December
Non-Timber Forest Products
12/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  NREM’s Jyotsna Krishnakumar
will present her PhD dissertation, “An Assessment of Non-timber Forest Products
Certification in Western Ghats, Kerala-A Multi-stakeholder Study,” Monday,
January 6, 3 p.m. in Sherman Lab 103. The goal of this study is to assess the
potential socio-economic impact of non-timber forest product certification in
Kerala, focusing on one of its five indigenous communities—the Kadars,
categorized as a particularly vulnerable tribal group by the Government of
India.
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Dr. B, Video Star
12/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Can’t get enough of Dr.B?
There’s a video for that! Dr.B is featured on the UH homepage in a video
highlighting his lifetime of work in plant breeding and corn genetics as well
as his recent $1 million endowment for graduate students. Go, Dr. B!
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Nalo Kalikimaka 2013
12/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Nothing says Christmas like
CTAHR! Ken Leonhardt and Ted Radovich (both TPSS) organized a colorful and
festive CTAHR entry for the Waimanalo Christmas Parade on December 14. A
venerable Model-T Ford decorated with flowers developed by CTAHR led the way,
as helpful volunteers tossed candy to the crowd. Next were the tractor and
trailer, laden with taro, tropical flowers, and other crops representative of
CTAHR, borrowed from several generous Waimanalo nurseries. There was even a decorated
Norfolk pine in the tractor bucket! Community outreach, good fun, and Christmas
spirit—what could be better?
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Travel Pono
12/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Alexis Anjomshoaa, NREM
graduate student, and her advisor, Linda Cox (also NREM), are working with the Hawai‘i
Ecotourism Association to kick off their new Protect Hawai‘i–Travel Pono
campaign. This effort involves community outreach and an improved Sustainable
Tourism Certification Program. The Hawai‘i Ecotourism Association
works to protect Hawai‘i’s environment and culture through the promotion of
responsible travel and educational programs aimed at the public and the visitor
industry relating to ecotourism issues.
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Mmmmmm, Honey
12/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR is buzzing! CTAHR
staff had a chance to help with the winter honey harvest from Waimanalo
Research Station and the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City on Tuesday, December
10. Participants learned how to cut away the wax, spin a centrifuge to extract
the honey, test for water level, and strain and bottle the honey from members
of the UH Honeybee Project. Check out photos from the event. Oh, the sweetness of success!
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Convocation Congratulations
12/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A big congratulations to the
students honored at the CTAHR Convocation on Thursday, December 12. More than
150 students, their families and friends, and CTAHR faculty and staff attended
this celebration of this semester’s 28 graduates. The event was emceed by Lisa
Kitagawa-Akagi, with congratulatory remarks from Dean Maria Gallo and CTAHR
Alumni Association and Friends President Dr. Susan Miller. Student marshals
Marissa Chee (NREM) and Jasmine Pang (FAMR) were honored for their academic
achievements, leadership and service, and graduates were acknowledged for their
participation in CTAHR-affiliated organizations. Thank you to SAPFB for
partially funding this event, the CTAHR Alumni Association and Friends for
their support, Steven and Karen Sato for donating lei, CTAHR scholarship
recipients and student ambassadors for volunteering at the event, and ASAO for organizing
the event and providing the CTAHR memorabilia presented to the graduates. Congratulations,
graduates! Good luck in your future endeavors!
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The Art of Fish
12/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  In conjunction with the Honolulu Marathon, HNFAS’s Benny Ron
conducted a gyotaku (fish printing) workshop for Honolulu Marathon Clinic
runners to increase awareness of aquaculture, seafood, and food security in
Hawai‘i. While runners and their families applied the art of gyotaku to
T-shirts, they learned the importance of fish to our health and local culture
and economy. It was a fun opportunity to combine art with food and aquaculture.
Hooray for fish!
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Campaign for Costumes
12/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Reminder! FDM’s Historic Costume Collection crowdfunding
campaign has hit $1,000! The campaign hopes to raise $10,000 to support
conservation and display of the collection’s historically and culturally
irreplaceable items. Find out about how you can support this unique and awesome
collection.
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Stay Safe and Fight Pests
12/11/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR's Risk Management Hawai‘i will conduct a workshop on Proper
Pesticide Use and Safety, Wednesday, December 18, 6:00–8:00 p.m. at the Pahala
Community Center. The workshop will cover the Federal Worker Protection
Standard (WPS) for agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. Anyone who uses
or handles pesticides is at risk, but improper use or storage can put
neighbors, property owners, children, pets, and the environment at risk as
well. Learning how to be compliant with the WPS will minimize risks for all
involved. RSVP with Gina at (808) 322-4892 or ginab@hawaii.edu
by Monday, December 16.
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Editing Bioresources
12/11/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Samir Khanal (MBBE) has recently been invited to join the editorial board member of a prestigious international refereed journal,
Bioresource Technology. The journal publishes high-quality research papers in the field of bioenergy and biobased products and biological waste treatment. The journal ranks number one in the agricultural engineering field and number five amongst those dealing with energy and fuels.
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The Best Gift Ever!
12/11/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Spread some holiday cheer
with CTAHR shirts! Just a reminder that the new CTAHR “People Place Promise”
T-shirts are available in pink and dark green, and would make an awesome gift.
To order the new shirt, download the form. The other lovely fashion options,
the sage-green petroglyph T-shirt and the classic polo shirt, are still
available as well. CTAHR shirts make a wonderful gift any time of year!
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Honolulu Fashion
12/11/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  APDM alumnae Breanne Lee and Jenna Sato were featured in Honolulu magazine in October for Hawai‘i Fashion Month.
Breanne’s creativity has led her to design a wedding gown inspired by the
foxtrot and to create another dress crafted entirely from local plumeria for
LICH’s recent Project Greenway. Jenna, a Nordstrom window presenter as well as
a fashion designer, has created costumes for Hawaii Five-O and likes classic
yet edgy pieces that are fun to wear. Both Breanne and Jenna enjoyed the
opportunity to design for Hawai‘i Fashion Month and showcase their work. Awesome job, Breanne and Jenna!
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Pasta Awesomeness
12/11/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A big mahalo to everyone who risked a food coma for the
pasta fundraiser for Typhoon Haiyan relief! The event raised more than $2,250,
which will be matched dollar for dollar by a Filipino relief foundation. Pasta
enthusiasts lined up about 11:15 and ate merrily until 1:30. True to his word,
HNFAS’s Chef Mark Segobiano did not run out of food, although some of the more
popular sauces did get wiped out! About 30 HNFAS students, led by the FSHN
Council, helped out, with cooperation from the Center for Philippines Studies.
Many generous participants gave more than the $8 per plate, adding even more
aloha to the event. Thank you to everyone who helped out!
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Crowdfunding the Costume Collection
12/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Go, go, get that funding!
FDM’s Historic Costume Collection launched their first Indiegogo crowdfunding
campaign. The campaign hopes to raise $10,000 to support conservation and
display of the collection’s historically and culturally irreplaceable items.
Curator Shu Hwa Lin (FCS, left) is looking to purchase museum-worthy cabinets and
textile conservation materials as well as display cases to showcase this unique
and awesome collection to the UH community. Learn more about the collection and
how to help their crowdfunding campaign.
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Pasta for a Good Cause
12/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Enjoy
fresh-made Italian cuisine by HNFAS’s Chef Mark Segobiano on Friday, December
6, 11:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m. at AgSci 219. Each plate costs only $8.00, and funds
will support Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts. The menu will include tossed
Italian salad with homemade dressing, garlic and herb bread, beverages, and a
variety of pasta (spaghetti, fettucine, penne rigatti, rigatoni, and macaroni)
and sauces (vegetarian marinara, classic Bolognese, white clam, creamy
mushroom, and 3-cheese). Eat up and help out!
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Beefing Up Basil Protection
12/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR joins
with other agricultural programs and companies to present the Basil Growers’
Multi Agency Workshop with Chinese Translations on Wednesday, December 4, 2
p.m. at the Pearl City Urban Garden Center. The workshop includes information
on crop protection chemicals, marketing Hawai‘i products, an educational
session on the top 3 basil pests, strategies for integrated pest and resistance
management and more. Zhiqiang Cheng, PEPS’s new turf grass specialist, will
assist in translating the workshop into Chinese.
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Moth Management
12/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Randall Hamasaki (PEPS) and Maria “Didi” Derval Diaz-Lyke (HNFAS) will
present the workshop “Managing
Your Production Risk: Diamondback Moth and Insecticide Rotation Planning” on
Thursday, December 12, at 6 p.m. at the Waimea Civic Center conference room.
The workshop will not only cover Hawai‘i’s most resilient agricultural pest,
but it will also outline insecticide planning for 2014 for cabbage growers and
others who battle resistance-prone pests. Don’t forget to bring your pesticide
card to get 2 credits toward pesticide recertification. RSVP to mddiaz@hawaii.edu or call Didi or Perci at
887-6183 by December 10.
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Sustainable Ocean Farming
12/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  HNFAS’s Benny
Ron shared his aquaponics and aquaculture expertise on ThinkTechHawaii. Benny
explains the history and current state of controlled fish farming and plant
cultivation research and outreach around the Asia Pacific region, as well as
the challenges involved in both. He also details some of the projects and
programs currently involved in aquaculture and aquaponics. Watch it on YouTube.
The good part starts at around 6:30.
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Culture and Agriculture
12/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Students from
the Liko A‘e Native Hawaiian Leadership Program recently visited the
Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program Learning Center at the Waimanalo
Research Station. About 30 of these students participated in hands-on
activities at the aquaponics facility and in the kalo collection. The learning
center concept at Waimanalo and Poamoho stations aims to highlight the
important research conducted at these locations to growers, students and the
community.
