NAACP to award ACT-SO honors
The Pine Bluff Branch NAACP ACT-SO Program will host its fourth annual awards ceremony from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at Bethany Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, 1923 S. Olive St.
ACT-SO stands for Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics.
Four students from the Pine Bluff School District will receive awards. Honorees and their categories are Sylvana Burgess — Gold Medalist (Photography); Jamya Wells — Gold Medalist (Painting) and Silver Medalist (Drawing); Joven Hamlet — Silver Medalist (Photography and Music); and Taylor Calhoun — Silver Medalist (STEM/Computer Science).
The special guest will be Pine Bluff Mayor Vivian L. Flowers, according to a news release. There will also be a buffet and entertainment.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Donations to the program may also be made by check payable to: Pine Bluff NAACP/ACT-SO. For details or to RSVP, call (870) 718-5330.
Christian Women’s luncheon set
The Christian Women’s Connection will host its monthly luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 15 at the Pine Bluff Country Club. Everyone is invited to attend.
The speaker will be Marsha Inman of Fort Worth, Texas. Her topic will be “The Perfect Gift.” Inman will discuss her struggle with perfectionism and how a car accident made her re-evaluate her priorities, according to a news release.
The luncheon’s special feature will also be Inman who will demonstrate how to make gift-wrapping look good for less, and how to enjoy the best gift of all, according to the release.
The luncheon costs $20, which includes the meal, drink, dessert, tax and gratuity. For reservations or cancellations, call Jennifer Keahey at (870) 540-9302. All reservations must be made three days in advance. You will be charged for reservations not kept.
Compost Awareness starts May 5
Compost is part of what Matthew Bertucci calls “the perfect circle for sustainability.”
Bertucci, an assistant professor of sustainable fruit and vegetable production for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, is always looking to find ways that growers can reduce their inputs or environmental footprint while still producing high-quality produce that makes economic sense.
During Arkansas Compost Awareness Week May 5-9, Bertucci, along with Division of Agriculture colleague Amanda Philyaw Perez, as well as Regional Food System Partnerships stakeholders and others will host webinars and in-person sessions to help gardeners, farmers or anyone with an interest in reducing waste or improving soils, understand the utility of composting.
Philyaw Perez is an associate professor, food systems and food safety specialist for the Division of Agriculture.
“As part of the NWA Specialty Crops Soil Health Program, I learned that many of our specialty crop growers are using compost as a soil amendment,” he said. “I figured that is a perfect circle for sustainability: compost is produced from yard waste, food waste, and other organic refuse.
“If that refuse can be diverted from landfills and turned into a beneficial soil amendment? You can’t get more sustainable than that!” he said.
“What really struck me about composting — and why I’d like to talk more about it is that compost is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and by the state of Arkansas as a waste product,” Bertucci said.
Why?
“Testing requirements ensure that permitted compost facilities do not release any material contaminated with trace metals nor with harmful pathogens like E. coli or Salmonella.
“However, horticulture is the No. 1 consumer of compost, and horticulturists don’t see compost as a waste product,” Bertucci said. “We see it as ‘black gold,’ a soil amendment that can increase soil organic matter, improve soil structure, enhance soil microbial activity, and provide plant nutrients.”
The webinars will be recorded and made available online.
EVENT SCHEDULE
MAY 5, noon to 1 p.m. — Compost 101 webinar.
MAY 6, noon to 2 p.m., in-person event: “Composting at the Union,” Student Union, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
MAY 7, noon to 1 p.m., Not for Landfill! Composting for the Environment webinar.
MAY 8, 5 to 7 p.m., in-person activity — Compost meet-up at Fossil Cove Brewing, Fayetteville.
MAY 8, 4:30-7:30 p.m., in-person activity — Composting social at the Farmers Market at St. Joseph Center of Arkansas, North Little Rock.
MAY 9, 1:30-4 p.m. in-person activity — Compost in action at the UADA research farm, including a compost giveaway, Fayetteville.
MAY 9, 4:30-7 p.m. in-person activity — Rebuilding the UA-Little Rock Campus Garden, Little Rock. Details: www.uaex.uada.edu.