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Getting Their Hands Dirty

Getting Their Hands Dirty 29 March 2019

Getting Their Hands Dirty

Kids participating in Maui’s Big Brothers Big Sisters program took a literal field trip—to the GoFarm garden plots at UH-Maui College. GoFarm farm coach P.J. Oliveros showed the kids about farming, inspiring some with a new ambition: to become farmers when they grow up. GoFarm Hawai‘i is an extremely successful beginning farmer training program housed in CTAHR with classes throughout the Islands.

Grow Easy

Grow Easy 6 March 2019

Grow Easy

Fascinated by the idea of hydroponics but worry that it’s too complicated? Emeritus professor Bernie Kratky (TPSS) pioneered ways of designing non-circulating hydroponic systems that are easy to make and use. He recently released a new video, this one describing how to grow a variety of slow-bolting arugula, ‘Adagio’, in a non-circulating hydroponic tank.

Mi Cassava Es Su Cassava

Mi Cassava Es Su Cassava 6 March 2019

Mi Cassava Es Su Cassava

CTAHR has roots around the world! Extension agent Sharon Motomura is a collaborator in the international Next Generation Cassava Breeding Project, which is working to identify and breed new varieties of cassava for smallholder farmers in Africa and around the world that specifically focuses on traits identified as desirable by the farmers and small producers themselves.

For Keiki and Community

For Keiki and Community 6 March 2019

For Keiki and Community

FCS is hiring two junior Extension agents, full time and temporary, to work with intergenerational and youth programs in Lihu‘e and Kona. The new agents should develop, deliver, and evaluate integrated and intergenerational education programs, including 4-H, that meet community needs and enhance the quality of life for stakeholders across the lifespan.

Familiar Faces in New Places: Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite

Familiar Faces in New Places: Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite 22 February 2019

Familiar Faces in New Places: Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite

Welcome to Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite (TPSS), who began her new career as the Maui County Edible Crops agent on Friday, February 15! Rosemary is right at home in the college, having previously worked as a junior researcher with Mark Wright (PEPS), primarily on integrated pest management of the macadamia felted coccid.

Buy Local Fish, It Matters

Buy Local Fish, It Matters 22 February 2019

Buy Local Fish, It Matters

Fish and other seafoods are integral to the Island diet, but sourcing that fish can be problematic. Aurora Saulo (TPSS) was recently interviewed for Hawaii News Now’s story on how imported frozen seafood can be contaminated with unwanted chemicals, where she explained that antibiotics and other violative drugs are often used.

Man on Fire

Man on Fire 22 February 2019

Man on Fire

Wildfires are a serious concern, in the Islands as well as on the Mainland. Wildland fire expert Clay Trauernicht (NREM) recently gave a presentation on this timely subject on Maui, in which he explained that since 72 percent of wildfires with known causes are accidental, that means they can be prevented, and the time for prevention is now!  

Fifty Years of Nutrition Success

Fifty Years of Nutrition Success 22 February 2019

Fifty Years of Nutrition Success

EFNEP, a successful nationwide community nutrition education program, is celebrating its 50th year in Hawai‘i! The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) helps limited-resource families acquire knowledge and skills and change attitudes and behavior to improve the nutritional well-being of the whole family. 

Make Every Day Ag Day

Make Every Day Ag Day 22 February 2019

Make Every Day Ag Day

O‘ahu Cooperative Extension joined with other CTAHR programs and statewide agricultural agencies to support the Hawaii Farm Bureau’s Ag Day at the Capitol. This educational event allows ag producers, organizations, and educators get to demonstrate just how crucial their work is to community, quality of life, and the economy and the environment of the Islands.

Awareness and Great Taste

Awareness and Great Taste 22 February 2019

Awareness and Great Taste

Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Day shines a light on Hawaiʻi’s agricultural industry and shows keiki how local food production connects communities and the environment. It not only lets kids see where their food comes from; it opens their eyes to possible careers in ag and environmental management, showing them how they can contribute to this important work.

Familiar Faces in New Places: Amjad Ahmad

Familiar Faces in New Places: Amjad Ahmad 14 February 2019

Familiar Faces in New Places: Amjad Ahmad

Welcome to a new role to Amjad Ahmad, who joins O‘ahu Cooperative Extension as an assistant Extension agent in Sustainable and Organic Agriculture. Amjad, a CTAHR PhD alumnus, previously worked for the college as a junior researcher in TPSS. Amjad’s educational background is the area of agronomy, field crops, legume crops production, organic amendments, and nitrogen applications.

Familiar Faces in New Places: Jennifer Hawkins

Familiar Faces in New Places: Jennifer Hawkins 14 February 2019

Familiar Faces in New Places: Jennifer Hawkins

Welcome to a new role to Jennifer Hawkins, who has started her new position within CTAHR as the Edible Crops agent on Moloka‘i! Jennifer used to be the Moloka‘i Hawaiian Home Lands Agriculture junior Extension agent, where she inaugurated a successful program teaching farmers to keep bees as pollinators.

Lettuce Help You

Lettuce Help You 14 February 2019

Lettuce Help You

There have been lots of problems associated with lettuce in the news, from the E. coli outbreaks traced to mainland romaine to local concerns about leafy greens and rat lungworm disease. But O‘ahu Cooperative Extension offered a great way to eat your greens and feel safe about them, too, at the Hydroponic Field Day at the Waimanalo Research Station.

