Alumni News

by Sothy Eng, Jamie Fujii, and Emma Castro. Special occasions are marked with the giving of flowers. Whether a bouquet of roses or an assortment of carnations, flowers help us express emotions of love, appreciation, and gratitude. For this Valentine’s day, the Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences will teach you how to make ikebana as gifts for your loved ones, through our Home Garden Network program. Children, adults, and anyone in between can learn how to use jars and flowers to create something unique and from the heart, helping bring together people and their interests of art skills being demonstrated and shared with loved ones.

The knowledge and resources for this event come from FCS interns themselves, their family backgrounds and customs learned from their parents. Our activity is made easy so the ikebana can be created in a mason jar or a plastic potter cup.

• UH Manoa Campus, Miller Hall
• Sunday, Feb 7, 10:30 a.m.
• Please RSVP ASAP to Jamie Fujii or Emma Castro

What is Ikebana?

An ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging to highlight the inner beauty of flowers and ferns, and express emotion. Many flowers, leafs and ferns are used to decorate the arrangements.

These plants can be easily found in your back yard. Many local farmers markets sell flowers that are either grown at a local farm or in their own back yards as well.

To me, flower arrangement is a fun way to provide families with inspiration to grow plants. But a lack of knowledge and materials or tools can be daunting. So we want to help families, get children engaged, create social interactions in addition to the flower arrangement itself, and ultimately, create a sense of community where people get together to do things with a purpose.

Jamie, HDFS intern, says, “We want to help create meaningful experiences for families. The ikebana activity on Valentine’s day is meant to connect culture, art, and gardening. These three aspects play an important role in the community, even if it’s as simple as making flower arrangements.”

Emma, HDFS intern, adds, “Through this flower arrangement activity, it can be clearly shown the meaning of plants used and the culture behind each part of the flowers being put together. Each part brought together represents their love for who they are making this arrangement for.”

Sothy Eng, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Human Development & Family Studies in CTAHR’s Dept. of Family & Consumer Sciences. Jamie and Emma are undergraduate student interns in HDFS.

Success breeds success, after all. GoFarm Hawaiʻi, the popular and highly effective CTAHR program, has received a pledge for $2 million from the cooperative American AgCredit. The funds will enable the beginning-farmer development training series to reach more Hawaiʻi residents who are interested in learning how to farm, as well as help increase our community’s access to local food. “We are extremely grateful for American AgCredit and CoBank’s support of our practical training program built around the real-world needs of tomorrow’s farmers,” says Janel Yamamoto, GoFarm Hawaiʻi director. “With their support, and the support of other key partners, we can help experienced farmers looking to expand and needing assistance to develop a business plan or proposal, as well as people new to agriculture, wanting to learn the basics of farming.”

Nicholas Comerford, CTAHR Dean, adds, “Hawaiʻi imports about 85–90% of its food, making it particularly vulnerable to disruptions in food supply. Our GoFarm Hawaiʻi program addresses this by providing farmers with the tools they need to be successful, and expanding our local food supply — a necessity for our entire community.”

Read the UH News story.

1986: The Oprah Winfrey show debuts, the first Goodwill Games are held in Moscow, Halley's Comet buzzes past the Earth, and Randall Hamasaki begins a long career with CTAHR Extension. Randy, who retires after 34 years of service, “is an old-fashioned Extension agent who made farm visits to vegetable growers in Waimea, Hawaiʻi Island, and knows all his clientele by first names,” says Susan Miyasaka, Interim Hawaiʻi County Administrator. “In addition to vegetables, he worked with tea, blueberries, and olives. He also published prolifically – more than 40 CTAHR Extension papers.” 

Sharon Motomura-Wages, a fellow Extension agent, adds, “Randy will be missed by his peers and clients alike. He really cares about helping people and has built such an amazing rapport with his clientele. In working closely with Randy, I know what a great listener he is, and how he really understands the challenges that farmers face, whether agricultural, social, or economic. He did his best to provide them with real-life solutions.”

ʻE Komo Mai, Kylie

Starting in a week is Kylie Tavares, Sustainable Agriculture Agent with the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, who is moving from Maui to join the Kamuela Extension Office on Hawaiʻi Island. She will assume responsibilities for edible crops in the Kohala to Honokaa geographic area. 

“Kylie has certainly made her mark with growers on Maui, for her expertise with both sustainable organic growing methods and as our Food Safety Modernization Act 2000 resident expert and educator,” says Cindy Reeves, Maui County Administrator. “She will be missed by her stakeholders and colleagues alike, but we all wish her well in her new position and are very happy she will remain a CTAHR colleague!”

Please wish Kylie a warm welcome. She can be reached at kylielw@hawaii.edu or 887-7626.

The July 2020 AgHui survey conducted by the Agricultural Leadership Foundation of Hawaii was well received by public, private, and philanthropic sources – resulting in multiple projects across the state receiving funding support. As the 2021 Hawaii State Legislative session gets underway, ALFH has been asked to provide an update on proposed Ag projects – and that’s where you come in. So please complete this brief, 15-question survey about your current Ag projects in need of funding (grant, debt, or otherwise). The information will be made available to relevant stakeholders and policy makers and published on the ALFH website.

Got a novel research concept that may connect unique partners across various industries? Pioneering research that will solve pressing challenges in the food and agriculture industry? The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research is accepting pre-proposal applications for the 2021 cycle of its Seeding Solutions competitive grant program. “Here is an excellent grant opportunity for research support in six critical challenge areas: Soil Health, Sustainable Water Management, Next Generation Crops, Advanced Animal Systems, Urban Food Systems, and Health-Agriculture Nexus,” says Walter Bowen, CTAHR Associate Dean for Research.

“The deadline to submit pre-proposals is March 10,” Walter adds. “Note the 1:1 matching requirement. If you’re interested in this opportunity, I’ll be happy to discuss options for the matching requirement anytime.” FFAR encourages applications from Land Grant and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions.