Students in agriculture and food-related programs can get hands-on experience through a study-abroad program in Uganda that seeks to inform elementary school children about the importance of nutrition.

Gail Nonnecke, professor of horticulture, said the program, Service Learning in Uganda: Creating a School Garden, “started in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, where our goal was to have an academic program where students could learn about agriculture in a developing nation while they’re providing a service.”

She said the interdisciplinary program recruits from all of Iowa State’s agriculture, food, nutrition and health programs.

Darrin VanderPlas, junior in health and human performance, plans to go on the service learning trip the African nation this summer.

“I’m always excited to get out of my element and try new things,” said VanderPlas, who has also traveled to Ecuador as part of a similar program.

The Uganda Service Learning program gives seven undergraduate students a chance to work in the Kamuli district of Namasagali, Uganda, for about five weeks to “help teach nutrition, agriculture and health to primary school students,” VanderPlas said.

“Each of the primary schools that we work with has school gardens that they use as an outdoor learning laboratory,” Nonnecke said. “The food grown there is used in their school lunch programs.”

The program is “binational,” Nonnecke said. Students from Makerere University in Uganda collaborate with the visiting ISU students to help teach the children the positives of agriculture and its affect on their community and health.

“Our students are excellent role models [for the primary school students] wanting to have careers in agriculture and nutrition,” Nonnecke said.

The opportunity to help others in rural Uganda benefits both the students and the community in a balance between both learning and service.

“The benefits to the community [are] pretty fascinating from a cultural standpoint, in that the students are able to show the importance of agriculture in a livelihood,” Nonnecke said.

The perks of the program don’t stop in Uganda. The program also has lasting effects on the ISU students who participate.

“[The students] learn about themselves a lot,” Nonnecke said. “They learn about what it’s like to work in a development project and they also learn a great deal about another culture.”

VanderPlas echoed Nonnecke’s words.

“I think it’s important to get an international perspective,” VanderPlas said. “You start to understand the world a little better and start to feel a little bit more connected.”