• June 26, 2023
• UH News

Approximately 90% of Hawaiʻi’s food is imported. There are also barriers to food production that create an uncertain future for the state’s agriculture industry. However, a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa graduate student is hoping to plant a new seed and create a more positive future in Hawaiʻi’s quest to become self-sufficient.

Destiny Apilado is pursuing her master’s of environmental management in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM). Under the guidance of Associate Professor Susan Crow, Apilado is part of a team that received a $40-million U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to implement sustainable, climate-smart practices and establish stronger markets for locally produced, healthy food and forest products.

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The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM) at the University of Hawaii Manoa (UHM) invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in Biocultural Resource Stewardship. This is a 9-month tenure track position with 50% teaching and 50% research responsibilities, teaching an average of three classes per year. This position is vital to NREM's strategic vision of becoming a department known for weaving multiple knowledge systems for stewardship of natural resources, building leadership in 'aina momona, and revitalizing and reconnecting ecosystems and communities. It is designed to support burgeoning student interest in indigenous approaches to resource stewardship in Hawai'i and UHM's role as a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning in the most foundational area of care of all forms of 'aina. This position reflects understanding that indigenous approaches to stewardship of land and waters underpin climate change adaptation, food security, and restoration and conservation of species and ecosystems towards a pono future. 

Position #: 0083740

Position Title: Assistant Professor in Biocultural Resource Stewardship

Best Consideration Date: January 11, 2023 

Helping 100 million trees to thrive by 2030. That’s the goal set by Gov. David Ige's office.

In order to meet that mark, the state plans to plant or conserve thousands of acres of forest in the coming decade. It’s part of a larger statewide strategy to fight climate change. But what’s behind that number — 100 million?

The Conversation spoke with Travis Idol, a University of Hawaiʻi professor of tropical forestry and agroforestry in order to find out. He said the 100 million trees as a goal is just the beginning.

"We have millions for sure. I think the state probably controls about a million acres of forest lands. And so if you think there are probably hundreds of trees per acre of land on some nice good forests, then you're talking about maybe 100 million trees or more just on state land," Idol said. "So we have hundreds of millions of trees, I bet."

While Hawaiʻi probably has at least 100 million trees right now, Idol said it's important to manage Hawaiʻi's forests and ensure their survival.

"They've been affected and highly altered by human activities for a long time," he told Hawaiʻi Public Radio. "We need to be out there managing them and sometimes that means planting new trees. It means even removing trees we don't want there such as invasive species. So all of those things that are mentioned in that pledge — conserving, restoring, planting, growing — all of those are things we do need to do, not only to maintain the trees we have, but to replace trees that probably are going to need to come down, and maybe in the right kind of conditions, to expand the forests that we have."

This interview aired on The Conversation on Oct. 11, 2021.

Listen to the full interview here.