The Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s House Committee on Finance paid a friendly site visit to the Magoon Research and Education Station on July 14.
Tessie Amore and Orville Baldos of the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences led the tour of the grounds and greenhouses. The group included lawmakers and staff, CTAHR Associate Dean for Research Walter Bowen, UH VP of Government Relations Kalbert Young, and various CTAHR and UH staff.
In the orchid shadehouse, where a substantial replacement of structural beams was completed earlier this year, Tessie related how CTAHR faculty, emeritus Haruyuki Kamemoto, staff, and grad students of the orchid and anthurium breeding program joined together in 2007 for a prior renovation effort.
“Students to this day remember the unique experience of assisting in various aspects of the repair, including applying water seal to the wood pieces, staining the wood pieces, and stapling the shade cloth,” she says.
From there, the group moved to greenhouse #7, where Tessie pointed out damage to the roof and side walls from wind storms in December 2019 and January 2020. These have since been replaced using legislative funding to our ornamental breeding program.
Previously supported over the years by state and federal funds, including the Governor's Agriculture Coordinating Committee and a Federal Floriculture Research Grant made possible by the late Senator Daniel K Inouye (read the full story), CTAHR’s flower breeding program is now supported by the Hawaiʻi Floriculture and Nursery Association.
“We had a wonderful opportunity today to meet with Representative Kyle Yamashita and the legislative staff of the House Committee on Finance as they visited the CTAHR Magoon Research Facility in the heart of Mānoa,” says Walter. “As a public land-grant university, we value the significant support provided by the state legislature, which allows us to better serve the people of Hawaiʻi through our tripartite mission focused on teaching, research, and Extension.”