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Sustainability Is Elementary
12/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  It’s never too early to learn about sustainability! Noelani
Elementary school’s 1st-grade class celebrated sustainable agriculture in an
urban community with their fall harvest event on November 19. The day’s
activities included Creating a GardenSoxx (inspired by PEPS’s Jim Hollyer),
cleaning/prepping the vegetable harvest for veggie soup (inspired by HNFAS’s
Maria Stewart), and planting seeds and collecting data from the 1st-grade
Noelani Papaya Grove (with support from ADSC’s Desmond Ogata). The event was
part of the school’s 1st-grade STEM project, in partnership with the Student
Organic Farm Training program. SOFT student volunteers Mitchell Loo, Nate
Ortiz, Gabe Sachter-Smith, Jeana Cadby, Andrew Dedrick, Sean Bell, Rose Wolfe,
Doug Hunfeld, and Nate Nicholson helped make the day a fun learning experience
for the future stewards of the land.
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Heads Up for Upcoming Awards Nominations
12/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  As you were giving thanks last week, maybe some outstanding
colleagues came to mind as particularly worthy of our collective gratitude.
Make a mental note now so you’re ready when the official call for nominations
for CTAHR faculty and staff awards is made after the winter recess. The
criteria, deadlines, and nominating process will be announced in January and
posted on the CTAHR Awards Banquet website. The nomination deadline for the
Outstanding Alumnus/Alumna award is January 31, 2014, and the deadline for
nominations for six faculty/staff awards is Feb. 20, 2014. The awards are Excellence
in Teaching, in Research, and in Extension; Outstanding Civil Service and
Service by an APT Employee; and the Alvin T. and Charlotte C. Nakamura Hoku
Award for an Individual with Administrative Potential.
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The Hunt for Tiny Bacteria
12/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Daniel Jenkins (MBBE) has been awarded a new USDA-NIFA grant of almost $500,000 entitled “New
Engineered Approaches for Recovering Disperse Populations of Low-Tolerance
Pathogens from Food.” The project is a spin-off of mobile
agricultural diagnostic technology that has been used in the field to detect
and identify harmful bacteria in plants. The existing technology examines such
small samples, however, that the likelihood of detecting certain pathogens is
also quite small. Daniel’s objective is to develop a hand-held technology to
isolate and concentrate those pathogens directly from a sample, making them
easier to detect. The project will specifically focus on foodborne pathogens
for which there is very low or zero tolerance.
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November
Fighting Invasive Species on the Internet
11/28/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The TechLine Invasive Plant News website recently posted “A Practitioner’s
Guide for Testing Herbicide Efficacy With the Incision Point Application (IPA)
Technique on Invasive Woody Plant Species” by NREM’s James Leary and
co-authors. Now, invasive plant fighters around the country can read about this
calibrated, hygienic, and efficient field technique for administering herbicide
directly to the vascular systems of invasive woody plant species and learn how
to conduct their own experiments using the IPA technique.
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Saving Lives, 78 Pints at a Time
11/28/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A big mahalo to everyone who turned out for CTAHR’s November
20 blood drive! The drive collected 78 pints of blood, which can be separated
into three components, saving as many as 234 lives. The precious gift of life
not only helps those who need the blood, but touches the lives of the families
of the recipients as well. The Blood Bank and CTAHR truly appreciates the time
and generosity of everyone who contributed to this successful event and giving
the precious gift of life. Much mahalo to those who came out to donate blood.
Thank you to the CTAHR Alumni Association for the support and generous donation
to supply Kamehameha Bakery poi malasadas. Also, thanks to the scholarship
recipients who helped throughout the day and provided a positive and
comfortable environment for those who came to donate. Great job, everyone!
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Fight Pests, Grow Coffee
11/28/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A little insect can do a lot of damage.
Andrea Kawabata (TPSS) will conduct a workshop on how to combat the Coffee
Berry Borer, Monday, December 2, 6 p.m. at the Hilo Coffee Mill. Coffee growers
on the Big Island have been battling CBB since its arrival in 2010. Andrea will
teach farmers about effective and environmentally friendly integrated pest
management, including prevention of new CBB introductions, field sanitation,
and monitoring. CTAHR will also discuss risk management and crop insurer
policies. Interested? RSVP Gina at (808) 322-4892.
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Get Those Pests! Save That Wood!
11/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Associate Dean for Research Ken Grace was happily surprised
to be honored with the 2013 Distinguished Service Award from the Hawai‘i Pest
Control Association, recognizing his research and educational efforts
on behalf of the pest control industry. The HPCA represents all the structural
pest management professionals in Hawai‘i and has been a consistent supporter of
CTAHR, especially at the annual Awards Banquet. Ken was also selected by the
American Wood Protection Association to give
the Colley/Hartford Memorial Lecture, established to
recognize significant research accomplishments in the field of wood
preservation, this year at their annual meeting. To top it all off, he organized an international symposium on
current termite prevention research for this year’s meeting. Congratulations on the range of honors!
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Supporting Military Families Internationally
11/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Janice Pascua, a graduating FAMR
senior, received a competitive paid internship in Naples, Italy, with the Navy
Fleet and Family Readiness Program. The 15-week experience involves enhancing
programmatic/childcare efforts, connecting families to support systems, and
engaging new youth/families in programs. Janice is the first person to apply
for this internship from UH and has previous internship experience with the
Mindfulness-Based Adventure Camp for Military Youth led by Claire Nakatsuka and
Thao Le (both FCS)—Go for it, Janice!
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CTAHR at the APLU
11/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Dean Maria Gallo and Associate
Dean Charly Kinoshita represented CTAHR at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Public and Land-grant Colleges
(APLU) on November 12 in Washington, D.C. At the closing keynote address, USDA
Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke passionately about the need for passing the Farm
Bill this year, as well as the importance of educating America about the
significance and needs of rural America. Vilsack’s address can be viewed
online.
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The Wonderful World of Piligrass
11/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Congratulations to Orville Baldos (TPSS), who successfully defended his PhD dissertation on piligrass
seed dormancy, smoke-stimulated germination, and harvest timing on November 15!
Piligrass, a native, drought-tolerant grass found in the dry areas of the
main Hawaiian islands, is being considered for roadside re-vegetation
and erosion-control purposes. In recent years, there has been a move—led in
part by Orville’s advisor Joe DeFrank (TPSS)—toward utilizing native plants not
only for ecological restoration and re-vegetation, but also for other purposes
such as urban greening, agricultural buffer strips, forage, and biofuels. Check
out Orville’s YouTube channel for the video of his defense as well as his other
research videos.
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Bake Sale Happiness
11/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The FSHN
Council will hold their annual bake sale on Monday and Tuesday,
November 25 and 26, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Campus Center and
the Ag Sciences building lobby. This year the toothsome
selection includes pumpkin mochi, snickerdoodles, cake pops,
brownies, white chocolate craisin blondies, and double chocolate cookies. If
you were lucky enough to get your pre-order in for select items (the option is now, sadly, closed), pick-up
will be in the Ag Sciences building lobby, also on the 25th or 26th from 10:30 to
1:30. Cash and checks (made out to the Food Science and Human Nutrition Council) are accepted. Feel free to indulge—it’s for a good cause! Proceeds from the bake sale go to help the FSHN Council, which
allows students to network with other students, faculty, and professionals in
food science, nutrition and other health-related fields and offers career
information, scholarships opportunities, and community service activities. And they’re stellar bakers!
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Go, Navy Green!
11/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  MBBE will be hosting
Joelle Simonpietri of the U.S. Pacific Command, who will discuss the U.S. Navy’s Great Green
Fleet Initiative, on November 21, 3:30 p.m. at St. John 11. The Great Green Fleet
is one of the five features of the Navy’s overall plan to reduce its consumption of energy, decrease its
reliance on foreign sources of oil, and significantly increase its use of
alternative energy. The fleet is a Carrier Strike Group fueled by alternative
sources of energy including advanced biofuel blends and nuclear power. Through
this and a variety of other energy-efficiency technologies, the Navy is
committed to have 50% of their energy needs to be met by alternative sources by
2020.
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First Steps to Big Careers
11/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Academic and Student Affairs Office
hosted its annual CTAHR Career Conference in Gilmore Hall on November 5.
Students had the opportunity to hear from speakers in the seed industry,
agriculture in the public sector, natural resource management, and technology,
and they learned about potential jobs and how to prepare for careers in these
fields. Students and employers also had a chance to chat and mingle during the
networking intermission. A warm thank you goes to all who attended the career
conference, to scholarship recipients for volunteering, and to ASAO, especially
Felicia Geronimo, for organizing this event. Also, much mahalo is due to DuPont
Pioneer and Monsanto for providing refreshments. Lastly, a big thank you goes
to the workshop presenters who came out that evening to share with the students
what they do and their pointers for working in agriculture and natural resource
management careers.
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A Life of Pest Control Honored
11/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Marshall W Johnson,
formerly of PEPS, was honored November 10 at the Entomological
Society of America annual meeting in Austin, Texas. Dr. Johnson, a 2006
Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, was feted with a special symposium
that highlighted his lifelong work as an integrated pest management extension
specialist and researcher. Former CTAHR faculty Bruce Tabashnik, Vincent
Jones, and Cerruti Hooks were among the speakers honoring him. A
native North Carolinian, Dr. Johnson spent 19 years at UHM, rising through
the ranks to full professor and entomologist in 1992. He also served as chair of the Entomology Department from 1996 to 1998 and vice-chair of PEPS, 1998 to 2002. He
and his wife, Lynn LeBeck (also an entomologist and former CTAHR faculty member!),
now reside in Clovis, California. Congratulations, Dr. Johnson!
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Two Ways to Get Rid of Weeds
11/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Disease is just
one of the many things to guard against when raising goats, and now there’s a
wide-ranging and useful new discussion of this potentially lucrative
activity—it also explains which breeds are best for Hawai‘i, notes when to
schedule important milestones such as breeding and dehorning, and answers that
oft-asked question, “Can goats really eat anything?” Goats can be very useful for eating unwanted
plants, but since even they have their limitations, you may also need another
new publication, which explains how to test which pesticides do best at eliminating
weed trees, using a technique that has a much smaller environmental impact than
those previously employed.
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Keeping Yourself and Your Plants Healthy
11/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Let’s hope you don’t have any Cyclospora cayetanensis lying around your house—this
single-celled parasite can cause serious foodborne illness. Find out how to
avoid it and the disease it causes, cyclosporiasis.
