Home for the Bees
There’s no place like home,” declared Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. But for Hawai‘i’s yellow-faced bees, artificial nest boxes—not necessarily home but a good facsimile— may be their best hope for survival.
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Gene-Level Conservation
Genetic analysis may not be one of the first tools that comes to mind when we think of conservation strategies, but it should be, as Ania Wieczorek and Carol Oshiro demonstrate with their recent study of the rare endemic plant Lobelia villosa.
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Partners in Conservation
Several CTAHR faculty participated in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, held in September in Honolulu, where they shared research on everything from Rapid ‘Ohi‘a Death to agroecology to native bees.
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To Conserve and Protect
Conservationists have sometimes been called tree-huggers. But as Megan Barnes, post-doctoral fellow in the department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, could tell you, it’s not enough to hug a tree.
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Food of the Gods
Money may not grow on trees, but something that many consider even better does: chocolate. At least the raw material of it, cacao (Theobroma cacao), which originates in plump, opulent, tropical-looking pods borne directly from the trunk of the slender, graceful tree.
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Rid of ROD
Extension forester J.B. Friday speaks for the trees. Right now, it’s the ‘ōhi‘a (Metrosideros polymorpha) that need his advocacy, due to a devastating new disease that’s decimating forests on the Big Island.
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Thrive Where You’re Planted
The right tree for the right place: this is horticulturalist Richard Criley’s focus. Both the location—away from utility lines, not too close to a sidewalk or drainage lines, positioned to provide shade where needed or to enhance a landscape with its beauty—and the tree choice itself—size, canopy density, flowering, fruiting, amenability to pruning—can influence the decision to plant a tree,
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Peas on Earth
What does a chickpea want? Not much, according to Amjad Ahmad. That’s why the UN has declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses: Legumes are able to grow—and give bountiful nutrition to humans and animals—with relatively few inputs.
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Food Wasted, Food Saved
Food waste—and what to do about it—is big news. Research by ag economists Matthew Loke and PingSun Leung, in the department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, has shown that Hawai‘i residents waste a quarter of all food in the state—356 pounds per person—totaling 522.8 million pounds and more than $1 billion a year!
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Mind the GAP!
Food brings people together. It’s essential to family and cultural traditions and can be an important way to connect with the ‘āinā.
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Eat “Local”
The Hawai‘i Foods website’s tagline is “Nutrition with Aloha.” This might be more succinct and inclusive than “One of the few places to learn how much calcium is in tree fern shoots,”* but they’re equally true.
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The Farmer on the Garden Isle
Roy Oyama finds farming relaxing, he recently commented. Maybe, compared with his other ag-related achievements and activities, it is.
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A Honey of a Project
Maui’s
lacking something the other islands have—and that’s a good thing. The destructive
honeybee pest the varroa mite has not infested the bees there, creating
important opportunities for research and outreach.
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By and For the Community
The Urban Garden Center (UGC), an expansive 30-acre site in Pearl City, serves as a one-stop outreach educational center where the public can get help and inspiration for home gardens through school tours, workshops, and demonstrations. Techniques showcased include home-garden irrigation solutions, xeriscaping, grafting, and companion planting.
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All in the Family
The Hawaii Association for Family & Community Education (Hawaii FCE) offers something for everyone.
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