A Fine Day for Swine

A Fine Day for Swine 14 February 2019

A Fine Day for Swine

With their omnivorous appetites and modest housing needs, pigs are an important part of food security in the Islands, and CTAHR Extension is getting swine producers the help they need to keep local pork production safe and sustainable. Livestock Extension agent Savannah Katulski hosted a Kaua‘i Swine Day this month at the Kaua‘i Agricultural Research Station.

New Faces: Raquel Stephenson

New Faces: Raquel Stephenson 7 February 2019

New Faces: Raquel Stephenson

Every office needs someone to keep it running smoothly, which is why the Kamuela Cooperative Extension office is so glad that Raquel Stephenson has joined as the new office assistant IV. Raquel is originally from O‘ahu, but she and her family moved to agricultural land in Waimea on Hawai‘i Island several years ago. She is excited about learning more about the Big Island as well as agriculture on the island.

Who Cares? GRANDCares Cares!

Who Cares? GRANDCares Cares! 7 February 2019

Who Cares? GRANDCares Cares!

Grandparents who are the primary caregivers for their grandchildren face some unique challenges as well as the potential for special joys. Here to help them is the GRANDCares Project, which offers grandparents a variety of useful tools to cope with their unique family situation and added responsibilities. It also provides grandchildren with positive youth-development experiences through its Youth Club. 

What an Impact!

What an Impact! 7 February 2019

What an Impact!

The latest CTAHR Impact Report, focusing on positive community impacts on the island of Kaua‘i, is now up on the college’s website. This issue pays tribute to outstanding faculty, staff, volunteers, and projects on the Garden Isle. Find out about how these initiatives are making life better for Kaua‘i and the whole state!

All Things Coffee

All Things Coffee 31 January 2019

All Things Coffee

Coffee production education is getting into full swing with the start of another coffee-growing season. The Kona Cooperative Extension Service and Kona Research Station are welcoming farmers to attend upcoming coffee events. Coffee berry borer (CBB) 101 workshops will be conducted in Kona on February 5 and 8.

Pop In for Hydroponics

Pop In for Hydroponics 31 January 2019

Pop In for Hydroponics

Hydroponics and other soilless growing systems are the wave of the future: they’re compact, water efficient, and prevent many pest problems. Find out more about them at the Hydroponics Open House in Waimanalo, hosted by O‘ahu County Extension agents and CTAHR researchers. It’s a pop-in event, which means that participants can come by anytime during it for lots of helpful information.

New Faces: Melelani Oshiro

New Faces: Melelani Oshiro 31 January 2019

New Faces: Melelani Oshiro

MS alumna Melelani Oshiro will be the new assistant Livestock agent on the Big Island, based at the Kona CES office. Mele has a wide range of experience, having worked for Mark Thorne (HNFAS) as a research assistant on pasture and cattle production; at a horse stud farm in New Zealand; and as a veterinarian technician. Please welcome Mele when she starts on March 1!

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15 April 2020

Modes of Communication

O‘ahu 4-H takes its Communication Fair online

Modes of Communication

The O‘ahu 4-H Communication Fair is an annual tradition that dates back more than a decade.

So when the coronavirus pandemic cancelled many 4-H events, club meetings, and activities, O‘ahu 4-H adapted to the times and brought it online.

The Fair is an opportunity for youth to showcase their communication skills: public speaking, organizing a presentation or demonstration, and using photography and posters to express an idea or concept. The planning committee, composed of 4-H adult leaders and youth from Manawalea 4-H Club and O‘ahu 4-H, decided that a Virtual Communication Fair would be an ideal venue for the kids to learn and experience the importance of adaptability during a crisis.

For the week prior to the event, the student participants practiced on Zoom. They learned about where to place their cameras, how to project their voices—even how to adjust to lighting changes in their homes at different times of the day. 4-H agent Nancy Ooki and I provided feedback amid the challenges of presenting and demonstrating this new medium.

On Sunday, March 29, O‘ahu 4-H held its first Virtual Communication Fair. Participants aged 5–8 years old (Cloverbuds division) and 9–11 years old (Junior division) gave presentations and demonstrations to an audience of students, parents, judges, 4-H alumni, and 4-H agents.

It was a wonderful experience to see and listen to the youth talk with one another. They asked questions and complimented the presenters: ‘You must be good in reading’ or ‘You did an awesome job!’

Ben, a first-time participant, told me, “The virtual Communication Fair was fun because you get to see everyone from different grades. Everyone was so positive. It helped me to do a better presentation and demonstration. I would participate again since everyone is so helpful and nice.”

Thirty-five photographs and posters were also submitted via email to judges, who are presently deliberating. Once scores for all entries are compiled, the organization will host a virtual awards ceremony. Winners will be announced in CTAHR Notes and the O‘ahu 4-H Newsletter and on the Hawai‘i State 4-H website. All photography and poster entries will be posted for everyone to view.

For all its success, the virtual fair couldn’t compare to face-to-face interaction for at least one of the student participants, who said, “I actually prefer to be with people. Why? Because I am just completely the opposite of shy!” She ended up doing great in the fair!

Christine Hanakawa, O‘ahu County 4-H Program, CTAHR Cooperative Extension Service