Also helping you to avoid foodborne illness is a new guide to the handling and
labeling requirements for
bagged leafy greens, which have now
been classified as a potentially hazardous food owing to the many outbreaks of
disease associated with them.
Bacterial Wilt of Ginger won’t cause
any disease in humans, but it can decimate a farmer’s ginger crop—learn how to
deal with this potentially devastating problem before it impacts the Island
supply further!
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Farming, Naturally
11/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  If you’ve gotten
caught up in the excitement swirling around Natural Farming techniques, you’ll
be glad to know that there’s a new series of extension bulletins coming out
describing the various inputs needed in the system. Find out the many uses of
Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ) and
when’s the right time to harvest the growing shoots to make it. And then try your
hand at creating and deploying some
Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB). Made of
simple ingredients you’ve probably got in or around your house, these inputs
are reputed to work wonders, so try mixing up a batch today!
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Can-Do at Purdue
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  FSHN alumnus
Jordan Oshiro, now pursuing a PhD at Purdue University in Nutrition Science, recently
wrote to thank Dean Gallo for her “words of wisdom and example, which made a
big impact in my personal/professional development.” He added, “Best wishes to
you and I’ll continue to keep you, CTAHR, and UH in my thoughts and prayers!”
Jordan, who graduated in December 2012, distinguished himself while at CTAHR in
many ways, including winning the HNFAS Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation
Award at the 2010 CTAHR Student Research Symposium, CTAHR’s Best Undergraduate
Oral Presentation Award at the 2011 Student Research Symposium, and an
Undergraduate Research Funding Award at UH’s 2011 Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Symposium. He was a student ambassador for the college and also
served as one of CTAHR’s two student marshals at UHM’s Fall 2012 Commencement.
Beyond that, he was part of an undergraduate R&D team that developed a new
food product from food processing by-products, now being sold through UH’s
Kulanui brand. He also served as an RA and a tutor in the FSHN program. He completed
a summer research internship at USDA’s Food Quality Laboratory and another
internship at a local agriculture company. There seems no doubt that he will
continue to distinguish himself at Purdue!
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Whimsical Threads
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  APDM alumna Lauren Hayashibara was featured in Midweek magazine along
with her clothing collection 19th and Whimsy, available at select stores in the
Islands. The collection, she explains, seeks to add festive, whimsical touches
to casual, contemporary clothing. Lauren graduated in Spring 2008 and has since
clearly put her degree to good work.
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Don't Fight the Feeling
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The clothing
company Fighting Eel, established by CTAHR alumna Lan Chung (APDM 1996, right) and Rona
Bennett (left), also a UH alumna, just won the Established Designer of the Year Award at the Governor’s Fashion Award ceremony. The company, established in 2003,
brings together “a blend,” as their web page explains, “of sexy and simple” in
pieces that are “surprisingly versatile and comfortable.”
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In the Fields
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR’s LIFE program for immigrant farmers is highlighted in
the November issue of the newsletter Rural
Connections. Jari Sugano and the LIFE team explain that LIFE follows the
model of “taking the university to the people,” going out to farms to provide
hands-on education to underserved populations of growers such as recent
immigrants, Native Hawaiians, and women. An important element of their success
is getting feedback from their target communities to make sure they’re meeting
the needs that should be met—pest control, new varieties of produce, and
marketing/adding value are high priorities. Another focus of the group is
looking for new ways to attract and connect with their audience, from field
days and workshops to printed material in a variety of languages. And from all
assessments that the program has conducted, they’re succeeding where it
counts—in the eyes of their stakeholders.
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Totally Tomatoes
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Tomato growers recently gathered at Twinbridge Farms in Waialua to evaluate
virus-resistant tomatoes as part of the WSARE project "Low-Input
Integrated Management of Tomato Viruses in Hawaii,” with co-PIs Leyla Kauffman
and Mark Wright). PEPS master’s student Amber Tateno updated attendees on
progress as part of her thesis work, and everyone had the opportunity to taste
the varieties and evaluate their flavor. Get more information on the project here, or contact Leyla Kaufman at leyla@hawaii.edu.
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Paying It Forward
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  In the spring
the Aquaculture Training On-Line Learning (ATOLL) program, offered by CTAHR and
Olomana Gardens, presented certificates with a specialty in aquaponics to its
first five interns from Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands in a moving
ceremony attended by Dean Gallo and Douglas Vincent (HNFAS) and broadcast to Rota. Now
the graduates, affectionately known as “The Magnificent 5,” are ready to
conduct training to community members and school students on Rota who are
interested in aquaponics food-production systems at their newly built Rota
Aquaponic Education and Training Center. Just one more great example
of the way CTAHR’s education and extension seek to help communities to help
themselves.
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Champion of the Elderly
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Sarah Yuan (COF) was recently sworn in at Washington Place during
the 2013 Commissioning Ceremony for Commissioners and Board Members, for
a governor’s appointment with the Policy Advisory Board for Elderly Affairs.
Members are selected for “their ability to make
contributions to the solution of problems relating to aging,” a charge Sarah is
well qualified to fulfill owing to her work on intergenerational relationships
and the demographics of aging. The honor is even greater in
that she may be one of the youngest members of the board, a majority of which
is required to be over 60 years old! She is pictured here with Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald (left) and State Senator
Ron Kouchi (right).
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The Root of Culture
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Taro aficionados, take note: The
Doris Duke Theatre will be hosting its third ‘Oiwi Film Festival, dedicated to
work directed by indigenous Hawaiian filmmakers, November 8–13.
One of the films to be screened
is
Kalo Culture, which follows taro
farmer Daniel Anthony and his quest to raise awareness of this integral
cultural food and the way of life it fosters. There will also be a
kalo-pounding demonstration at the screening.
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Agrosecurity Avatars
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  During the next month, PEPS will be
interviewing three promising candidates for the Agrosecurity position. Mohammad Arif of Kansas State University will visit November 7–8,
giving a research seminar on November 7 at 9:30 a.m. in Gilmore 306 on “Biosecurity
and Microbial Forensics: Disciplinary Synergy to Meet Agrosecurity Needs,”
while CTAHR’s own Michael Melzer will
be offering his research seminar on “Safeguarding Hawaii’s Agriculture”
on November 20 at 9:15 a.m. in Gilmore 302. Finally, Carrie Harmon of the University of Florida will be visiting
December 3–4, giving a seminar on December 3 at 9:15 a.m. in Gilmore 306 on “Collaborative
Research in Detection and Diagnosis: Meeting the Challenge of Invasive Species
and Economic Constraints.” All are welcomed to attend the seminars, and anyone
wishing to schedule a meeting with any of the candidates should contact
Scot Nelson at 956-6741 or snelson@hawaii.edu. The seminars will also be
recorded by video and made available for viewing online.
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The Power and Precision of Plant Breeders
11/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Dean Gallo
has invited four well-qualified candidates to interview for the
Tropical Crops Plant
Breeder position in TPSS. Each week in November, a different candidate will
present a seminar on her or his research interests and accomplishments,
indicating how these have prepared him or her for the position. Each will also
make a separate teaching presentation on the topic “The Use of Molecular Markers
Increases the Power and Precision of Classical Plant Breeding.” The first
candidate is Alan Chambers, a recent graduate from University of Florida, whose
PhD research involved using genomic approaches to identify genes affecting
strawberry quality traits. Dr. Chambers’ presentations are scheduled for
Wednesday and Thursday, November 6 and 7. His research seminar will be given at 1:00 p.m.
on Wednesday in St. John 106, while his teaching presentation
will take place 11:00 a.m. on Thursday in the same room.
Manoa faculty who wish to meet individually with Dr. Chambers can contact Richard
Manshardt at manshard@hawaii.edu or
956-6063. Polycom is available if outer island faculty/staff want to view the
presentations or seminar, and they should also contact Richard Manshardt.
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October
LICH for Posterity
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The video team of Joe DeFrank, Scott Lukas, and Orville
Baldos (all TPSS) recorded 18 of the 26 sessions at the 2013 LICH Conference,
the first time that recordings were made! Of these select recorded sessions, 10
are on native plants and 8 on general landscape issues, such as Ethel
Villalobos’ (PEPS) presentation on pollinator-friendly planting (pictured). The
videos are now
online and available for interested viewers to check out sessions they may have
missed, review important information, or share with a colleague.
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Cutting-Edge Fashion . . . Scholarship
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Andy Reilly (FCS)
recently launched the first issue of a new journal,
Critical Studies in Men’s Fashion, of which he is the principal editor
and creator. It will come out three times a year, offering critical
examinations of the multi-faceted dimensions of men’s dress. The journal uses
the holistic definition of dress as a means of examining the tangible
and intangible aspects of creating and maintaining appearance. The topics of
gender, identity, sexuality, culture, marketing, and business come together in
this, the first and only academic journal to focus exclusively on men’s
appearance and dress. Men’s dress and fashion have long been sidelined in
scholarship, and this journal provides a dedicated space for the discussion,
analysis, and theoretical development of men’s appearance from multiple
disciplines. As one reader from Finland exclaimed, “I’ve waited 50 years
for this!”
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Beyond the Mouth
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Maria Stewart (HNFAS) and two FSHN students, Kelli-Ann
Zakimi and Maile Ishikawa, recently offered a workshop at the 2013 Astronaut
Lacy Veach Day held at Punahou School. At the 12th annual celebration of the Space
Shuttle astronaut and of all things science related, geared for students in
Grade 4 and up, there were many exciting-sounding workshops, including ones
showing how to build a “Bristlebot” or dissect a cow’s eye. But perhaps none
promised to unlock a bigger mystery than the one offered by this intrepid CTAHR
trio: “What Happens to Your Food After You Eat It?” For despite all the
discussion of food in the news, food’s afterlife hasn’t made it to the same
level of public discourse. But this may be about to change, thanks to a
“superb” workshop that, as the event’s organizer enthused, made “students
realize that STEM is exciting, challenging, and fun”!
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The Great Pumpkin Does Exist, Charlie Brown!
