Alumni News

Our 2021 PEPS Pumpkin Carving Contest was a very spirited competition among our various PEPS research labs, which submitted creative, prideful, and meticulous works of art. This year's voting was done both in person and online to accommodate our fellow colleagues who are working from home. To support a local farmer, we used our enhancement Foundation Account to purchases pumpkins from Aloun Farm. We truly appreciate all the participation and support from our faculty, staff, and students to make this year's event a successful one, and we congratulate the 2021 PEPS Pumpkin Carving Contest Winners!

1st Place!  Hanul Seo in Mohammad Arif’s lab

"I chose to carve a devil inspired by cherubs/angels depicted in medieval art,” says Hanul. “They often appear with the four heads (lion, ox, eagle, man) of the four living creatures mentioned in the book of Ezekiel. The pose with the hand in blessing and the orb is commonly found in portraits of royalty. [I find that] cute, quaint, funny, sexy, or superhero Halloween decor and apparel is nice, but it makes things less scary, so I decided to embrace tradition and do my best medieval woodcut interpretation of Satan to provide some balance."

2nd Place!  Alexandra Kong in Michael Melzer's Lab

"We wanted to make a jack ‘o lantern that would capture the spirit of both Hawaiʻi and Halloween, so we decided to make a headless horseman – but on vacation in Hawaiʻi. In one hand, he is holding his pineapple head while he gives us a shaka with the other hand."

3rd Place!  Jia-Wei Tay's Lab

“The PEPS Prison ‘captures’ a whole other side of our acclaimed faculty!” J

4th Place! Mark Wright's Lab

“A praying mantis eyeing up its next meal: a caterpillar!”

The state of Hawaiʻi is moving toward universal pre-K, with a target completion of 2032. However, current access to early childhood care and education (ECE) programs varies widely from community to community, making it difficult for stakeholders to accurately track the allocation of ECE resources across neighborhoods and islands, as well as strategically plan the statewide expansion. Designed to fill this puka, the Center on the Family, currently part of the Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences, has launched Access to Early Childhood Education and Care in Hawai‘i.

The new interactive web tool will measure and map access to ECE resources. It will reveal and highlight those areas with the greatest unmet needs, and provide the fine-grain data needed to inform policymakers, advocates, and providers.

“The web tool will allow users to select different geographic areas and driving distances or public transit commute times, then see results for specific areas of the state,” says Barbara DeBaryshe, who along with Javzandulam Azuma and Ivette Rodriguez Stern will lead the project. “This innovative methodology gives a detailed picture of ECE access that was not previously available.”

She adds, “Results are being shared with our early learning system leaders and state legislators. We expect our work will play a key role in planning and monitoring progress toward Hawai‘i’s goal of universal preK access, starting first with under-served populations.”

For more info, visit the Center on the Family.

Join instructor Lara Hackney of the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food, and Animal Sciences on Nov. 19 @ 5:00 p.m. as she hosts a live, virtual cooking show. Learn how to make dishes full of holiday flavor: Roasted Kabocha & Ricotta Crustini, Candied Pecans, Cranberry Sauce, and Poached Pears! There’s no fee to attend, and the recipe and ingredient list will be emailed to you prior to the event – but you gotta Register now.

This event comes to you from the CTAHR Academic and Student Affairs Office. For questions, contact Jessie Radovich.

The 2021 annual convention of the largest virtual gathering of livestock stakeholders in the state is coming up this Friday afternoon, November 19, starting at 11:30 am. The council will continue on Saturday morning starting 7:30 am for its Annual Meeting. Register now to hear educational talks, give input on new tools in development for you, and get contacted with people in the industry.

“The Hawaiʻi Cattlemen’s Council convention and annual meeting is an opportunity for CTAHR research and Extension faculty to engage with one of the state’s largest agricultural industry groups,” says Mark Thorne of Extension. “Participation in the meetings is a chance to learn what challenges the industry faces, what solutions are needed, and where you may be able to join in to help sustain the industry.” 

For questions, contact Mark at thornem@hawaii.edu or (808) 887-6183.

Of the more than 500 species of yellow-faced bees worldwide, many are found only in Hawaiʻi, such as Hylaeus akoko (only on Hawaiʻi Island), or Hylaeus anomalus (only on Oʻahu). With extremely narrow ranges and sparse numbers (not to mention, human development), it’s no wonder they’re endangered.

But with new funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Competitive State Wildlife Grant program, Hawaiʻi is among 16 states that can continue its efforts in protecting key wildlife species: Hawaiian yellow-faced bees, land snails, and ʻelepaio birds.

“The project aims to understand the resource needs of and threats to endangered native species, including the yellow-faced bees, with the goal of developing management tools or strategies to recover their populations,” explains Paul Krushelnycky of the Dept. of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences. “Yellow-faced bees are Hawaiʻi's only native bees, and they are important pollinators of native plants.”

The ongoing collaboration between the Hawaiʻi Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, FWS’ Coastal Program, and CTAHR has mainly focused on several coastal species. So far, the researchers have learned about the plants both pollinated by these species and relied upon to provision their nests. They’ve also studied seasonal trends in the bees’ floral resource use and nesting activity, as well as competitors, predators and parasitoids that impact their success.

Thanks to the new grant, this information will be leveraged to guide plant restoration strategies, provide nesting habitats, and conduct translocations to establish new populations.

"Over the past few years, my collaboration with Hawaiʻi DLNR and USFWS Coastal Program has yielded a lot of great information about the floral and nesting resource needs of endangered coastal yellow-faced bees,” says Paul. “I'm excited that we can now continue this partnership and put that knowledge into practice, by restoring native habitat for these bees and revitalizing coastal ecosystems."

“We are thrilled to be able to continue our work for the benefit of endangered yellow-faced bees,” adds PI Cynthia King of Hawaiʻi DLNR, Division of Forestry and Wildlife. “The USFWS State Wildlife Grant (SWG) program has been pivotal in providing funds for native invertebrate conservation which wouldn’t otherwise be available for on-the-ground projects in Hawaiʻi. Past awards have allowed us to tackle immediate threats and conservation challenges relating to endangered kahuli tree snails and damselflies, and our state insect, the Kamehameha butterfly. This year’s invertebrate projects are great because they build off of knowledge and experience we’ve gained during previous SWG projects.”

Photos courtesy of Dr. Sheldon Plentovich, FWS Coastal Program, and Dr. Jason Graham, formerly with CTAHR.