Shenandoah Elementary holds Jump Rope for Heart and Academic Olympics ä2G
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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2015 H
B O C AG E • C O U N T RY C LU B • H I G H L A N D • J E F F E R S O N T E R R AC E • K E N I LW O R T H • P E R K I N S • U N I V E R S I T Y C LU B THEADVOCATE.COM
Gardening project benefits Episcopal
Darlene Denstorff
Students present successes on Senior Launch Day
ON THE SOUTHSIDE
BY C.J. FUTCH
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Library offers variety of programs Upcoming events at the Bluebonnet Regional Branch Library include everything from learning to crochet to crafting special valentines. The events will be at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Bluebonnet branch, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd. The library will be closed Tuesday for the Mardi Gras holiday. For information, call (225) 763-2240. Here’s a few offerings.
Feb. 6, presenting their results in a presentation in the school’s Visual and Performing Arts Growing lettuce is harder than Center. They took turns explaining Eden Guirard realized, the Episcopal fifth-grader said Feb. 5, the trial-and-error process of standing in front of lush, green setting up the hydroponic sysheads of varying sizes growing tem, feeding the plants with a in a hydroponic system she and liquid solution of nutrients and classmates Joshua Gregoire and constantly monitoring the conCrawford Grigsby constructed. ditions of the system to make Their teacher, Sonny James, sure they fell within acceptable guided them as part of a fifth- parameters. “We went out and read the grade science class project. A lot of things went wrong be- temperature and pH and TDS fore they figured it out, Guirard (total dissolved solids in the nutrient mixture),� Grigsby said. said. “Only, one time, we had to But it was the successes that brought the students before the check TDS in the freezing cold, Episcopal High student body while it was raining,� Gregoire
cfutch@theadvocate.com
added. It was then that the fifth-grade class decided to ask for help from the senior honors thesis program, and the collaborative effort became part of the presentation. Seniors Monty Travis and Kendall Ravey devised and installed remote sensors to test for all the things the students had to test manually, along with wireless capability to send the data to a computer set up in James’ warm, dry classroom. The results of this cross-curricular and multigrade effort eventually will benefit the en-
Advocate staff photo by TRAVIS SPRADLING
Episcopal High School senior Kendall Ravey, 18, third from left, an adviser to younger students, from left, Joshua Gregoire, 11, Eden Guirard, 11, and Crawford Grigsby, 11, on their hydroponic garden project, listens as they discuss the rail system for their äSee PROJECT, page 3G garden Friday at the Episcopal High Launch event.
Master gardener talks home growing, offers tips
Crochet Corner
Patrons looking for something fun to do can crochet with the new Bluebonnet Crochet Corner from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Bluebonnet Regional Library. People with all experience levels are welcome, library officials say on their website. Participants are asked to bring a size J (5.5 mm) or larger crochet hook. Limited yarn will be available, but patrons can bring their own, library officials said. Registration is required.
BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
it is to give back to the community,� added Scout mother Shata Chapman. The floor of the cavernous Healing Place arena was transformed into a food processing plant as volunteers, all wearing head nets, manned a dozen U-shaped tables in three, two-hour shifts on Friday afternoon and evening and again in three, two-hour shifts on Saturday. The process of scooping and filling and heatsealing the individual bags took the volunteers just a few minutes, and a 36-bag box was quickly filled and carried to an awaiting pallet. “We were blown away� with the response, said Ben Rodgers, Children’s Cup executive director. “This food is literally life for these kids.� Many of the volunteer groups were local, Brock said, including some of the
On its face, gardening is simple. All you need to make things grow are sun, seeds, soil and water. But there are other considerations at work when it comes to growing a backyard vegetable garden — especially productivity and convenience. The Louisiana Master Gardeners group is out in force volunteering its expertise to the Baton Rouge metro area on how residents can grow their own food, year-round, if they choose to. At a seminar Feb. 5 at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s Bluebonnet branch, master gardeners gave a two-hour tutorial on how to set up a garden and the resources available to those who want advice. Master Gardener Richard Babin gave step-by-step instructions on creating a raised-bed garden to a full room of participants during the free seminar. Raised beds have a few advantages over traditional row gardens for smaller backyard spaces, Babin said, including improved yield and drainage and easier access for garden maintenance if well planned. They also offer a good solution for areas with poor soil. Choosing the site is the top priority, Babin said. Look for a spot that will get at least six to eight hours of sunlight per day and has the best drainage, he said, and take into consideration whether power and water sources are nearby. One of the disadvantages to raised and container gardens, fellow Master Gardener Don Moore said, is that they require
äSee HUNGRY, page 3G
äSee GARDENER, page 3G
Year of the sheep
Children can celebrate the Chinese New Year with a reading of “Brave Charlotte� by Anu Stohner and can construct a paper plate sheep from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Bluebonnet Regional Library. The craft is for children ages 6-11. Registration is required.
Fire prevention
Chief Darian Williams, of the St. George Fire Department, will present a fun and informative fire prevention and safety program from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Bluebonnet Regional Library. The event is for children ages 3 and up. Registration is required.
Fun Time Storytime
Stories and activities are planned for children able to listen to longer stories from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday at the Bluebonnet Regional Library. The storytime is for ages 4 and up. Call (225) 763-2260.
Intermediate Word
The library will host a class for patrons interested in perfecting their Microsoft Word computer software äSee SOUTHSIDE, page 4G
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Photo provided by MARK H. HUNTER
Members of It Works Foundation, from left, Barbara Lessard, Shena Johnson, Erica Gibbs and Jennifer Vicnair participate Saturday in the Feed My Hungry Children-Children’s Cup food pack at Healing Place Church. Six sessions of volunteers filled enough baggies of food to fill a shipping container to South Africa.
Working to feed the hungry
Volunteers prepare meals for children in Africa
civic groups, also donated $50,000 for the shipping, but an additional $12,000 is still needed, organizers said. The story, however, is not about the thousands of “Manna Packâ€? meals or BY MARK H. HUNTER even the good feelings the volunteers Special to The Advocate experienced — the story is about the More than 1,470 people volunteered children both here and over there. “I want to feed hungry children,â€? said with the international mission groups Children’s Cup and Feed My Starving JĂŠan Treas, 8, a member of a Healing Children to pack 272,160 meals to feed Place team, as she weighed a 380-gram hungry African children during an am- bag holding a cup of rice, a cup of soy bitious “mobile packâ€? event Friday and meal, a spoonful of powdered vitamins and a scoop of dried carrots and potato Saturday at Healing Place Church. “We hit our goal,â€? reported Jim flakes. “We’re doing this to make sure no more Brock, a volunteer coordinator for the Prairieville-based Children’s Cup, and a kids are hungry in Africa,â€? said Renee shipping container filled with the food, Knighten, 10, a member of Girl Scout enough to feed 745 children for a year, Troop 10055, as she scooped rice into will soon be on its way to southern Africa. a bag that, when cooked, will feed six The volunteers, from dozens of church- children. “We need to show them how important es, schools, businesses and youth and
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