Extension agents are CTAHR’s “slippahs on the ground” in terms of bringing the research done in the College to the community. In the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, three important extension initiatives are working to help Hawai‘i’s seniors and those who love them. It’s a laudable and loving thing to do, but no one said beginning a second stint of    ... more >>

Did you know that Hawai‘i not only has a significantly higher percentage of elderly than the national average but also that percentage is growing? By the year 2020, according to a report by the Center on the Family (COF), a quarter of the people in Hawai‘i will be 60 years or older. “Needless to say,” the authors comment, “this will have significant impacts on all aspects    ... more >>

As a person ages, it becomes both more important and more difficult to meet essential nutrient needs. While there are several reasons that seniors find it challenging to eat as much or as healthfully as when they were younger, their protein, vitamin, and mineral needs don’t decrease—in fact, some nutrient needs may even increase. Since it’s common for some key sources of nutrients to be    ... more >>

The CHL program has a long name, impressive funding, and an important mission. Two and a half years ago the Children’s Healthy Living Program for Remote Underserved Minority Populations in the Pacific Region, headed by Rachel Novotny (HNFAS), was awarded a competitive grant of $25 million over 5 years, and it’s working to effect much-needed change. The project partners with local communities in    ... more >>

Nowadays, getting involved with 4-H doesn’t just mean raising a cow to show at a farm fair! With its updated Science, Healthy Living, and Citizenship mandates, the organization is involving young people in handson educational programs that help them become more informed and engaged citizens. Hawai‘i 4-H fosters the next generation of inventors, entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers through    ... more >>

For over seven years, the Biotechnology Outreach Program has brought science and its many topics into the lives of Hawai‘i’s keiki. The program director, Ania Wieczorek (TPSS), realized a significant knowledge gap existed concerning the general public’s knowledge of genetics and its application and importance to agriculture, and she began building her program with the goal of addressing it.    ... more >>

The Polynesian Voyaging Society, which made history and captured the hearts and imagination of so many throughout the Islands with their construction and sailing of the iconic Hōkūlei‘a, is setting forth on a new journey, with a new voyaging canoe, and CTAHR is going along for the ride. Growing systems created by researchers and extension agents in the College have been installed in th    ... more >>

Hawaiian mollusks and CTAHR scientists are unlikely allies in the battle against an invader that threatens agriculture and human health worldwide. Prolific breeders and voracious eaters (known to feed on at least 500 types of plants), African land snails are listed among the Global Invasive Species Database’s top 100 invasive species and ranked 10th on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s list of    ... more >>

At the heart of CTAHR’s history is the College’s support of local agriculture, and this work continues to benefit the community of farmers, ranchers, and horticulturalists to this day. Here are three important ways CTAHR is making an impact: When the papaya ringspot virus appeared in Hawai‘i, it almost destroyed the Islands’ papaya industry. It was so difficult, costly, and toxi    ... more >>

A hallmark of the Senator’s political life was his ability to connect people and groups. As he worked to cement good relations between Democrats and Republicans and between Washington and Hawai‘i, he fostered collaboration in research and education. Programs for which he got funding have forged partnerships with Pacific Island nations, with native peoples in Alaska, and with other researchers    ... more >>

After Statehood, Sen. Inouye helped to guide Hawai‘i through the many resulting changes. The shift from plantation-based sugar and pineapple production to diversified crops reshaped the state’s agricultural landscape, and he provided crucial assistance for each stage of the conversion, helping displaced workers launch new agribusiness ventures, supporting research and development to identify    ... more >>

The Senator’s legacy includes many intangibles: hope, pride, community spirit. But it includes things more tangible as well, one of the solidest of them a building. He was instrumental in securing the federal funds used to construct UH-Manoa’s Agricultural Sciences III, a $25 million advanced agricultural research facility. By the mid-1990s, the need for such a facility had become    ... more >>