Alumni News

What do intensive agricultural expansion, urbanization, sandalwood harvesting, and unmanaged grazing have in common? They all result in deforestation and depleted soil, both globally and across the Hawaiian Islands.

Mixed agroforestry systems, in which tree crops, perennial plants, and annuals are grown together as plant allies, provide many benefits over conventional monocrop systems. These include improved soil health and biodiversity, as well as increased resilience to climate change and resistance to some pest pressures.

Frederika Bain, writer and editor for CTAHR’s Office of Communication Services, will be leaving CTAHR on July 29 to start a new career as an English teacher. She is very grateful for the chance to have worked with the dedicated, intelligent, generous, and helpful people of the CTAHR ‘ohana.

Hurricane Lane hit Hawai‘i in August 2018, dropping a four-day single-station maximum of 57 inches of rain on Hawai‘i Island, making it the wettest tropical cyclone ever recorded in Hawai‘i. Ironically, conditions at the edge of the storm resulted in dry, windy weather conducive to fire.

Southeast Asia is undergoing a sea change in socioeconomics and the environment. But its people won’t have forge ahead alone. Wth a new $1 million donation from the Henry Luce Foundation, the UH Center for Southeast Asian Studies will work to create mentorship programs that transcend institutional boundaries through joint fieldwork, professional training, conference participation, and scholarly publication.