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  East HawaIi 4-H and the 4-H Junior Master Gardener Program joined
with the Waimea Town Market at Parker School and the Hawaii Island School
Garden Network to organize the Fifth Annual Big Island Giant Pumpkin Contest at
the Waimea Town Market in Kamuela. For this event, sponsored by the
agricultural chemical company BEI Hawaii and Crop Production Services, pumpkin
seedlings were given out to interested Big Island youth, schools, farmers, and
the general public so they could try their hands at growing a monster-size
pumpkin. Those who were successful in producing pumpkins brought them to the
final weigh-in on October 5. This year there was a record-breaker weighing in
at 636 pounds, grown by the Hawaii Preparatory Academy. The second-place winner,
at 171 pounds, was grown by East Hawaii 4-H county agent Becky Settlage. Other
categories included Most Beautiful (Pumpkin), won by Hilo Union Elementary, and
Most Unusual and Best Record Keeping/Photo Diary, both of which were won by Kea‘au
Elementary School. Although only about a dozen pumpkins made it to the contest,
the event was able to interest over 1,000 youth in gardening, and the growers used
critical thinking, problem-solving, and science skills as they learned about
plant parts and reproduction, pollination, diseases, and many other aspects to
growing a giant pumpkin. Best of all, many are interested in growing them again
next year. Check out fun photos from the contest on the
East Hawaii 4-H and East Hawaii 4-H Livestock Facebook page!
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Back in Time, Towards the Future
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Magoon recently hosted a special group of
visitors. As part of a rebuilding strategy for Japan, shortly after World War
II, the University of California and the California Farm Bureau Federation in
partnership with the Japanese government established the JPN Farm Trainee
Program, which provided training for future farmers throughout Japan on farms
in the US. Fifty years ago, the 12th cohort of the Farm Trainee Program
stopped in Hawai‘i on their way to California and was hosted by CTAHR faculty
and administrators; they still remember with gratitude then-Dean Baron Goto and
Professor Kenneth Otagaki. Last week 45 members of the original cohort, now in
their 70s and 80s, returned to Hawai‘i for a 50-year reunion, and their very
first stop was CTAHR. The visitors received a warm welcome and an overview of
CTAHR, UH, and the state of Hawai‘i agriculture; then they toured Magoon’s research
projects, including aquaponic systems, organic farming, turf, propagation of
native plants for use along the highways, tropical flower breeding, and more.
Then they were introduced to tropical floriculture breeding by Tessie Amore
(TPSS), received an update on tropical fruit production by Richard Manshardt
(TPSS), visited the aquaponics facility at Hale Tuahine as guests of
Bradley “Kai” Fox (MBBE, pictured), and took part in a mini Hawai‘i-style bocce
ball game led by Joe DeFrank (TPSS). The visitors were inspired by the
developments in agriculture in Hawai‘i and awed by the transformation of the Islands
since their visit a half-century ago.
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Get to the Root of Sustainability
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  In a fruitful collaboration, the Sustainable Pest Management
Lab, the Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program, Local and Immigrant
Farmer Education (LIFE), and Risk Management Hawaii are presenting a CTAHR Sustainable
Agriculture Workshop with a special focus on sweet potato production. It all
comes together on Tuesday, November 5, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon in the Aupuni
Center Conference Room at 101 Pauahi St. in Hilo. This workshop will provide fresh produce growers
with new approaches for managing risk through the use of sustainable
agriculture farming strategies and reduced pesticide use, focusing on using
locally available inputs and conservation practices. There will be an
evaluation of 60 different sweet potato cultivars by Susan Miyasaka (TPSS), a survey of post-harvest treatments, and a
guide to pest identification. Koon-Hui Wang and Jane
Tavares (both PEPS) will speak on “Sustainable
pest management strategies using insectary settings for insect pest management
and solarization mulch for weed control,” while Amjad A. Ahmad, Ted Radovich, and Nguyen V. Hue (all TPSS) will
discuss “Nitrate release dynamic from four organic fertilizers.” Archana Pant (TPSS) and Ted Radovich
will look at the “Beneficial
use of locally produced inputs for plant growth, crop quality, and soil
biological activity,” and Koon Hui Wang will explain “Nematode management with
organic approaches.” If you love sustainable food production or sweet potatoes,
don’t miss it! To RSVP, call Didi or Perci at 887-6183
or email mddiaz@hawaii.edu.
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Lana‘i Power!
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Byron Washom will
discuss “Sustainable Energy Systems for Lana‘i” on Thursday, October 31, at 3:30
p.m. in St. John 11. He is on leave from his position as Director of Strategic
Energy Initiatives at the University of California at San Diego to assist the
company Pulama Lana‘i (formerly Lana‘i
Resorts) to achieve energy sustainability on the island. He will discuss the
initiatives on Lana‘i to reduce the island's dependence on external energy
sources, including solar and hydroelectric.
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Science Is Communicable
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Students and recent graduates will be interested in a talk
that Dr. Dione Rossiter of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS) will be giving from noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, October 31 in
POST 414 (IPRC Conference Room). Dr. Rossiter will describe how she made the
switch from science to science outreach/education/engagement and why, explain
the opportunities that exist in and outside of AAAS, including opportunities specifically
for women and minorities in science, and discuss alternative careers in
science. Snacks will be provided!
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Getting Ghoulish
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Ever thought working at CTAHR was a little scary? You didn’t know the half of it! Here the administration staff shows off their true Halloween spirit!
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Na Pua
10/31/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR’s educational impact goes far beyond college students, and this quarter’s
Impact Report tells all about the work the college does with the younger members of the community. The stories describe keeping the keiki off the couch and on the playground with the CHL project’s work against childhood obesity; the science excitement at the Biotechnology Outreach Group’s Gene-ius Day workshops; and the multifaceted fun, learning, and good citizenship fostered by 4-H, presenting a picture of a college vibrantly involved in readying the next generation to take their places in the university and the world.
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Native Green
10/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Download low- and high-resolution versions of LICH’s handsomely
designed
“Buy Native ~ It Matters” poster, and be sure to look for the CTAHR staff and publications
featured on it! JB Friday provided some images and reviewed the poster, and
several CTAHR publications are mentioned on the back, as well as one by CTAHR
alumna Heidi Bornhorst, who’s now head of landscaping at UH. This should be a
useful reference not only to landscapers but to many others who have the desire
to step more gently on our fragile ‘aina.
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Choose a Topic, Any Topic
10/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Maui Fair is an annual event that provides a good opportunity to
showcase CTAHR’s faculty, staff, and community partners working together to
help the community. The ”CTAHR on Maui: People, Place, Promise”
presentations at this year’s fair attracted the interest of many residents and
visitors new to CTAHR. Featured were an array of CTAHR programs on topics such
as lawn selection and care, coping with plant pest and diseases, youth
programs, developing floral varieties, technology for the aging, home
gardening, honeybees, invasive species, proteas (pictured) and safe and
healthy eating. This wide range assured there was something for just about
everyone—something that can also be said about the college.
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Mellow on the Mall
10/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Saturday, October 12, was the 10th annual Hawaii and Pacific
Island Kava Festival, aka KavaFest. The festival is a educational activity
organized by the ‘Awa Development Council and CTAHR’s HC “Skip” Bittenbender (TPSS).
The festival’s origins date back to the Hawai‘i kava market crash in 2000. In
2003, Skip and members of the kava industry gathered in Hilo to plan how to
save kava in Hawai‘i. They decided that Hawai‘i should focus on selling ‘awa beverages
made with Hawai‘i varieties, educate the public about kava’s history and
merits, and encourage its consumption as a social beverage—and the festival
was born. Ten years later, Skip estimates that over 1,000 people attended the
all-day event on McCarthy Mall. Skip and the 112 St. John Kava Circle sponsored
the kava-tasting table. Volunteers at the table were Travis
Idol (NREM) and graduate and undergraduate students Gabe Sachter-Smith, Greg
Hoover, Kalani Matsumura, Jeffrey Caraballo, and Shawn Bell (all TPSS) and
Roberto Rodriguez (MBBE). Loren Gautz (MBBE) led the production team, which
made nearly 100 liters of kava from the CTAHR Waimanalo-grown varieties
Mahakea, Mapulehu, and Iwi. Two types of kava beverage were made from the
roots and stump of each variety, fresh-frozen and dried. CTAHR alumnus Alberto
Ricordi was in charge of recruiting vendors for food, crafts, and of course
kava from Fiji, Hawai‘i, Samoa, and Tonga.
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Hands Across the Pacific
10/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A contingent from CTAHR was invited to Rarotonga in late September
to provide expert consultation at an aquaponics workshop for the Pacific Islands
region. They were invited to speak by the Secretariat of Pacific Communities
(SPC), which represents 26 Pacific Island nations, to assist them in finding
the aquaponics technology and techniques that would work for them. The expert team
included Clyde Tamaru and Bradley “Kai” Fox (both MBBE), Clyde’s student Leinaala
Bright, and a Master Gardener from Maui, Larry Yonashiro, who operates a large
backyard aquaponics system. They each gave keynote presentations on different
days of the conference, including a discussion of lower-cost, more reliable, and Pacific-friendly
aquaponics systems and the community benefits of the technology. They
also led hands-on activities, including testing water quality and building a whole
system on-site at a commercial aquaponic farm called Te Raurau o te Kaingavai. The
workshop aimed to share experiences from within and outside the region, review
progress, and identify constraints in aquaponics; describe the most appropriate
aquaponics systems and the critical success factors applicable to aquaponics in
a Pacific islands context; and identify the aquaponics knowledge gaps which
should be the focus of further research and capacity-building in the Pacific.
And CTAHR helped the organizers to accomplish it all.
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Grazing the (Taste of the) Range
10/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Mealani
Research Station’s A Taste of the Hawaiian Range was held on October 4 at the
Hilton Waikoloa on the Big Island. This educational food-tasting event featured
over 30 chefs preparing bite-sized culinary delights of local, grass-fed meats,
including beef, goat, lamb, mutton, and pork. In addition, over 30 exhibitors
featured local artisanal products and educational displays. CTAHR faculty and
staff were well represented: Halina Zaleski (HNFAS) and the Hawaii Pork
Industry Association (pictured) offered product tasting, Sharon Motomura and Luisa Castro
(both HI County) presented an educational display on food safety, and Susan
Miyasaka (TPSS) gave a tasting of three different sweet potato varieties in a
rainbow of colors. Over 2,000 participants and volunteers attended, helping to
make this community-organized event the premier agricultural festival on the
Big Island.
