individuals and faculty members for outstanding service at its annual conference.

Receiving the Denver T. and Ferne Loupe Extension Team Award were LSU AgCenter Family and Nutrition Program agents Vicky Chesser and Dr. Grace Peterson and horticulture agent Denyse Cummins. They are responsible for developing five community gardens in Shreveport. The program involved the construction of gardens that offered citizens an opportunity to consume fresh vegetables, learn about nutrition and instill pride in area neighborhoods.

The Rosalie Biven 4-H Youth Development Service Learning Award went to Katherine Pace and Lola B. Shuttleworth, LSU AgCenter 4-H agents in Caddo Parish. They were recognized for their efforts coordinating with area 4-H students in serving as mentors to younger students at the Allendale Friendship House. This after-school program taught valuable lessons through the use of educational programs, playing games and leading hands-on activities.

Red River Soil Brothers and Sisters win fitness challenge

The Red River Soil Brothers and Sisters finished in first place in the Chancellor’s Live Fit Challenge, and each member received an LSU AgCenter jacket at the annual conference.

Rusty Anderson, research associate, served as team leader, and other members were Jim Hayes, Darinda Dans, Eddie Millhollon, Carrie Fletcher, Sara Menard, Blair Buckley and Mary Ann Van Osdell.

The team logged 17,038,729 steps, an average of 681,549 per week. The most steps logged in one week were 779,309.

Total cups of fruit and vegetables consumed by the team were 7,825, with the average cups consumed per week at 313. The most consumed in one week were 348.

Two schools receive grants to create green environments

Two local schools have received $5,000 grants from the American Forest Foundation through Project Learning Tree to create green and healthy learning environments.

Oil City Elementary Magnet and Parkway High schools will be part of the PLT GreenSchools! Initiative, a new program that provides training and funding for prekindergarten through 12th-grade students and teachers to investigate environmental issues at their school and implement the action plans they develop through audits.

GreenWorks! service-learning projects give educators, students, families and community organizations the opportunity to work together to improve an aspect of their neighborhood’s environment, said Ricky Kilpatrick, LSU AgCenter agent who will organize and implement the projects. Kilpatrick is also state chair of PLT.

Students will assess current environmental conditions in and around their schools using a set of audits focusing on energy, waste and recycling, water, the schoolyard and transportation. Each audit consists of background information, a checklist, classroom inventories and a list of action items.

Teachers will receive a guidebook of lesson plans correlated to state academic standards. Participants learn how to integrate environmental education into their curriculum, conduct environmental school audits with their students and complete GreenWorks! service-learning projects.

The two northwest Louisiana schools will conduct energy audits and make recommendations based on the outcomes. The schools will then serve as models for the region to promote an environmentally positive and proactive philosophy.

Oil City Elementary School has 330 students and Parkway has 1,100.

Recently, Parkway math and science faculty met with LSU AgCenter personnel at the LSU AgCenter’s Red River Research Station in Bossier City, which is located about one mile from the new school. Plans are under way for the two groups to collaborate so AgCenter research scientists can provide a work/mentor role for selected students at the high school, Kilpatrick said.

Initial training for 10 math and science faculty members and 50 students will be the first step in the Parkway project. The students will be selected after nomination from all teachers. This group will then be trained to conduct audits, conduct the audits and develop an action plan to improve the campus environmentally. Audits will consider energy usage, water runoff and filtration and landscaping.

In addition to the trained audit leaders, as many as 300 other students will be involved in collecting, entering and organizing data. The Global Issues Club, 4-H Club and other student organizations will be active participants in the project. Blueprints of the school are available, allowing analyses of electrical usage, water runoff and landscaping issues.

Since Parkway is a newly constructed facility, comparison efforts will not be available, Kilpatrick said. However, energy conservation practices, landscape best management practices and other conservation practices adopted will be provided in the initial audit and shared with the national PLT office according to the timeline. If possible, energy-use data from the old facility will be obtained and compared to the new facility.

Oil City fifth-graders will be involved in a study of the amount of electricity used by the school during the past two years. The students will use monthly electric bills and graph the monthly usage. Students will form an energy census of the school and contact the parish with the results and recommendations.

The 2008-09 energy usage will reflect the completion of adding central air conditioning to all the school buildings. The students will compare pre- and post-central air conditioning and the cost of the electricity.

