Aquaponics and Health

Community coordinator Ilima Ho-Lastimosa is featured in a UH News video about the Ola HAWAI‘I Specialized Research Center, a multidisciplinary group that’s been granted $23M over the next five years to address disparities in health experienced by native Hawaiians and other disadvantaged populations. Ho-Lastimosa and Ted Radovich, both from Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, are co-principal investigators on one of the six pilot projects of the Center—“Backyard Aquaponics: Promoting Healthy Eating among Native Hawaiian Families.” Along with principal investigator Jane Chung-Do of UH Manoa’s Office of Public Health Studies, they are helping families in the Waimanalo homestead lands establish home aquaponics systems to improve access to healthy foods like fish and fresh vegetables.