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Beach Closed
10/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Marcus Peng (NREM) will be defending the proposal for his Master’s thesis,
“Economic Valuation of Coastal Water Pollution Damage,” on Friday, November 1, at noon in Sherman
103. Kirsten Oleson is his chair, and his committee members are Catherine
Chan-Halbrendt and Regina Ostergaard-Klem. As Marcus explains, his research “seeks
to estimate the annual economic loss from anthropogenic coastal water quality
degradation in Hawaii.” He points out that coastal waters are very important,
supporting many different industries, uses, and species, yet they are
threatened by development and other activities. To look at this degradation and
its costs, he will focus on beach closures due to polluted water conditions.
Come hear his discussion of this timely issue!
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Juicy Red Delights
10/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Whether you have a hankering for Caprese
salad or freshly made pasta sauce, you can find the star ingredient at the
Horticulture Society’s Tomato Sale on Wednesday, October 23. Fresh, locally
grown, vine-ripened cherry, grape, and Roma tomatoes will be on sale from 11 a.m.
to 2 p.m. between St. John & Ag
Engineering, and prices for the tomatoes are a very
reasonable $3.00/lb or an even better $5/2 lbs. Any questions, including
“How can I wait until eleven for all that tomatoey goodness?” can be
referred to the Hort. Society at uhmhortsociety@gmail.com.
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Fashion Week in Miller
10/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Check it out—students in FDM 460, Costume Museum Management, have
put on an exhibition of glam vintage garments in Miller 112, and some clothing
and handcrafts are available in the Museum Gift Shop. The exhibition runs
through Sunday, October 27, from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. Knitting Bees will also meet
in Miller Hall Sunday afternoon from 1 to 3, so please bring your knit kits with you
if you want to join a community of knitting enthusiasts!
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Have Fun and Graduate!
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
national 4-H program has been selected to participate in American Graduate Day
2013, part of the public media initiative American Graduate: Let’s Make It
Happen, aimed at keeping students on the path to graduation. The event will
feature local and national programming, community partners, and celebrities
focused on improving the high school graduation rates in America; other partner
organizations include Big Brothers Big Sisters and Boys & Girls Clubs of
America. Research has shown that youth involved in 4-H are stronger in healthy
behaviors, academic excellence, and civic engagement. In particular, 4-H
science programs increase the number of students pursuing science, engineering,
technology and applied math fields in their academic studies and careers, and
4-H’s healthy living initiatives help participants to eat right and keep
active. And the most fun thing about the video
being used to introduce the 4-H segment is that it includes two photos from the
Hawai‘i 4-H program: one of three boys with glow sticks who took part in the
Kona 4-H Fun Day and the other of Kaua‘i 4-H members offering an activity at
the Kaua‘i Garden Fair. Go Hawai‘i 4-H!
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Biofuels Take Flight!
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Owing to the biofuel research
group headed by Andy Hashimoto (MBBE and Sun Grant Subcenter), UH
has recently been selected as one of the leaders of the Federal Aviation
Administration’s new Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE), which
focuses on alternative jet fuels and the environment. US Transportation
Secretary Anthony Foxx explains that the COE, a research partnership
between academia, industry, and the federal government, will help to “take
environmentally friendly, alternative jet fuel technology to the next
level.” The selected university members all have nationally recognized
environmental and/or aviation-related education programs. Over the course
of the next 10 years, the FAA will be granting the Center $40 million. Members,
like the UH group for which Andy is PI, will also be eligible to
negotiate individual contracts with relevant federal agencies. This new
designation by the FAA should result in a number of research contracts, some
already under discussion, for UH and the national team of universities forming
the COE. Congratulations on another exciting opportunity and recognition
of the national standing of our CTAHR group in biofuel research!
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Grants From Sun Grant
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Samir
Khanal (MBBE) recently received a highly competitive bioenergy grant from Sun
Grant Western Regional Center funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation. This 2-year,
$200,000 grant aims at developing an anaerobic digestion (AD) bio-refinery
using high-yielding tropical bioenergy feedstocks in a decentralized
closed-loop system for producing diverse high-value co-products and/or
liquid/gaseous biofuels. Pictured is a Swedish woman filling her car with biomethane. Find out more about Samir’s
anaerobic digestion research here! The Sun Grant Initiative is a
national network of land-grant universities and federally funded laboratories
working together to further establish a bio-based economy; these institutes are
at the forefront of research and innovation involving bioenergy and biofuels
production. CTAHR is also a home of the
Western Insular Pacific Sun Grant Subcenter, led by Andy Hashimoto (MBBE).
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A Full Crop of Honors
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Dean Maria
Gallo has been named a Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) Fellow for 2013.
The international science organization will present this, its highest honor, to
her and 10 others from across North America on November 6 during its annual
meeting in Tampa, Fla. Fellows are elected by select CSSA members based on
professional achievements and meritorious service; they comprise just 0.3
percent of the society membership. Dean Gallo is honored for her work on plant genetics, using
molecular biology and biotechnology techniques to improve the performance and
quality of tropical energy and agronomic crops. The college’s former Dean
William Furtick and the late soil scientist Goro Uehara also received the honor,
as did these CTAHR alumni: Kenneth G. Cassman, Ganesan Srinivasan, Soon-Kwon Kim,
Donald Plunkett, and Surajit K. DeDatta. Another CSSA Fellow (and founding
member) is CTAHR plant breeder and corn expert James Brewbaker (TPSS, pictured), who this
year has also been selected to receive another honor, CSSA’s Presidential
Award. This award recognizes
outstanding contributions to crop science through education, national and
international service, and research. Dean Gallo will receive the award on his behalf. For
more than 60 years, “Dr. B” has developed new varieties of crops for improved
nutrition, yields, and pest and disease resistance. Recruited by CTAHR to establish a sweet corn
improvement program, he was instrumental in developing the seed corn industry
into the state’s most valuable agricultural crop. He has also done extensive
work on tropical legume trees, and he established Hawai’i Foundation Seeds to
manage parent seed stocks. Congratulations to Dean Gallo and Dr. B!
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VP of Fashion
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Andy Reilly (FDM) recently was
elected vice president of Research and Scholarship for the International Textile
and Apparel Association. The duties of his three-year term include planning
future annual conferences, facilitating recognition of diverse types of
research and scholarship, and promotion awards. Andy recently hosted the 2012
ITAA annual conference in Honolulu, and his skilled handling of this successful
event undoubtedly contributed to his election.
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The Secret Garden of St. John
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Did you know there’s
a hydroponic
learning center on the 6th floor of St. John? Established with a grant from the
Women’s Campus Club, it has seven different systems set up; they’re growing
mizuna, tomato, red choi, and peppers so far, with space for more to come. The
project hopes to expand, testing different vegetables to see how well they do
in an urban growing environment, in service of its mission to educate everybody
interested in urban hydroponics and gardening. The center is also hoping to
attract further donations to improve and expand so that more people can
benefit, adding such important components as permanent signs, different and
more hydroponic systems, and alternate hydroponic nutrient solutions. Come by
and visit the center, or email Robert Saito at rjnsaito@hawaii.edu for more information.
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Eat Up Some Information
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Come to the 3rd annual Food Day for
food, fun, information, and a chance to hear a presentation by Jinan Banna
(HNFAS). She will discuss the issue of food insecurity and the importance of
improved access to healthful food, which many low-income families in Hawai‘i lack.
The event takes place in the Campus Center Ballroom on October 24 from
noon to 1:30 p.m. Food Day supports access to sustainable, healthful,
and affordable food; it will be celebrated this year in schools and community
festivals nationwide. Its mission is to inspire public support for sustainable
farming, local food, and healthful lifestyles. Another guest speaker will be Chelsea Bell of Hawaii Meals on Wheels, who will discuss her work providing
hot, nutritious meals to Hawai‘i’s kupuna. UH Sodexo Chef Carl Peterson will be providing a food demonstration
in collaboration with Donna Ojiri, CTAHR alumna and the general manager of Sodexo. There will be food tasting, booths featuring
ways to get involved, information on careers in food and nutrition, and
games. Last
year’s Food Day was well attended, so
RSVP this year to ensure your spot at the table and get the chance to connect
with Hawai‘i’s food and agriculture community!
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Growing a Green Partnership
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The LICH conference/tradeshow, which this year highlighted
native plants, was enriched by the participation of nine CTAHR students
(pictured) and several faculty and alumni, including Andy Kaufman (TPSS), Jay
Deputy (TPSS, retired), Ethel Villalobos and Zhiqiang Cheng (both PEPS), and Heidi
Bornhorst, CTAHR alumna and head of landscaping at UH. Here’s to the strong
association between the college and the landscaping organization, and here’s to
this year’s conference theme, native plants. In a new twist on a familiar
phrase, plant native—it matters!
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Knee-Deep in Mud, High in the Sky
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  In the early morning of October 4, twenty-one CTAHR
students and staff headed over to Kaua‘i for the Tenth
Annual Meaningful Experience. First stop was the Ho‘opulapula
Haraguchi Rice Mill on Kauai’s North Shore, the last remaining rice mill in Hawai‘i, dating back to the 1800s. CTAHR alumna Lyndsey Haraguchi-Nakayama led the educational,
interactive tour of the mill, now coupled with a taro farm. Everyone sampled
taro smoothies, learned the background of farming in Kaua‘i, picked invasive
apple snails from the lo‘i, viewed the historic mill equipment, and pounded taro into
pa‘i‘ai. After a healthy and delicious lunch,
the group headed back to Lihu‘e for team-building activities
facilitated by ASAO’s Lisa Kitagawa-Akagi, for bonding and building interpersonal
and communication skills. One of the students, Arby Barone, gave a short presentation on the background of Ni‘ihau, including plant
and animal identification and a brief history, in preparation for the next day’s
activities. The following morning, students headed out to Hanapepe on the south
side of the island for the Ni‘ihau Helicopter Tour. They had the rare
opportunity to fly over the island of Ni‘ihau and even set foot on the
Forbidden Isle. Students also were able to explore the nearby areas,
including Waimea Canyon. Finally, after a full day of
cultural learning, the group headed back to the airport for the flight back to
Honolulu. Thanks are due to Lyndsey Haraguchi-Nakayama and the Board of
Directors of Ho‘opulapula Haraguchi Rice Mill for hosting the visit to their
farm. Gratitude is also extended to Roy Yamakawa of the Kaua‘i County administration,
for reserving space for the team-building activities, and to SAPFB and ASAO for
supporting the students’ trip. And much mahalo goes to the
student participants who made the experience meaningful for all.