The students will complete a classroom energy audit and make recommendations to teachers on energy saving possibilities.

Based on this project, the students will develop a home energy audit the students will take home, complete and return to the school, Kilpatrick said. The energy team will then compile results and inform parents of the steps that can be taken to save on energy bills.

The sixth-graders will begin a mixed-paper collection site at the school, which is currently recycling newspaper and aluminum. Funds from recycling are used to buy playground equipment. The school also plans to implement a Christmas-tree planting and recycling program.

Both schools will employ the services of a consultant from Southwestern Electric Power Co. to assist with training for the energy audits.

All activities must conclude by the beginning of June 2010. Summary information and recommendations will be presented to the school boards and the national PLT office.

Project Learning Tree is an environmental education program of the American Forest Foundation developed in 1976. PLT has an international network of more than 500,000 trained educators using PLT materials that cover the total environment.

Oil City Elementary was featured in a September issue of Newsweek, where it was reported that PLT helped increase enrollment and raise test scores. Principal Mike Irvin is quoted in the article as saying, “Our students are good stewards of the Earth, but more than that, we really train them to be good citizens and good thinkers.”

For the last five years, the school’s fifth-grade students have toured the constructed wetland project, and fourth-graders visit the tomato greenhouses at the LSU AgCenter’s Red River Research Station. Second-graders have toured the LSU AgCenter’s Pecan Research Station.

4-H News

4-H receives computers after completion of Discovering Tomorrow’s Leaders

Chesapeake Energy, which sponsored the recent Discovering Tomorrow’s Leaders awards, presented a flat-screen desktop computer to both Caddo Parish 4-H and Bossier Parish 4-H Dec. 18 at a luncheon.

Eleven 4-H members were among 16 students in Caddo and Bossier parishes receiving the weekly leader awards. Each was honored at his school, and the school received a computer.

All winners were recognized at a banquet on Dec. 2 where four of the 16 received laptops from a random drawing. All four of those were 4-H’ers.

“The spirit I felt in the room that night is they were so proud of their accomplishments,” said Kevin McCotter, corporate development director for Chesapeake. “They were all so excited to be a part of that group. We were so excited because of the quality of the students.”

Nominations were accepted for the award via the general public through the news media. Nominees must have displayed outstanding leadership qualities within a volunteer organization as student leaders who go beyond the classroom. More than 200 nominations were received. The Alliance for Education judged the competition.

Dwight Landreneau, LSU AgCenter associate vice chancellor, who attended the luncheon, said, “This is a great success story for the LSU AgCenter. I appreciate having a corporate partner support these young leaders of the future.”

McCotter said the company believes in the same values as 4-H—integrity, character, personal responsibility and entrepreneurship.

4-H has 175,000 members in Louisiana, including 1,300 in 45 clubs in Caddo Parish and 1,210 in 23 clubs in Bossier Parish. Activities include decorating a local veterans’ home monthly, mentoring youth, canine therapy at a retirement center and collecting food for the hungry.

Attending the luncheon were Bossier Parish School Superintendent Ken Kruithof; Burnadine Anderson, executive assistant to the Caddo Parish school superintendent for communications; Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator and Billy Montgomery, project coordinator for the Bossier Parish Police Jury. The luncheon was held at Sheriff’s Safety Town in the Chesapeake Energy Classroom.

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes was the other major partner in Discovering Tomorrow’s Leaders and also received a computer.

The 11 4-H winners announced earlier were Josh Barrett, Airline High School; Caroline Boley, Captain Shreve High School; Maggie Brakeville, Benton High School; Chris Cates, Parkway High School; Khyria Kelly, Central Park Elementary; Tonya Liuzzi, Southwood High School; Anna Loftin, Parkway High School; Daniel McFarland, Caddo Magnet High School; Amanda Pittmon, Benton High School; Alex Sauer, Benton Middle School; and Jessica Taylor, Huntington High School.

District Skeet Tournament winners named

Twenty-five 4-H’ers from seven parishes braved the wind on Dec. 6 to compete in the 4-H Northwest District Skeet Tournament.

4-H’ers learned how to shoot in adverse weather conditions. Cole Britt from Bienville Parish was the junior winner, and Colton Herrin from Webster Parish was the senior winner.

Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. Unstable is the future of a country which has lost its taste for agriculture. If there is one lesson of history that is unmistakable, it is that national strength lies very near the soil. Daniel Webster