Got nemotodes? Students from Palolo Elementary School view tiny parasitic worms through a microscope while Desmond Ogata of CTAHR’s Agricultural Diagnostic Services Center describes these pests.

Palisades Elementary School fifth graders give green plants a closer look at a presentation by Jamie Grzebik, an extension agent who works at the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City.

Doctoral student Amjad Ahmed shares his knowledge of Hawaii’s watersheds and hydrology with students from Lunalilo Elementary School.

Lunalilo Elementary School students investigate some six-legged samples from CTAHR’s Insect Museum under the guidance of graduate students Cynthia King and Adam Vorsino.

Answers: 461 million gallons, an aphid, c. wind

Did you know the answers? More than 500 fifth graders from schools around Oahu explored these questions and more at Agricultural and Environmental Awareness Day, held April 24, 2008 at the college’s Urban Garden Center in Pearl City. The keiki embarked on a fun-filled voyage of discovery, investigating how agriculture and environmental science affect their lives and can shape their future. More than 30 presenters and exhibitors from CTAHR’s departments and programs, the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Honolulu Community College, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Hawaii Nature Center, the Board of Water Supply, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s Plant Quarantine Branch, and many others organizations helped the students examine important issues in farming and natural resource management. The kids encountered invasive species that damage the locally grown crops they eat, the houses they live in, and the delicate island ecosystems that surround them. They learned the value of beekeeping and biofuels, vegetables and vermiculture (composting with worms). At the same time, they met enthusiastic adults engaged in a broad spectrum of careers, experiencing firsthand what it might be like to be an entomologist, biotechnologist, animal scientist, or nutritionist.

As they visited the various exhibits and sessions, the students completed an Agricultural and Environmental Awareness Day quiz to reinforce what they’d learned. Congratulations to the fifth graders from Momilani Elementary, who earned the highest averaged score on the quiz! CTAHR is rewarding this outstanding effort by throwing the students a pizza party.

This year’s Awareness Day, the second held on Oahu, was well covered by local media. KHNL and K5 broadcast several news items on the event, and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin published photographs.

Agricultural and Environmental Awareness Day originated on Kauai with retired CTAHR county administrator Terry Sekioka and former researcher Sue Keller, who is now with the Kauai County Farm Bureau. They recognized that with fewer families working in agriculture, more children would think that food comes from the supermarket rather than the farm. An event was developed to plant seeds of curiosity that might motivate a new generation of agriculturists.

Now in its twelfth year, Awareness Day has become a Kauai tradition, and the event’s success has led CTAHR to expand the program to Oahu. Awareness Day has also been held at the college’s Komohana Research and Extension Center in Hilo, where the college hopes to host future Awareness Days once renovations at the Komohana facilities are completed. With Maui Community College hosting its own Agriculture and Natural Resources Awareness Day, keiki in all four counties can learn more about what they eat, where they live, and who they can become.

Mahalo to the many volunteers and presenters from CTAHR and other organizations who made this educational opportunity available to Oahu’s young people. We would especially like to thank county administrator Ray Uchida, extension agent Steve Nagano, and the UGC volunteers for hosting the event and the Waialee station staff for setting up and breaking down the tents. Thanks also to everyone who came out to support the event, especially Representative Mark Takai. We hope you’ll take the Awareness Day quiz next year.