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A Celebration of Style
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The first Hawai‘i Fashion Month has
been going strong this October, and FDM faculty are fully involved in the
activities: Andy Reilly served on the steering committee, while Young Bahng
organized a speaking series where Ju-Young Kang and retired faculty Marcia
Morgado and Carol D’Angelo gave presentations of their research. Abby Cristi
and Cynthia Tsark planned and helped produce fashion shows, and Shu-Hwa Lin
partnered with Hawai‘i State Art Museum to install an exhibit that opened for First
Friday, October 4. The exhibit, “The Way We Wear,” is a visual history of fashion
in Hawai‘i and a collaboration between the Art in Public Places Collection and the
UHM Historic Costume Collection. The fashion show at the Museum, “Fashion as
Art,” featured FDM graduates Ryan Hanaoka, Feliz Salas, Breanne Lee, Jaclyn Mae
Santos, and Erin Midori Ludolph, along with current FDM students Sarah
Yamashige and Lyle Amine, the photographer. Check out Lyle’s great photos,
and find out more information about what’s on
for the rest of the month.
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Outwit the Viruses
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Check it out—there’s a tomato variety trial field day coming
up on Wednesday, October 23, from 10 a.m. to noon at Twin Bridge Farm in
Waialua. Since the most effective management option for Tomato Yellow Leaf
Curl Virus (TYLCV) and Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) is the use
of virus-resistant germplasm, it would be useful to know just what varieties
have that resistance. So Leyla Kaufman (PEPS) and graduate student Amber Tateno
are hosting a field day to showcase 14 commercially available varieties
currently being field-tested, most with putative dual resistance to TYLCV and
TSWV. Varieties are being evaluated on yield, virus resistance, and fruit
quality and have different fruit types: grape, cherry, beefsteak, round, and
globe. The field day will give farmers and agricultural
professionals the opportunity to see the horticultural characteristics of the different
varieties on-farm, as well as taste tomatoes. In turn, growers’ comments will help to
determine the different plants’ desirability for the local industry and narrow
down varieties for future trials. For information or to request an auxiliary
aid or service, such as a sign language interpreter, designated parking, or
materials in alternate format, contact Leyla Kaufman (956-2450), Jensen Uyeda (juyeda@hawaii.edu) or Jari Sugano (suganoj@ctahr.hawaii.edu) at (808) 622-4185
by Wednesday, October 16.
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Effects of Abuse
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Loriena Yancura (FCS) recently co-authored an article in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma showing that women who were victims of childhood physical abuse are 40% more likely to develop thyroid conditions than women who were not abused during childhood. A study of of 13,070 adult Canadians showed that more than 1,000 reported being physically abused before age 18, and 906 said they had been diagnosed with a thyroid disorder by a health professional. Lori says that “the enduring effects of childhood maltreatment may be due to the way early traumas change the way an individual reacts to stress throughout life. One important avenue for future research is to investigate potential dysfunctions in the production of the ‘fight or flight’ hormone cortisol among survivors of abuse.” The paper offers important insights—and illustrates the breadth of CTAHR research.
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Water for All
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  NREM undergrad alumna Angela Stevens, who has just finished up her first year of graduate study at the University of Nevada-Reno, recently got in touch with her previous advisor, Creighton Litton, to share her successes since CTAHR. A Caesars Foundation Fellow in Watersheds and Environmental Sustainability, she’s been featured in the local television news and the Tahoe Daily Tribune for her work with the Desert Research Institute studying near-shore turbidity in Lake Tahoe, as well as on the DRI’s own website, on which she is quoted as saying, “Water is a big problem, and I want to be part of the solution.” She was definitely part of the solution on her February trip to Panama, described in an article at the University of Nevada’s website, where she joined two other students and a Peace Corps volunteer to build three composting latrines in a remote mountain village (here she’s pictured in the blue tank top). UN’s site also describes her work with the university’s International Education Week, for which she organized the Student World Water Forum last year. The knowledge and inspiration she gained at CTAHR, coupled with her own enthusiasm and drive, have put her well on her way to making an important difference in the world.
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Ag-Appropriate Apps
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Looking for the right app for your work, stakeholders, or students? There’s an app for that! Kent Kobayashi (TPSS) has developed a mobile website describing over 160 free iPhone/iPad apps available from the Apple App Store for horticulture and agriculture. The website is the result of an invited presentation, ”Are There Horticulture-Related Mobile Applications for Me?” that Kent gave at the 2012 American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Conference. As you might expect, the answer to the above question is a resounding “Yes!” The talk also led to an article, which will be appearing in the ASHS publication HortTechnology.
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Leafy Treat
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Ever had the desire to know how just many poisonous plants there are on the UH-Manoa campus? Medicinal trees? Agricultural crops? All of this information and more is available with a few moves of the mouse around the UH plant map created by Nate Ortiz (TPSS student) and Austin Stankus of the Zoology department. Both useful and just plain fun, this addictive and ingenious app was profiled in Ke Kumu ‘Ike, the newsletter of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences. The campus has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a USA Tree Campus, and as Stankus explains, it hosts trees that are found in no other US university’s landscape, so it behooves us to take notice of the verdant treasure all around. Each clickable tree yields an image, general information, and links to more detail. Pictured is the be-still tree, one of 27 lining Maile Way, according to the map—and yes, it’s poisonous.
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Growers’ Woes
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Other CTAHR researchers are concerned with pests more visible to the naked eye. For lychee growers, the biggest issues aren’t pathogens; they’re fruitflies and birds, which can play havoc with the crop. Andrea Kawabata and Stuart Nakamoto show you how to grow fat, juicy, and blemish-free lychee by bagging the panicles before they ripen! If you’re looking to spray your crop pest troubles away but want to make sure your sprayers are properly calibrated, just check out the simple and effective methods for both boom and handheld spray systems offered by Jensen Uyeda, Jari Sugano, Steve Fukuda, Mike Kawate, Robin Shimabuku, and Koon-Hui Wang. And calibration isn’t the only issue related to spraying, as Andrea Kawabata, Stuart Nakamoto, and R.T. Curtiss’s CBB-management guidelines make clear; this publication explains how to sample for borer infestation levels to decide when to spray. Because unfortunately, the damage done by the borer is all too visible.
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Greening the Garden
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Feel like your gardening skills are getting a little…rusty? Don’t worry—it might not be you; it might just be phytopathogens. If you’re seeing rust on your canna lily, crucifers, or ‘ilima, check out the publications by Scot Nelson (with Erik Patnude on crucifers) that will set your garden on the path to shining, rust-free glory. Buff and wax not included. But don’t feel left out if you’ve got no rust; Scot may still have a publication that will solve your particular problem…especially if that problem is leaf spot on your beach morning glories or powdery mildew on your garden vegetables.
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Up-and-Coming Interns
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The UH CTAHR Dietetic Internship program, which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the national Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, welcomed its first interns this semester. The program requires 1,200 hours of experience and qualifies graduates to take the Registered Dietitian’s Exam. It also provides graduates of an academic program in dietetics with an opportunity to increase their knowledge of food and nutrition science, and to acquire competencies needed to practice dietetics in a variety of settings including clinical, food service, and community. The program offers a Community Concentration that focuses on Hawai‘i’s unique community. Through its activities, the internship will promote education of students in the multicultural environment, service in a variety of community settings and participation in various professional organizations. Pictured from left to right are dietetic interns, all of whom are graduates of the FSHN Dietetics program, Katherine Schuette (’13), Chrislin Yee (’13), Erika Chinn Galindo (’13), Tanieca Downing (’13), and Paul John Pangilinan (’11), and Internship Director Ann Ditzler.
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Operation: Mindful Military Kids
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Operation: Military Kids, a 4-H program, offered the second annual Hawaii Adventure Camp (HAC) this summer. 50 military teens aged 14 to 18 residing in the Pacific Rim region, including Hawai‘i, Japan, Okinawa, and Guam, participated in the 5-day military teen adventure camp held at Camp Erdman on the North Shore of O‘ahu. HAC 2013, which focused on three major themes: physical fitness, mental fitness, and personal leadership, included activities such as horseback riding, snorkeling, low/high ropes course, surfing, and standup paddle boarding. The key element of this camp was the incorporation of daily mindfulness sessions. Mindfulness is the ability to focus on the present moment with acceptance, which is instrumental in fostering mental fitness. The mix of mindfulness practice, recreational fun, and team-building challenges provided the campers with the opportunity to enhance their problem-solving and leadership skills while building strong connections with other military-associated teens from around the Pacific Rim. The camp was made possible through funding from NIFA/USDA-DOD to FCS Extension specialist Claire Nakatsuka and FCS faculty Thao Le, in partnership with Hawaii OMK and YMCA Camp Erdman. 4-H OMK staff Kiki Yoshimoto and FCS intern Janice Pascual provided key support. Appropriately, Thao’s article about the first HAC and camp experience in Colorado, entitled “Mindfulness-Based Adventure Camp for Military Youth,” is currently in press at the Journal of Extension.
