Alumni News

This year saw another successful 3MEP competition, in which students present their highly technical research projects in a short, concise, and audience-friendly format. Winners are Michael Honda (PhD), Natalija Glibetic (MS), Rebecca Barone (undergraduates), and Duc Nguyen (People’s Choice award)!

Andrea Kawabata, associate Extension agent for coffee and orchard crops, was awarded a $750 scholarship from the Roy A. Goff Memorial Endowment Fund to support her participation in the recent Specialty Coffee Association Expo in Seattle. Andrea presented an educational poster illustrating how a specialty coffee region is able to deal with a significant pest (coffee berry borer) in order to continue to provide high-quality coffee to the consumer. Andrea also learned about current research; new technologies, equipment, processing methods; new varieties, and marketing strategies that she will be able to share with Hawai‘i coffee producers. The Roy A. Goff Endowment supports professional development for CTAHR Extension faculty and staff. It’s managed by representatives of Epsilon Sigma Phi Extension fraternity, Hawaii Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Hawaii Association of Extension 4-H Agents, and the Hawaii Association of County Agricultural Agents. Applications for the next scholarship will be due July 31—for information about the scholarship, email Julia at zee@hawaii.edu.

The 24th Tea 101 workshop on Production and Processing Basics, conducted by Randall Hamasaki and Stuart Nakamoto, was held on April 26 at the Mealani Research Station on the Big Island. Mealani has a field of tea that includes many different cultivars and a selection field of seedlings, a greenhouse where tea cuttings are produced, and a processing facility. The station staff are well versed in the growing and processing of tea. And they brought all their expertise to the seven-hour workshop, which was jam-packed with information and activity from beginning to end. It covered tea plant varieties, propagation, planting, shaping, pruning, irrigation, fertilization, pest management, and harvesting, as well as processing and marketing the tea. Participants tasted green, oolong, and black teas made from Camellia sinensis. Participants gained hands-on experience harvesting and processing the tea and then took home the tea they produced. Even the lunch included a discussion about the market potential of Hawai‘i-grown tea. The participants left inspired and much more informed about this exciting new crop!

The 24th Tea 101 workshop, conducted by Randall Hamasaki and Stuart Nakamoto, was held at the Mealani Research Station on the Big Island. The seven-hour workshop was jam-packed with information and activity, including tea plant varieties, propagation, planting, shaping, pruning, irrigation, fertilization, pest management, and harvesting, as well as processing and marketing.

Cooperative Extension's Raymond Uchida, Jari Sugano, Jensen Uyeda, Joshua Silva, Kalani Matsumura, and Ted Radovich supported the O‘ahu City and County Disaster Recovery Centers to assist farmers, residents, and businesses affected by the recent severe weather and flooding, addressing questions on food safety, water quality, disaster-relief assistance, and debris removal.