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An Ahupua‘a in Your Backyard

An Ahupua‘a in Your Backyard 17 October 2019

An Ahupua‘a in Your Backyard

TPSS faculty’s sustainability initiative receives praise

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.

They Love Olives

They Love Olives 17 October 2019

They Love Olives

New agricultural pest discovered at Big Island experiment station

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. 

A Twitter Symphony

A Twitter Symphony 27 September 2019

A Twitter Symphony

Grade-school classes are invited to bird conservation-themed concert

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. 

Medicine for Mind and Body

Medicine for Mind and Body 27 September 2019

Medicine for Mind and Body

Native Hawaiian healing workshops draw a diverse crowd

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.

Connecting Ag with Food and Fun!

Connecting Ag with Food and Fun! 27 September 2019

Connecting Ag with Food and Fun!

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!

Documents to download

Get Protected

Get Protected 18 September 2019

Get Protected

September 24 training offered for pesticides use

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.

Fish and Poi

Fish and Poi 18 September 2019

Fish and Poi

September 28 workshop in open-system aquaponics

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. 

Grow Safe

Grow Safe 18 September 2019

Grow Safe

October 1 comprehensive food safety workshop

Find out everything you need to know about growing safely, healthily, and in compliance with regulations at the Produce Safety Alliance Food Safety grower training event. This workshop is aimed at fruit and vegetable growers who are interested in learning about produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices, and co-management of natural resources and food safety. 

En Route to Colorado

En Route to Colorado 18 September 2019

En Route to Colorado

Extension agent wins scholarship

4-H Extension agent Becky Settlage of the Komohana Research and Extension Center in Hilo has been awarded a $575 scholarship by the Roy A. Goff Memorial Endowment Fund to participate in the National Conference of Epsilon Sigma Phi, the Extension Professionals’ Organization, in October in Colorado.

Oʻahu 4-H Rally Day!

Oʻahu 4-H Rally Day! 11 September 2019

Oʻahu 4-H Rally Day!

This Saturday at the Urban Garden Center

Bring your keiki (or give your friends a mini-vacation by bringing theirs!) to meet 4-H clubs from across Oʻahu and see some of the exciting, fulfilling projects theyʻre working on. Participants will get to experience educational and interactive mini-workshops and presentations.

Getting Some Buzz

Getting Some Buzz 11 September 2019

Getting Some Buzz

Video on bee virus is going viral

Bee health researcher Ethel Villalobos (PEPS) is featured in a recent episode of the video series How Close Are We, which looks at possible solutions to some of the world’s major problems and questions. For the episode “How Close Are We to Saving the Bees?” Ethel discusses Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious phenomenon in which whole bee colonies disappear for reasons that are still unclear.

Riding Off Into the Sunset

Riding Off Into the Sunset 11 September 2019

Riding Off Into the Sunset

Kelvin Sewake retired as Interim CTAHR Associate Dean of Extension on August 30, 2019. In appreciation for his 34 years of serving within CTAHR in various administrative roles and as Extension agent in Floriculture and Nursery Crops, a farewell tea was held for him on September 3 at the Komohana Research & Extension Center in Hilo. 

A Tree Grows in the UGC

A Tree Grows in the UGC 4 September 2019

A Tree Grows in the UGC

Ray Uchida’s years of service honored

On Thursday August 29, volunteers at the Urban Garden Center shared aloha and mahalo with Ray Uchida, who is retiring from his longstanding post as O‘ahu County administrator. The occasion was marked with hula, stories, and the planting of a tree in his honor. Steve Nagano, an Extension agent for O‘ahu County, helped Ray to plant the crepe myrtle that will bear his name and commemorate his many years of service to the college, community, and ‘āina.

Just Brew It!

Just Brew It! 4 September 2019

Just Brew It!

Eight CTAHR projects are helping the coffee industry

The Hawaii Coffee Association recently hosted their 24th Annual Conference & 11th Annual State of Hawaii Cupping Competition from July 25 to 27 at the Ala Moana Hotel. The statewide annual conference invites coffee educators, industry professionals, and enthusiasts to network and attend sessions and events. It hosted workshops on topics such as soil health, fermentation with yeasts, roasting, and cupping, with the goal of educating, sustaining, and boosting the profitability of the Hawai‘i coffee industry.

 

Fetching Some Interest

Fetching Some Interest 4 September 2019

Fetching Some Interest

Family services center showcases its interactive programs

To kick off another semester of youth and family programs, the Family Education Training Center of Hawaii (FETCH) hosted an open house at their program site, Hale Tuahine Farm in Manoa Valley. High school students interested in the world of sustainable agriculture and families seeking healthy ways to grow their own food and learn the skills to create a healthier and more positive family-life attended the free event to explore FETCH’s programs.

New Faces: Marielle Hampton

New Faces: Marielle Hampton 20 August 2019

New Faces: Marielle Hampton

Marielle Hampton just started as a temporary FCS junior agent in Kona. Marielle is well versed in more than one of CTAHR’s areas of focus, having earned her master’s degree in Nutrition: Agriculture, Food and Environment from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy from Tufts University in May 2019. She comes to CTAHR most recently from The Kohala Center, where she worked as an agriculture development intern, conducting local farmer needs assessment and outreach for food hub facility upgrades. Welcome to CTAHR HI County, Marielle!

Conservation Innovation

Conservation Innovation 6 August 2019

Conservation Innovation

ROD squad recognized at Hawai‘i conservation conference

The Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death Working Group—also known as the ROD Squad—was formed to respond to the new disease threatening Hawai‘i’s most important native forest tree. With nearly 200 individuals representing state, county, federal, university, and non-profit organizations; local and private businesses; and private citizens, the group facilitates inclusive communication on all issues related to the fungal disease and shares knowledge on a regular basis among group members, their organizations, and the people of Hawai‘i.

Invade the Big Island

Invade the Big Island 6 August 2019

Invade the Big Island

Registration now open for Invasive Species Conference

Secure your place at the Invasive Species Conference at Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo, Hawaii island on August 22–23! Many members of the CTAHR ‘ohana will be giving presentations on topics from pests of trees as small as the fungus that causes ROD and as big as the coconut rhinoceros beetle; novel ways to deal with invasives such as allowing their natural predators to attack them or using them for compost; and infesters of iconic Hawai‘i crops such as coffee and macadamia nuts.

Documents to download

Islands in Flames

Islands in Flames 6 August 2019

Islands in Flames

Wildfire educator sounds a warning

Wildland fire expert and 2019 winner of the Excellence in Extension award Clay Trauernicht (NREM) was recently interviewed by Noe Tanigawa on Hawai‘i Public Radio’s Planet 808 show about the increasing danger of wildfire in the Islands and its connection with climate change.

4-H Vets

4-H Vets 6 August 2019

4-H Vets

Summer program introduces youth to veterinary science

Middle school students explored veterinary science as a possible career in a week-long 4-H Veterinary Science Day Camp conducted by Hawai‘i County 4-H Extension agent Becky Settlage in Hilo in July. CTAHR’s Extension veterinarian Jenee Odani, local and state veterinarians, and a couple of UH student assistants also helped to lead the program. With their love of animals and desire to help them, the thirteen youth had a strong interest in this career, and this program definitely increased their interest!

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11 May 2020

Go Ahead, Brighten My Day

CTAHR donates 400+ sunflowers to local hospitals

Go Ahead, Brighten My Day

Happy hues of orange and yellow radiate in the sunshine as Russell Galanti prepares to harvest his latest crop. The Extension agent in ornamental crops from the University of Hawaiʻi, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, has a big afternoon ahead. The sunʻs glare will soon ease into a soft, warm glow, making it less harsh on freshly cut sunflowers. That’s Russell’s cue to begin cutting, trimming, washing, and bundling the 400+ stalks he has tended to lovingly at the Oʻahu Urban Garden Center.

The sunflowers were planted earlier this year for the express purpose of creating beautiful table centerpieces for CTAHR’s 32nd Annual Banquet, an event scheduled more than 12 months ago to coincide with Spring 2020 graduation. But with everything cancelled due to COVID-19, there were no more tables to decorate, no guests to bring home the arrangements as party favors.

So Russell shifted gears, and CTAHR decided to donate the bright, morale-boosting sunflowers to O’ahu hospitals. Watch the awesome Sunflower Video here.

“Our healthcare professionals are the real heroes of Hawaiʻi,” says Russell. “These flowers are just us trying to say Mahalo! to doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists – everyone who is showing up for work in hospitals and braving the COVID-19 pandemic to keep our community safe.”

To account for the usual differences in germination rate, which vary depending on soil and weather conditions, Russell planted 550 sunflowers and chose the 400 best-looking blooms. Once they were trimmed and wrapped, he delivered the flowers to Pali Momi, Queen’s, Tripler, Kuakini, Straub, and Kapiʻolani. The medical centers are planning to distribute the sunflowers to nurses on the COVID-19 front lines.

“We hope these colorful flowers put a smile on the faces of hospital staff and patients,” says Russell. “It’s the least we can do for these courageous people fighting a global pandemic.”

View photos of the sunflowers at the Urban Garden Center.