Alumni News

For first time since December 2019, Maui and Moloka‘i staff and faculty were able to gather together, this time at the Seascape Restaurant in Mā‘alaea. The occasion was the CTAHR Maui County Annual All Staff & Faculty meeting, as well as to celebrate the 2020 retirement of their Farm Manager, Pam Shingaki.

“Clarisse Baisa and Kassie Bode were honored for their service to all staff and faculty on both Maui and Molokai during these difficult Covid years and with ongoing staffing vacancies,” says Cindy Reeves.

She adds, “Eddie Perez, Interim Farm Manager, and Eric De Maria, Interim Master Gardener Coordinator, were honored for stepping up to fill these critical roles during an extended hiring freeze to ensure that both our field operations and our Master Gardener volunteer programs could continue to run effectively as we await the ability to hire permanent staff and faculty to fill our vacancies. A good time was had by all!”

The next cohort for the GoFarm Hawaiʻi programs will run from February to September in Hilo, beginning with its introductory AgCurious class slated for the tomorrow. The event will introduce beginner farmers to the training program, who will hear from local GoFarm Hawaiʻi grads about their experience and current farm endeavors. AgXposure is the next step, and will run February 1 - March 1, where every Tuesday and Saturday the “students” will learn from local farms and get exposure to farm work.

Learning the nuts and bolts of farm production and business skills from GoFarm’s coaching team will occur March 15 - September 17 during AgXcel. The new farmers will learn to plant, manage, and market their own seven-week vegetable production at GoFarm’s site near Hilo. 

Learn more details at GoFarm Hawaiʻi and AgCurious F.A.Q.s.

Speakers from UH and Mainland universities will headline the next event in this popular series of half-day conferences hosted by Kauaʻi Extension. “The first couple of presentations will talk about the new discoveries of parasitic wasps and others on the most recent management strategies of some key invasive pests,” says Roshan Manandhar. “This is a great opportunity to learn about the most recent and future management strategies of invasive pests.”

Tune in Wednesday, January 26, starting at 9:30 a.m. Don’t forget to Register now and contact Roshan if any questions.

Fast, cheap, and easy family meals were the goal of a free online cooking series with Extension agents Marielle Hampton and Hallie Cristobal from CTAHR’s Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences. Each session of the “Grinds on a Dime'' program demonstrated three simple, affordable recipes from the weekly theme of vegetarian, pasta, chicken, seafood, and Thanksgiving leftovers. With dishes like Cauliflower Gyros, Broccoli Mac & Cheese, and White Bean Chicken Chili, participants had a chance to try new recipes, learn cooking and nutrition tips, and prepare home-cooked meals for their families.

The program received positive feedback from attendees throughout the state: post-class surveys found that 85% of respondents planned to cook one of the recipes in the future, and 69% said they would prepare more meals at home as a result of the class. By the last session, 9 out of 10 survey respondents had already used something they learned.

One attendee shared, “I loved these classes! Can't wait for more. Just love switching up from making all the same things all the time.” Another commented, “This is super, you show how quick and easy it is to make healthy, affordable recipes!”

Class recordings are available on CTAHR Intergenerational Extension Programs’ YouTube page. For more information, please contact hamptonm@hawaii.edu.

Photo: Extension agent Hallie Cristobal shows off a homemade Cauliflower Gyro.

You are invited to attend “Research Update on New Taro Varieties: Mini-Conference” tomorrow (Tuesday Jan. 11 starting at noon). In this two-hour event, speakers will cover new taro varieties produced by conventional cross-pollination of taro flowers. The most promising ones were multiplied in tissue-culture, and distributed to CTAHR Research Stations on Hawaiʻi Island, Kauaʻi, Maui, and Molokaʻi. These new varieties were evaluated for yield, quality, and resistance to taro leaf blight.

Please register now for Taro Mini-Conference.

Photo: Christopher 'Popo' Bernabe (Agricultural technician, retired) who did cross-pollination of taro flowers to improve resistance to Taro Leaf Blight.