What is CTAHR’s impact on Hawai‘i? Is our research relevant to the state’s needs and sustainability? Does our outreach benefit the local economy, environment, and food supply? A sizable contingent of state senators, representatives, and staff got their chance to learn the answers on November 21 when they visited the Magoon Research and Instructional Facility during CTAHR’s 2019 Legislative Visit.

Morning sunlight bouncedoff animated faces as the busloads of 5^th-graders disembarked at the Oʻahu Urban Garden Center. The occasion was Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Day, and the 555 students and 48 teachers on this November 2 field trip were in for a special treat. Awaiting them were rows of outdoor exhibits, hands-on presentations, fun activities, food samples—even a small pen with live goats. 

Imagine a large room, with 30 professional chefs all cooking up something special with locally farmed ingredients. At the 2nd Variety Showcase held recently at Kapi‘olani Community College, that foodie’s dream was brought to reality. The event pairs up local farmers and breeders with local culinary experts, builds community and collaboration, and invites the public to learn more and taste the results: some awesome food, made in Hawai‘i.

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is celebrating 50 years of successful programming! In Hawai‘i, EFNEP is a grassroots initiative of CTAHR’s Cooperative Extension Service in cooperation with county, state, and federal partners. It teaches parents, caregivers, and youth the essentials of nutrition, food safety, food resource management, food preparation, and physical activity.

What? You missed a whole season of Sam Choy? Eight humorous episodes with the world-renowned chef inviting himself into a couple’s home, raiding their kitchen for leftovers, and reaching for CTAHR ingredients to save the meal? Not to mention Pamela Young’s terrific storytelling vignettes inserted into the episodes, featuring interviews with CTAHR’s very own Ted Radovich, Jari Sugano, and more? No worries—all of the episodes are available online!

The CTAHR ‘ohana on Kaua‘i is growing—they are currently hiring for multiple positions to join the team. There are openings for the county administrator, based in Līhu‘e; agricultural research technician (III) at the Kaua‘i Agricultural Research Center in the Wailua Homesteads; and an 89-day temporary hire Agricultural Research Tech, also based in Wailua.

The Symphony of the Hawaiian Birds will be performed on Kaua‘i for the first time in February 2020, and help is needed to recruit teachers on the island to bring their students. All classes in grades 4–12, as well as home-schooled students, are welcome. It's a place-based interdisciplinary program that brings together science, music, art, dance, and education to tell the story of our endangered Hawaiian forest birds.

Clay Trauernicht (NREM) wrote a chilling article on a hot topic in Civil Beat. The wildland fire researcher and Extension faculty member discussed Central Maui fires that burned nearly 20,000 acres this summer (see image of burned area from the Sentinel-2 satellite). This “unprecedented” area reflects “dramatic increases in wildfires across the state,” he warns.

CTAHR’s beginning farmer-training program GoFarm Hawai‘i is teaming up with the Culinary Breeding Network to present the second annual Variety Showcase. Hosted by the Kapi’olani Community College Culinary Arts Program in collaboration with CTAHR, Hawaiian Seed Growers Network, and Farm Link Hawaii, it will feature unique and in-development fruits, vegetables, grains, and animal products along with traditional favorites, presented by those who grow them.

Welcome to Hannah Lutgen, who is the new Maui County Extension agent for landscape and ornamental growers! It’s great to have her onboard as part of the team! Hannah received her Bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Horticulture and comes to the college from her previous position as a conservation specialist with the Maui Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

We are saddened to report that Dr. Dave Williams, plant breeder and former superintendent of the Kula Ag Station, died on October 16. He developed the station; introduced protea, which continues to be a viable crop for the flower industry, to the island; and at the Pineapple Research Institute on O‘ahu developed the ‘Gold’ pineapple. He will be missed.

Join in the avian excitement as the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra performs the Symphony of the Hawaiian Birds, an original set of works produced by Hawai‘i’s composers, artists, biologists, and educators! Melissa Price of CTAHR’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management is a creator of the concert project, bringing to it her perspective on conservation and wildlife management. It’s all happening November 5 at the Blaisdell Concert Hall!

Extension faculty are invited to the annual Agricultural Professional Development training (AgPro) offered by CTAHR’S Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program (SOAP), supported by the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (WSARE) on November 5–6 on Kaua‘i at the Courtyard by Marriott Kaua'i at Coconut Beach.

A healthy and sustainable project spearheaded by TPSS’s Ted Radovich and Ilima Ho-Lastimosa, as well as Public Health Studies professor Jane Chung-Do, got props from Civil Beat in a recent laudatory article. The MALAMA (Mini Ahupua‘a for Lifestyle and Mea‘ai through Aquaponics) project helps Native Hawaiian families and communities to create aquaponic systems in their back yards.

CTAHR faculty and staff were instrumental in discovering a new fruit fly pest that’s recently been identified in Hawai‘i for the first time: the olive fruit fly (OLFF), Bactrocera oleae. It can attack all species of Olea, including the common olive (Olea europaea), unfitting them for either oil processing or table consumption. 

Last year’s artistic and ecological success, the Symphony of the Hawaiian Birds, spearheaded by Melissa Price (NREM), is coming back with two additional free keiki concert dates! This multimedia production with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra brings together music, art, and hula to teach students in grades 4 through 12 about Hawai‘i’s endangered forest bird species. 

Waimanalo Learning Center educator Ilima Ho-Lastimosa (TPSS) knows well how participating in traditional practices can heal communities and individuals. Now she is partnering with the UH Women’s Center to offer a series of workshops on la‘au lapa‘au, or Native Hawaiian healing herbs, open to all members of the UH community.

Taste of the Hawaiian Range held its free Agricultural Festival on Saturday, September 7, in Waimea on Hawai‘i Island. This educational, family-geared event offered activities to illustrate the art and science of producing local food products. A delicious time was had by all!

Even if you’re not a pest, pesticides can harm you if you don’t protect yourself against them! Worker protection training is required annually for anyone who works or does research in a facility where pesticides are used, so make sure you get trained if you need it. Another training will be held in October, and additional trainings can be scheduled for your department or research group if necessary.

Want to eat like the ancient Hawaiians, using modern technology? Come to the Aquaponic Fish and Poi Workshop offered by Jensen Uyeda and the Poamoho Station! This field day will provide a basic overview of an aquaponic system, the nitrogen cycle of an aquaponic system, utilization of fish effluent from aquaculture systems, taro corm yield grown with fish effluent vs. conventional nitrogen fertilizer, and food safety strategies to sanitize effluent water used for irrigation.