Alumni News

Calling all CTAHR students: come to Miller Hall, Room 10, and join your friends and classmates in making CTAHR graduation stoles!

• Wednesday, 9/15 at 2:30 pm
• Wednesday, 9/22 at 2:30 pm
• Friday, 10/1 at 1:00 pm

“We have various tasks available during this production, so no prior experience of sewing is needed!” says Summer Kishi, student club presiden. “If you have the time, your help would be very much appreciated!”

For more information, contact Summer. Check out these stole society photos on Instagram.

CTAHR’s Academic and Student Affairs Office has lots of fun activities planned for our students this week, both in-person and virtually. So tune in tomorrow! Monday saw the re-opening of the super popular CTAHR Student Lounge! On hand to help celebrate was Steve Sato, CTAHR alum and recipient of the 2020 Outstanding Alumnus Award, whose generous donations made the lounge possible three years ago.

• Tues: Paint with Us, via Zoom
• Wed: Student Clubs, via Zoom
• Thu: Grab ‘n Go Foodstack Givewaway, Gilmore Hall Courtyard
• Fri: Cooking Show, via Zoom

This whole week is also Welcome Packets Distribution for new students. Stop by the ASAO in Gilmore Hall, Room 119A on the first floor.

*If you’re a student and missed these fun and welcoming events, no worries. ASAO will host plenty more throughout the schoolyear. Be sure to check your emails, and welcome back!

The UHM Aloha United Way campaign has kicked off, but before you hang up the phone, consider this: for just $30, you can get a box of delicious fruits and vegetables AND suppport AUW at the same time. UHM has partnered with farmer’s market vendor Keo & Company, so make sure you choose The Aina Box ($5 of each purchase goes to benefit the UHM-AUW campaign). From personal experience, the fruits and vegetables in this box are of the highest grade and super fresh.

• Free Delivery if you order between now and Oct. 8
• Visit www.Keoandcompany.com to order.
• For proper credit to the good guys, please notate “CTAHR” in the notes section of the order page.

CTAHR’s Office of Communication Services is administering the college’s AUW campaign this year. For questions, contact OCS at ctahrcom@hawaii.edu (note: this is a new email address) or 956-7036.

CTAHR’s kuleana in the field of agriculture is to teach the science of agriculture to the next generation; to conduct research that improves crop and animal production, and provides solutions to devastating plant diseases and pests; and, through Extension, to share our knowledge and expertise with the Hawaiʻi community in support of local growers. We graduate scientists who go on to distinguished careers in the private sector and academia. We produce new discoveries and critical data that collectively have resulted in millions of dollars in improved crops and crop management, across the Pacific and globally. Our Extension agents and specialists are ‘in the field’ on a daily basis, working hand-in-hand with farmers, ranchers, small start-ups, and the state’s larger producers. CTAHR impacts Hawaiʻi. The Annual Report provides a close-up look at our hard numbers, programs, and accomplishments. Recently, the Hawaiʻi Dept. of Agriculture announced the six winners of a new initiative to support the growth of commercial agriculture in our state. This was the result of a continuing collaboration among CTAHR, HDOA, and the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee in the legislature. Our collective goal is to assist established local agricultural enterprises to overcome barriers; to scale-up their operations, to expand markets for Hawaiʻi-grown commodities – and to increase the state’s agriculture gross domestic product. As a pilot project, it hopes to show what the potential of Hawaiʻi agriculture can be, once barriers are removed.

To do so, we must first identify those barriers. In choosing the recipients, we asked applicants to self-identify the barriers and bottlenecks, and explain how their businesses can capitalize and expand, once those barriers are reduced. A call for proposals solicited dozens of projects which were evaluated, ranked, and from which six proposals were selected for grant funding.

We are excited and optimistic about the success of this pilot, and we’re thankful to have strong collaborators and leadership like Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser of HDOA and State Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, who appropriated the funds to make this project a reality. A special thanks goes to Dr. Mathew Loke of HDOA who organized and ran the effort. Stay tuned for follow-up articles as the results come in.

August was a busy month at the Urban Garden Center as faculty, staff, and volunteers prepared for two site visits, first from the House Finance Committee of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, soon followed by the office of U.S. Representative Ed Case. State lawmakers, who are assessing Capital Improvement Projects statewide, were treated to a full tour of the iconic CTAHR facility in Pearl City, Oʻahu. This included a presentation by the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB) team, a CRB detection demonstration by the CRB canine program, a presentation on EFNEP/ SNAP-ED programs, and engaging with the Master Gardener Program. Committee members and their staff also conducted a walk through of the raised-bed containerized fruit tree and hydroponic demonstration area, strolled through the 4-H Children’s Garden, and viewed the historic Quonset hut from WWII. The guests heard first-hand from 4-H youth and UGC volunteers about the importance of UGC for Cooperative Extension programming.

Mitch Heidenreich, Congressman Case’s legal assistant, was provided with an in-depth update on CTAHR’s numerous statewide research and Extension projects involving invasive species eradication, suppression, and management. We also discussed CTAHR’s academic programs, increasing SNAP access, and youth development opportunities.

Development of the areas surrounding UGC has been on the rise, due to their close proximity to a planned rail stop – the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) for the Pearl Highlands Station Area. UGC’s relevance to the local community and the state was most evident, and we took full advantage of these opportunities to update policymakers about all the outstanding work being conducted by CTAHR, across the state. CTAHR is everywhere.

***

Did You Know?

On any given day, CTAHR faculty and staff at the 30-acre Urban Garden Center in, are researching a disease-resistant strain of crops, preparing college students for a career in tropical agriculture or environmental conservation, hosting busloads of elementary schoolkids, training local residents as Master Gardeners, donating more than 16,000 pounds of fresh fruit to the Hawai‘i Food Bank, and much more.

Prior to Covid, an estimated 6,134 people benefited from direct contact with UGC in 2019. In-person activities halted for the public in 2020, but UGC quickly pivoted to online educational programs, continuing to disseminate information and new advances to commercial and backyard growers across the Hawaiian islands.

Extension faculty, staff and volunteers also used the ‘down time’ during Covid to revitalize the UGC grounds with new gardens and enhanced exhibits. Today, as the state emerges from pandemic restrictions, this cherished neighborhood facility is ready to once again educate visitors and residents, children and adults, in agriculture, environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation strategies.