Nearly half of Hawaiʻi farmers under age 46 report depression – which reflects the high-stress environment they must contend with on a daily and seasonal basis, complete with risks and uncertainties, volatile markets, fluctuating weather, invasive species, and the list goes on.

Please join me in extending the warmest congratulations to our Extension faculty (A and S) who have received recognition from their clients, peers, and the University for their contributions. Because of these individuals, CTAHR Cooperative Extension is improving people’s lives, economies, communities. 

Two University of Hawaiʻi faculty are being recognized for their work on addressing how environmental policies related to climate change impact diverse populations, particularly Indigenous communities.

Andy Reilly, profession in FDM, gave a gallery talk at the Honolulu Museum of Art on June 8 as part of the Fashion Aloha exitigion gallery talks.  His talk, "Identity and Aloha Shirts" was the result of research he did on aesthetic preferences of aloha shirts by Hawaiian, Local, and haole men.  Dr. Reilly found that while Hawaiian and Local men select shirts that reflect the Hawaiian Islands accurately to identify themselves as not-tourists but as residents, haole men upon moving to Hawai`i go through a process of learning about shirts and change their aesthetic preferences to demonstrate they are the good haole.  During the talk, model Makana Gomes modeled different shirts as he talked about them.  Dr. Reilly will be giving this talk at an upcoming symposium in NYC in November.  

By Andy Reilly​

Can the state of Hawaiʻi reach its 100% renewable electricity target by 2045? The skeptics may harbour their doubts, but Samir Khanal and Tomoaki Miura have a plan – and a grant – that could facilitate connecting bioresources with bioenergy interests. Samir, of the Dept. of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, and Tomoaki, of the Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, have partnered on a recent $150,000 Sun Grant Western Region grant. Their goal?