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Improving Native Hawaiian Health
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Barbara “Bobbie” Yee, chair of FCS, organized a symposium entitled “Improving Native Hawaiian Outcomes in Health and Mental Health” for the American Psychological Association meeting held this summer in Honolulu. Pointing out that there are serious disparities between the physical and mental health of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and that of others in the Islands, she explains, “These disparities lead to poorer health and mental health outcomes across a number of social, educational, economic, health and wellness dimensions.” The symposium looked at ways psychology and Minority Fellowship Program fellows have advocated and developed public policy, pursued research with community capacity-building strategies, and developed career pathways that have contributed to the improvement of health and mental health outcomes for Native Hawaiians. Here Bobbie is pictured (second from right) with other symposium participants (left to right) Keawe‘aimoku Kaholokula, Chair of Native Hawaiian Health, JABSOM; Cecily Reber, Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology and Tripler VA Psychology; and Kamana‘opono M. Crabbe, CEO, Office of Hawaiian Affairs).
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From Vietnam With Love
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Dr Nguyen Ninh, Nobel laureate and contributor to the 2007 IPCC report on climate change, visited CTAHR to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the college and the Center for Environment Research, Education and Development (CERED), which he represents. During their meeting in July, President Obama and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang had emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two countries in many different areas, including the environment and agriculture, and the Vietnamese government looks at this MOU signing as directly relevant with their national goals to collaborate with the U.S. The international MOU was created to facilitate collaborative work on soil fertility, particularly involving biochar, and crop development, particularly sweet corn and taro, in Vietnam and southeast Asia. The research and education efforts are expected to benefit Vietnam and surrounding nations, as well as Hawai‘i. After the signing, Dr. Ninh (pictured third from right) gave a presentation on the state of climate change in Vietnam, a chilling wake-up call. Check out photos of the event here.
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You Say Tomato; Kacie Says Opportunity
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  HNFAS alumna Kacie Ho, who is now pursuing graduate studies in food science at Purdue University, recently received a three-year National Science Foundation fellowship to support her research into the extraction of lycopene from tomato skins for use as a food enhancement or nutritional supplement. This honor comes in addition to a fellowship supporting her studies from Purdue and another through an industry fellowship program in which she interned at Cargill, Inc. in Minneapolis. Soojin Jun and Wayne Iwaoka (both HNFAS), who recommended her for the NSF fellowship, can be proud that their protégé is a continuing success. Many thanks to former CTAHR student marshal and fellow alumnus and Purdue grad student Jordan Oshiro for the information!
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Small in Scale; Large in Impact
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  PhD student Michele Barnes-Mauthe and Assistant Professor Kirsten Oleson (both NREM) recently published a landmark study on small-scale fisheries in the journal Fisheries Research, arguing that their economic value has been dramatically underestimated. Using the case of a coastal region of Madagascar, they show that these fisheries employ 87% of the adult population and provide the sole protein source for 99% of household meals. However, “Small-scale fisheries are often completely left out of policy discussions due to a lack of data about their scale and importance,” Michele points out—until now. Since the fish is sold locally or used for subsistence purposes, it doesn’t show up in larger economic discussions; nonetheless, the activity is crucial to the survival of the region. The same is true of many other coastal communities, where the importance of small-scale fishing has long been known but has not been quantified. With hard numbers in hand, the authors hope that management initiatives such as community-led marine areas will arise to safeguard the sustainability of subsistence fisheries and strengthen food security. Even more important, they argue, is that these be supported by regional, national, and international policies that safeguard the rights of small-scale fishers over export-orientated commercial or foreign access fishers where small-scale fisheries are central to the livelihoods of impoverished coastal populations.
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She’s a Jolly Good Fellow
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Anne Alvarez (PEPS) has been honored as a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society (APS), a
distinction offered in recognition of distinguished contributions
to plant pathology, whether in original research, teaching, administration,
professional and public service, or extension and outreach. Anne is recognized as a pioneer in plant
bacteriology, working on diseases of a wide spectrum of tropical plants. Her
work ranges from
bacterial ecology and epidemiology to phylogeny and molecular genetics, while the
major goal of her research is to benefit growers by developing methods for managing bacterial
diseases. She is recognized worldwide as an
esteemed authority on plant-pathogenic bacteria who has made long-lasting
contributions in her field, especially with regard to tropical plants. In short, her
achievements, says the APS, demonstrate how research innovation and knowledge can directly
benefit agriculture and education.
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By the Insects, For the Insects
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Need some sweetness in your life? Ka Mea Kolo, CTAHR’s entomology
club, is giving out 6 oz. jars of honey with every donation of $6 to Ka Mea
Kolo, while supplies last. The honey, donated by the U.H. Honeybee Project, is
from bees that fed off wildflowers in Wai‘anae, so it’s both local and
delicious. Monetary donations will be used for supplies needed for Ka Mea
Kolo’s stellar, kid-pleasing outreach events. Just email kameakolo@gmail.com
to exchange a little folding green for a pot of gold, and help make a
difference for the club that brings bugs and fun into children’s lives.
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Cage o’ Fish
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Three participants in the Seafood Culinary
Education Workshop hosted by HNFAS this past summer have since been interviewed on Hawaii Public Radio: workshop speaker
Linda ODierno, outreach specialist for the National Aquaculture Association; Ron
Weidenbach, president of the Hawaii Aquaculture and Aquaponics Association; and
workshop organizer Tetsuzan “Benny” Ron, HNFAS aquaculture specialist. The
workshop was
sponsored by Aquaculture & Livestock Support
Services of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and by the National
Aquaculture Association. Benny Ron makes the point that owing to the declining supplies of
wild-caught fish, the solution is farm-raised—aquacultured—seafood, raised
either in land- or ocean-based systems. He is presently organizing an
environmental monitoring group comprised of federal and state representatives
involved in the permitting process for aquaponics producers to make it easier
to start an aquaponics operation. And just in time, too—Hawai‘i imported
800,000 pounds of tilapia from other countries just this past year!
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Kids’ Savings Saves the Day
10/16/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Michael Cheang was
interviewed about the Kids’ Savings Project on Hawaii Public
Radio’s The Conversation with Chris
VanderCook. He points out that even low-income families can and do save; it’s a
matter of mindset and habit, as well as identifying and breaking down the
barriers that may keep them from saving. His project, which has helped 1,800
kids in 28 DOE schools to save $322,000 since its inception, does just that. It
brings the credit unions to the schools, provides $25 seed money to each
participant, and fosters a spirit of community amongst the children
saving—“like a savings club,” he says. Research has shown that children as
early as 4 can learn economic concepts—and Michael’s project helps to ensure
that they learn helpful ones!
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A Great Exchange
10/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Which would you rather have—a poi doughnut from Kamehameha
Bakery or a pint of your blood? There’s no question, right? Poi doughnuts,
every time. Well, you’ll be glad to know you can make that very trade at CTAHR’s
Blood Drive on November 20! If you’d like to donate, just get in touch with
Sylvia Trinh and have the following info ready: First and last name, date of
birth, email address, contact number, and preferred appointment time (time
slots available every 15 minutes from 8:00 to 3:15). Sign up early so you’ll be
certain enough doughnuts will be available! And since you lose a pound whenever
you donate blood, you don’t have to feel guilty about eating up.
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Seeds of Fun
10/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  When Ania
Wieczorek (TPSS) was invited to present an educational booth on Agricultural Biotechnology
at the Maui County Fair, she recruited CTAHR faculty and staff to join the fun. As part of this booth,
volunteers Richard Manshardt, Susan Miyasaka, and Heather Kimball (all TPSS),
Stephen Ferreira (PEPS), and Harold Keyser (Maui County administrator, retired)
assisted children and adults young at heart in making seed “bombs.” Just as fun
but not as explosive as it sounds, this was a hands-on activity in which
compost potting medium was mixed with calcium bentonite (clay, that is) and
water, formed into a small ball, and planted with a seed—beans, peas, corn, or
papayas. The group hopes to encourage the next generation of young farmers or
gardeners to get their hands dirty by growing plants!
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That’s Pork Research Funding, Not Pork-Barrel Funding!
10/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Got some porcine research ideas you’d like to get funded? The
general call for proposals for 2014 is now available on the National Pork Board’s
website, where you can also find information about the Board’s funding history.
Submissions are due Tuesday, November
19 at 5:00 p.m. CST, so better piggy-back over to the site and get started.
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Explore the World of an Explorer
10/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The UH-Manoa Ethnobiology Society will be
hosting “An Evening with National Geographic”
featuring speaker Maria Fadiman on October 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. in St. John 11,
with heavy pupus to follow the presentation. Dr. Fadiman, who was recognized by
National Geographic as an Emerging
Explorer, is an ethnobotanist specializing in Latin American and African
rainforest cultures. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Melissa at 630-486-2926 or email ethnobio@hawaii.edu.
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New Faces: Janis Morita
10/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Now filling the
invaluable position of Director of Administrative Services is Janis Morita, who
joins CTAHR from ORS and is very familiar with grant submissions and the
labyrinthine Kuali system, to everyone’s great delight. Dean Gallo writes,
“Janis has excellent positive energy and will continue to improve our efforts
to support the college. We are very happy to have her join us. Please welcome
Janis to our CTAHR ‘ohana.” Welcome, Janis!
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New Faces: Lydia Gerakas and Kellie Kong
10/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR welcomes Lydia
Gerakas (pictured right) to her new position—she’s joined the Academic and Student Affairs
Office as Charly Kinoshita’s new secretary. She’s not new to the college,
though; she just moved over from PEPS, where she previously served as
department secretary. PEPS’s loss is Academic Affairs’ gain! Academic Affairs
also gains by the addition of Kellie Kong, who is creating the brand-new
position of distance learning coordinator. She’s a PhD student in Educational
Technology and is hard at work to help bring select CTAHR classes to those who
can’t get to campus. Luckily, she’s not too far away herself—just downstairs in
Gilmore. The college is excited about its new additions!
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Sustainable Extension
10/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR and its ag partners came together to advance sustainable and
organic agriculture in Hawai‘i by hosting a training session for agricultural
educators across the state. The Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program
(SOAP), WSARE, the Agricultural Incubator Program, and the Hawai‘i Association
of County Agriculture Agents held a two-day training event consisting of
research-based updates, a national perspective on Extension by the Western
Region director of Extension, and a field day to demonstrate how CTAHR-generated
research is being put into practice at the Poamoho Research Station’s new SOAP
learning center. Educators received updates on everything from the
importance of having a healthy start to post-harvest marketing of locally grown
commodities. One participant wrote, “We have some amazing things going on here.
