Palapalai is an indigenous Hawaiian fern – one of the most important plants in hula – and Oʻahu Extension was proud to host a recent talk with Hawaiian fern specialist Kay Lynch. The UH Horticulture graduate (ʻ98), Master Gardener, and founder of Lāʻau Hawaiʻi, a Hawaiian fern propagation research nursery, spoke at CTAHR’s Urban Garden Center

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.

CTAHR’s mission is to secure the future of Hawaiʻi by building local self-sufficiency in food and agricultural products, noted Dean Parwinder Grewal at the first CTAHR Conference April 11. “CTAHR’s inclusive vision is to secure the future of Hawaiʻi through collaborative innovation and merging the Western, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Hawaiian knowledge systems,” he said.

The 2023 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Extension goes to Nancy Ooki of the Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Since 2018, Nancy’s “My PI Hawai‘i” has trained Maui youths in fire safety and suppression, search-and-rescue, C.P.R., disaster psychology, and other topics in FEMA’s Teen Community Emergency Response Team. By the final disaster simulation, youths can demonstrate knowledge and skills in first aid, triage, communications, and damage assessment. 

With one student holding a wireless microphone and another a portable amplifier, the tour of The Manini Farm Project on the grounds of the Urban Garden Center had begun. As students took turns at the mic, presenting their projects and roles and walking participants through the rows of plants, it was apparent that these young adults felt an awful lot of pride in their participation.

Congrats to Mark Thorne who recently began a two-year term on the Board of Directors of the Society for Range Management. Mark, who has served the society in many capacities for almost 30 years and is currently Section Treasurer, will focus on three key issues throughout his term: recruitment and retention of SRM members, involvement in the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in 2026, and strengthened national and international partnerships and collaborations.

Ninety percent of flowers used for lei-making are imported to Hawaiʻi, and the decreasing supply of local flowers is having a drastic impact on the lei industry statewide. To address the growing chorus of lament from lei-flower growers, lei makers, and lei vendors, Extension has kicked off 2024 with a new plumeria collection at the Urban Garden Center. 

The good folks at Urban Garden Center, along with Oʻahu high school students, departed for their holiday breaks knowing that fresh produce would make it onto the plates of many Hawaiʻi families in need. 

It lasts just two hours and happens just once a year, but this is your chance to let members of the Hawaii State Senate and House of Representatives know what you’ve been up to, and how our legislators can help you help feed the state.

With partners from Maui, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Hilo and Kona, CTAHR’s Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death team hosted the statewide seventh annual ‘Ohia Love fests. This year’s theme was Ka ʻUpena O Ke Ola, a metaphor for how life is interconnected mauka to makai, like a fishing net, and ʻōhiʻa is a keystone species that holds it all together, explains Charlotte Godfrey-Romo.

“The recent disasters of COVID-19 and wildfires have caused forced disruptions in activity, limited information about the future, and economic instability,” says Nancy Ooki of Maui Extension. “The combination has placed the Maui community in a position of feeling a sense of loss of control, decision-making ability, and uncertainty of the future. 

The school bus doors swung open and in the blink of an eye, pastoral serenity was replaced by organized chaos as the army of chatting, laughing, and sometimes screaming 5^th graders marched toward the outdoor exhibit booths at the Oʻahu Urban Garden Center.

Back in the day, the Waialeʻe Livestock Research Station was a true community resource for Oahu’s North Shore. The sprawling facility, a stone’s throw from today’s surfing mecca, once provided invaluable services as the area’s primary abattoir and center for livestock feed and harvesting research. 

There’s a new Tribal Advisory Committee within the USDA, and retired Extension agent Glenn Teves has been appointed to serve by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz. Schatz, chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, announced his appointment of Glenn last week. The new committee, authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill, will provide advice and guidance to the Secretary of Agriculture on Native equities in USDA programs and policies, and develop an annual report to Congress.

The last year has been an especially challenging one for Maui County, and even more so for Molokaʻi, due to Ag Tech and Secretary shortages, fiscal purchasing barriers, theft of equipment, difficult neighbors, the search and addition of two new faculty, an unsigned lease with DHHL, transitional leadership within CTAHR, and last but not least, the sudden UHMC commitment changes related to the Molokaʻi Farm, which led CTAHR to vacate the farm and consolidate our efforts at our office location. 

In response to the wildfire disasters in Lahaina and Kula, Maui 4-H quickly organized a statewide disaster response training – Hawai‘i’s first-ever event tailored specifically for teens. With 110 high school students from every Hawaiian island gathering at Baldwin H.S. in Wailuku, and a program based on the national Community Emergency Response Team administered by FEMA, it was a rare and valuable opportunity to both train for emergencies and discuss ways to contribute to the long-term disaster recovery process and future disaster planning.

With so many Hawaiʻi farmers facing challenges that can seem insurmountable, the timing couldnʻt have been better for CTAHR’s Seeds of Wellbeing initiative to host “Mālama the Farmer, Taking Care of Yourself and Each Other” last month.

Since 2013, CTAHR has been honored to be invited to Waimea Valley Botanical Garden’s Kalo and ʻAwa Festival on the North Shore of Oʻahu. This year, the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences and Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences participated once again byproudly hosting an educational booth that focused on educating participants about kalo plant parts, varieties, and groups. 

CTAHR faculty and staff are excited to host their first Open House at the Oʻahu Urban Garden Center since the pandemic – and public interest is super high – so head over Pearl City this Saturday morning! UGC will combine the event with the popular “Second Saturday at the Garden” to provide a variety of educational exhibits and demonstrations for the general public. 

With our beloved island home beset by invasive pests of all shapes and sizes, what is the best way to pool our collective knowledge and resources so we can effectively combat these challenges? A two-day conference on invasive pests is a good start.