Pilgrim to give away food
Raven’s Nest Food Pantry at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 2507 Hill St., will be open from 8-9:30 a.m. July 12 or until all the food has been given away. Food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants must bring photo ID.
The pantry is a U.S. Department of Agriculture distribution site and equal opportunity provider, according to the release.
Grow Your Own Groceries set
The Cooperative Extension Service’s Grow Your Own Groceries Series has three new online sessions — each focused on how to grow and prepare healthy, nutritious food.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Each hour-long presentation is offered through Zoom and begins at noon. Sessions include:
July 15 — Watermelons;
Aug. 21 — Carrots;
Sept. 11 — Figs.
Registration for the free sessions is available online at https://uaex.uada.edu/grow-groceries.
“We haven’t covered watermelons since 2021, and we’ve never offered virtual programs on carrots or figs,” said Faulkner County extension horticulture agent Krista Quinn, who hosts the series.
“We always ask attendees what topics they’d like to see us cover in the future, and these three topics were ones that attendees asked that we cover this year.”
In each session, experts with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture discuss variety selection, growing methods, soil health and how to deal with common pests or problems.
Extension Family and Consumer Science agents and specialists also share information on how to store and prepare homegrown produce and demonstrate healthy recipes, according to a news release.
Matt Bertucci, assistant professor of horticulture for the Division of Agriculture, has been studying watermelon production in Arkansas for several years. He will lead the watermelon session in July.
Ryan Neal, county extension agent for horticulture in Benton County, will lead the August session on how to successfully grow carrots in both fall and spring.
Andrea Klokow, a Benton County master gardener, will lead the fig program in September.
Klokow has been heading a fig variety trial as part of a Benton County Master Gardener community service project. The trial will help determine which varieties perform best in Arkansas and how to best care for fig plants. To learn more about the series, visit https://uaex.uada.edu/grow-groceries.
Fees aid conservation
Most hunting seasons are still a few months away, but it’s a great time to renew your license to make sure you’re ready for the next year of memories, officials say.
Arkansas annual fishing licenses expire one year from the date of purchase, but hunting licenses expired June 30, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Arkansas hunting and fishing license purchases help keep the funding Arkansas receives from sales of hunting equipment, firearms and ammunition flowing. Even if you don’t plan to hunt, purchasing and renewing your license is the best way to ensure federal dollars collected for conservation find their way to The Natural State.
Not only does your license purchase help maintain fish and wildlife populations in Arkansas, it also helps fund the purchase and improvement of public hunting areas, boating and fishing accesses and education facilities.
Last year, AGFC:
Completed construction of about 1,000 acres of additional moist-soil units at Frog Bayou WMA, increasing the amount of this valuable managed wetland habitat type to 10,800 acres on public land;
Completed infrastructure renovations to protect bottomland hardwood forests on Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA with the construction of a new, automated six-gate water control structure capable of moving 10 times the amount of water as the previous structure;
Constructed seven water-control structures at Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA to replace obsolete flashboard riser gates to move water more efficiently through the WMA and protect bottomland hardwood forests attractive to waterfowl;
Restored wildlife habitat through prescribed fire on 24,830 acres of wildlife management areas and assisted conservation partners with an additional 15,833 acres;
Stocked 9.5 million fish, including but not limited to 2.9 million Florida largemouth bass, 2.9 million forage fish, 1.1 million walleye, 549,000 catchable rainbow trout, 634,000 striped bass, 456,620 northern largemouth bass, 388,000 catchable channel catfish, 266,800 black crappie;
Improved 24 bank-fishing access areas at 13 Arkansas lakes;
Placed fish attractors at more than 270 locations on 29 Arkansas lakes;
Restored 3.54 miles of eroding streambanks to prevent water pollution through sedimentation;
Removed two stream barriers, restoring connectivity to 10 miles of streams;
Began renovation and infrastructure repair to Lake Wilhelmina;
Upgraded the shooting range at Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Nature Center, adding two new trap fields and upgraded target-release systems;
Enhanced the Fiochhi Shooting Sports Complex in Mayflower to increase public safety and replace aging infrastructure;
Connected with more than 15,000 anglers at 335 stocked fishing derbies throughout the state;
Hosted more than 5,600 participants in the AGFC’s Youth Shooting Sports Program’s regional and state championship trap shooting tournaments;
Engaged with more than 3,350 student archers through qualifying tournaments and the annual Archery in the Schools State Championships;
Welcomed more than 175,000 visitors at AGFC nature centers; and
Taught more than 20,000 Boater and Hunter Education graduates.
Visit www.agfc.com/licenses to purchase or renew your hunting license.