As a chapter we took 22 brothers to the National Agriculture Leadership Conference in St. Louis, MO.  When we arrived on Thursday we had registration during the day to receive our items for the conference, followed by a welcome reception that night.  During the welcome reception we had dinner, icebreakers, banner contest, and an overview of the scheduled plans for the conference.  On Friday, we started off with an internship/career fair where students got to talk with different companies about available jobs and internships.  Later, we broke out into our different agriculture tours which included animal science, plant science, and slow urban food.  Friday night we went to the city museum where we also had dinner.  On Saturday, there were breakout sessions all day until 4:15 and we concluded the night with the banquet.  At the banquet we had dinner, a guest speaker, and awards were presented.  The North Carolina Chapter came home with Chancellor, Censor, and Scribe of the year.  We also won the banner contest against the other chapters.  Altogether, we had a very successful trip and many great memories were made.

On March 26th, Alpha Zeta with another organization known as AEHORT, Horticulture Student Association of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, and teachers participated in an activity which consisted of remodeling the interior garden of the library of the university. We did it with the purpose to carry the message to the community of the university on the importance of preserving green areas, because besides providing a beautiful landscape, it also provides good health for humans. Several species of plants were planted, among them were the orchids.

For the last three years, the Puerto Rico Chapter of Alpha Zeta has hosted about a dozen students from across the country to participate in agricultural tours, service projects and leadership training. In those three years however, there has not been a Brother from the North Carolina Chapter participate. Lindsay M. Pitts (Fall ’09, Censor) was the first Brother of our to attend the event and from her experience, it will not be our last. The four-day event was held  Thursday,  January 20 – Sunday, January 23, 2011.

The Puerto Rico chapter decided to install a second hydroponic system in the Alzamora’s University Farm. The purpose of the project is to provide to the professors of the Crop and Agro-Enviromental Sciences a resource for the education. The Puerto Rico chapter also donates the coriander seedlings for the project. This system will be used in the plant nutrition, food production, and plant physiology courses Gustavo Rodriguez (Alpha Zeta member) with the help of other active members will be in charge of the management and care of the system.

http://www.wral.com/wral-tv/video/9309626/#/vid9309626
Throughout Agricultural Awareness week, Alpha Zeta puts on numerous events to involve people in a celebration of agriculture.  On Monday we planned  Agriculture Olympics with CALs faculty.  This event included seed spitting; a tractor race and an egg toss among the participants. Collegiate 4H sponsored a lunch of pizza.  On Tuesday, we had an Alumni breakfast for faculty from 7:30-11. During this time the faculties were invited to eat and socialize with the officers and brothers in Alpha Zeta...

Habitat for Humanity's annual campus race! The route circles some of the busiest parts of campus, passing by the O'Connell Center, the Swamp, Turlington Plaza, and the Reitz Union. Planning involved our service chair, Kaitlyn Summerfield, making sure those that wanted to walk/run were registered, paid, and knew where to meet on campus. Our nine members that participated benefited by getting good exercise, socializing, and helping to support Alachua Habitat for Humanity who's goal is to provide safe, decent, affordable homes for families in need.

This is our third year planning a Family Day. Our social chair, who is Dalal Hares this year, plans it every spring semester. This year we met for brunch outside in a courtyard among our Entomoloy buildings before heading out to Single Vision, a non-profit endangered species educational facility located in Melrose, FL. Single Vision aims to prevent tigers from becoming extinct from poaching and habitat destruction. Next was a visit to the Butterfly Rainforest, which is a part of UF's  Florida Museum of Natural History. It includes a four-story, outdoor screened enclosure with waterfalls, a walking trail, tropical plants and hundreds of live butterflies. Families got a break for lunch and some rest before dinner at a local restaurant with Dr. George Burgess as a speaker. Dr. Burgess is a part of UF's Ichthyology department and a national expert on sharks appearing on countless news programs and the Discovery Channel.

The Puerto Rico Chapter is concern about the environment. Member of the Puerto Rico chapter and friends from the community decided to clean the Culebrinas River using Kayaks !!! We pick up waste from the river and at the same we share as brothers. This activity was made to educate the community about the importance of preserving our natural resources.

Every semester with our new pledge class the pledge master matches up each pledge (the "little") with a member (the "big"). This is our second year theming it as a "pair party." This year our pledge master, Sara Molloy, had the bigs and littles dress in pairs such as Charlie Brown and Snoopy, an Easter bunny and an Easter egg, Batman and Robin, and many more! When pledges and members arrived at the event they had to find their pair/match thus revealing their big or little. Any member could attend, even if they did not have a little. Everyone looks forward to initiating a new pledge class each semester and this is just one of the many events that forms a bond for future UF Alpha Zeta members!

Three alpha zeta members install a hydroponic system. The initiative started with Gustavo Rodriguez who realizes that the agricultural science department did not have any efficient hydroponic system. So he decided to increase the resources used for education. The crops will be sold to raise funds for the chapter.