McNeese State University dietetic students help size-up T-shirts for 200 Fairview Elementary School students who participated in the Children in Balance Service-Learning project funded by the University of Louisiana System. McNeese Photo

McNeese State University was awarded $40, 118 for service-learning grants from the University of Louisiana System this spring to fund two projects to enhance the teaching and learning experiences both in and out of the classroom for McNeese students. The McNeese grant was among 22 service-learning projects awarded grants totaling over $450,000 by the UL System, according to Dr. Betty Robertson, McNeese service learning coordinator.

The Children in Balance Service-Learning project partnered 28 McNeese dietetic students and interns with Fairview Elementary School to teach 200 elementary students how to select healthy food and how to participate in fun physical activities. This project was directed by Dr. Debra Hollingsworth, head of the nutrition and family studies department and director of the McNeese dietetic internship program.

"Research studies over the past decade have consistently concluded that student health is one of the most significant influences on learning and achievement," said Hollingsworth. "Healthy eating and regular physical activity are essential components of a healthy lifestyle.

"Our students implemented well-planned and effective nutrition and physical activity programs to help enhance the elementary students' overall health, behavior and academic achievement and decrease the risk for childhood obesity," she added.

Hollingsworth said the project also enabled her students to gain knowledge of health challenges faced by children, schools and families.

McNeese students worked in teams of two and created and taught lesson plans around the importance of nutrition and physical activity and helped each classroom involved design a nutrition kit, which was given to each elementary student in a new blue backpack. Each backpack included a T-shirt, pedometer, water bottle, jump rope, 5-A-Day Cookbook, educational CD Rom, brochures, pamphlets and other educational materials.

Elementary students at Fairview Elementary School received new backpacks from McNeese State University dietetic students filled with nutrition kits, a T-shirt, pedometer, water bottle, jump rope, a cookbook and educational materials as part of the McNeese Children in Balance Service-Learning project that encouraged healthy diets and participation in fun physical activities. McNeese Photo

A project to assess drinking water quality in Southwest Louisiana since Hurricane Rita will get underway this fall under the direction of Dr. Weijin Dong, assistant professor of environmental science.

The project - Assessment of Rural Well Water Quality in Southwest Louisiana in the Post-Rita Era - is a partnership with McNeese, the Calcasieu Parish Health Unit and the Lake Charles Division of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to assess well water quality in Southwest Louisiana, specifically in the Cameron Parish area, that may have become contaminated from the 2005 hurricanes, according to Dong.

Dong said of the 15 points identified by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and in the report "Louisiana Speaks," the third point is to restore coastal area and the 11th point is to protect the environment. "Restoring coastal areas requires the safety of drinking water, and protecting the environment needs to prevent contamination of drinking water," said Dong. This project is designed to address these two points as well as teach McNeese students how to use water analysis equipment to assess drinking water quality and reflect on how they use the training and skills learned to serve their communities."

Robertson said service learning has moved to the next level at McNeese with the awarding of these ULS grants for excellent projects in two different disciplines. "These grants not only benefit the faculty with additional resources but they will also benefit students, the university and the community.