Proud to be at UH Extension!”
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Bugs From Afar
10/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The distance education
course “World of Insects” developed by Adam Tanners, Justin Hedani, Michelle
Carino, and Eddie Gose, with Helen Spafford (PEPS) as subject matter expert,
was ranked second by the Association for Educational Communications and
Technology (AECT) for their Distance Education Crystal Award. This award
recognizes “innovative and outstanding
multimedia-based distance learning courses.” The team is invited to receive their award at the Department
of Distance Learning luncheon at the AECT’s International Convention on
November 1. Being such distance learning stars, though, they may just decide to
attend the luncheon by Skype!
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September
Magoon No Ka Oi
9/27/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Magoon was a hive of activity
last week as it hosted not one but two visits from dignitaries, first a group
of legislators and then Chancellor Apple. All the new innovations and
well-established programs were lauded by the admiring visitors, from Hale
Tuahine’s aquaponics set-up to Joe De Frank’s turfgrass research plots, from
SOFT’s student gardens to the work being done on anthuriums, dendrobiums,
nematodes, and more. Chancellor Apple wrote, “Mahalo to all of you for making my visit such a wonderful
experience. The work you are doing is incredible! I am so proud to be the
Chancellor of the University that has CTAHR. I hope that I can help you and
your fabulous dean achieve your incredible dreams and aspirations. I appreciate
the time everyone spent this morning to give me a picture of Magoon and the
great work that goes on there.” Sounds like he might have liked it!
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Go With the (Blood) Flow
9/27/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Better start eating lots of red meat—maybe some
grass-fed beef—to get your corpuscles ready for CTAHR’s 2013 Blood Drive!
You’ve got time; it’s not till Wednesday, November 20. If you want to donate or
need additional information, please contact Sylvia Trinh, who’s coordinating
the Drive, at 956-4162 or strinh@hawaii.edu.
You’ll have to give her your first and last name, date of birth, email address,
and a contact number, but don’t worry—it’s not as though she’s going to ask you
for some blood…not yet, anyway. If you’ve never donated before, you can solve
that problem: join the growing list of those who gave their very first pint at
one of CTAHR’s Blood Drives. Long-time donors, come out and add another notch to
your belt—or your vein!
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Prime Meat
9/27/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Get set to unleash your inner carnivore—Mealani’s 18th
Annual Taste of the Hawaiian Range will be held on October 4 at the Hilton Waikoloa
Village on the Big Island. There will be lots of grass-fed beef, not to mention
mutton and lamb, cabrito (that’s goat), pork, and wild boar. And for those
without an inner carnivore, the locavore in all of us will be assuaged by the
myriad non-meat locally grown and made gourmet treats. This is an excellent
opportunity not only to eat exceedingly well but also to talk with the farmers
and ranchers who grow and raise that great-tasting produce and meat. There’s
even a cooking demonstration for making the most of locally grown beef. Tickets
are on sale now, and out-of-towners can choose a package that includes a hotel
room. CTAHR’s not only one of the event sponsors; the college’s Mealani
Research Station is where it all began, so it’s really a mark of school spirit,
not gourmandizing, to check it out!
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Frozen Fun on a Hot Day
9/19/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Representatives from all of the college’s departments and administration vied
for the top honors in the costume contest and ice cream sculpting
competition at CTAHR’s 25th Annual Welcome Back Ice Cream Bash. Competing in
this year’s contests were Ashley Perreira (FCS), Jinan Banna (HNFAS), Vincent
Cleveland (MBBE), Erin Hickey (NREM), Jordie Ocenar (PEPS), Orville Baldos (TPSS)
and Michelle Isaacs (Admin). Congratulations to Erin for winning the costume
contest and Vincent for the most creative concept in the Western-themed ice
cream sculpting and decorating contest! Everyone enjoyed free ice cream
and popsicles graciously provided once again by Meadow Gold, as well as shave
ice hand-cranked by members of the Sustainable & Organic Farm Training
(SOFT) Club. Over $100 in monetary donations was collected to benefit SOFT, a
CTAHR student organization committed to sustainable agricultural practices.
Some of SOFT’s achievements include teaming with Noelani Elementary first-grade
teachers to educate students on organic farming, coordinating campus food waste
pick-ups, and creating and maintaining edible landscapes. Thanks are due to all
who attended the Bash, the contestants, and especially to those who donated to
SOFT. Big mahalos go out to Meadow Gold for its continuous support of CTAHR;
Ryan Kurasaki and Charlie Nelson; Joannie Dobbs and the HNFAS and NREM
departments for the usage of their facilities; Ray Uchida of the O‘ahu
Extension Office and Lito Cacho and Richard Fisher of the Pearl City Urban
Garden Center for tent coverage; and the strong-muscled ice cream scoopers.
Lastly, thank-yous to co-emcees Angela Stein and Jay Gibson and the rest of the
planning committee, scholarship recipients, ASAO, and everyone whose efforts
made the Bash a success!
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Feast for the Mind
9/19/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Get
ready for the multifaceted “AgPro” workshop that will be offered on O‘ahu September
25 and 26. If learning is food for the mind, this two-day event is a banquet! The
first day (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) will be held at Hale Tuahine (the old USDA Fruit
Fly Facility at Magoon, across from Manoa Marketplace). The second day (8:45
a.m. to 4 p.m.) will be at Poamoho Research Station and Hawaiian Earth
Products. Offerings span from sprayer calibration (pictured) to organic certification;
Korean Natural Farming to Worker Protection Standards; ornamentals to honeybees; and so much more! The
primary audience for the workshop is agricultural professionals who work with
growers, but all CTAHR ‘ohana are welcome. If you are planning to come but
have not yet RSVP’d, please get in touch with Ted Radovich or Jari Sugano
pronto, or let your mind go hungry! (And speaking of food, light refreshments
will be provided, but lunch is for purchase, so plan accordingly.)
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Fruits of the Retreat
9/19/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Whether or not you participated in the recent
Strategic Planning retreat, you’ll be glad to know that the group memory of that event has been compiled and posted. It’s available in the employee
section of the CTAHR website, and it behooves us all to take the time to read
it. It’s chock-full of optimistic and innovative ideas that when implemented
will help make the college an even better place to work and learn.
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Woodn’t You Like to Go?
9/12/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Hawaii’s Woodshow, a spectacular exhibition of local woodworking
presented by the Hawai‘i Forest Institute, will be running through September 15th at the Honolulu Museum of Art Gallery at Linekona across from Thomas Square. The
materials used are native and locally grown woods, and this year the Woodshow
incorporates educational posters describing where the wood comes from
and its significance. In particular, there is a special display of pieces
crafted from
young koa trees, rather than the old-growth wood that most furniture is made
from. The Institute’s young koa project is testing out the
market for trees landowners have planted or grown sustainably, and there are
some lovely pieces on display and for sale. See some of JB Friday’s (NREM) photos from the
exhibit here!
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Tree of Life
9/12/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The first-ever ‘ulu (breadfruit)
festival will be held on Sunday, September 15, at the Southshore Visitors
Center of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG). Kalo will also be
featured at the festival, which takes place 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Po‘ipu on Kaua‘i.
NTBG is the home of the Breadfruit Institute, which is directed by ethnobotanist
and CTAHR alumna Diane Ragone. The program features experts from Kaua‘i, Maui, O‘ahu,
and Hawai‘i Island with cooking, cultural, and flour-making demonstrations and
presentations. There will be breadfruit trees and cookbooks for sale; music;
and keiki activities. Breadfruit- and taro-inspired, locally sourced food will
be available for purchase. Interspersed throughout the program will be
presentations by experts in ‘ulu, kalo, and agroforestry. The event is
presented by Ho‘oulu ka ‘Ulu - Revitalizing Breadfruit, a project of the Hawai‘i
Homegrown Food Network and the Breadfruit Institute of the NTBG. Its goal is raise
awareness of ‘ulu as an attractive, delicious, nutritious, abundant,
affordable, and culturally appropriate food that addresses Hawai‘i’s food
security issues. Be there or go hungry!
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Environmental Awareness, One Plot at a Time
9/12/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Natalie Cross (FCS Extension) has written an article about
4-H vegetable garden projects in West Hawai‘i featured in the West Hawaii Today
and Hawaii Tribune newspapers. “Birds and Bees and Butterflies, Oh My!”
describes the 4-H Junior Master Gardener programs in Hilo and Kainaliu, in
which children plant, care for, harvest, prepare, and enjoy eating a wide
variety of vegetables. They learn more about the ‘aina and eat more healthily
while participating in a fun, educational, and family-bonding experience. Many
families have even been inspired to grow gardens at home after participating in
the program, and lessons learned extend beyond the garden plot as well. If the
next generation of keiki grows up healthy, self-sufficient, and environmentally
aware, 4-H’s garden programs will have had an important part in making them so.
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Unite for United Way
9/12/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Aloha United Way
(AUW) Campaign is underway and will run through October 4. AUW and the University
of Hawai‘i O‘ahu campuses have set a goal to raise $400,000, while CTAHR’s goal is to
surpass the $2,219 the college raised in 2012. To ensure the success of this campaign
your cooperation and generosity are needed—it’s because of generous donors like
you that AUW is able to make a difference in people’s lives. AUW supports over
300 partner, community, and non-profit agencies that provide education, poverty
prevention, and emergency assistance to members in our communities. The programs supported through AUW help
prepare children for kindergarten, keep them on a path to succeed in school,
research health challenges, feed the hungry, care for the elderly and ill who
need assistance, rehouse homeless families, and so much more.
Making a donation is easier
than ever with AUW’s e-pledge website—just log in using your hawaii.edu
address and the temporary password auw2013, and you’ll be prompted how to make
a pledge. Don’t worry—donations can also be made using traditional paper pledge
forms; just ask either Robyn Chow-Hoy or Michelle Isaacs at 956-8234 or dean@ctahr.hawaii.edu. And they’ll also answer any other questions you may have.
Just do it—you’ll be glad you did!
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Retreat Means Think Forward!
9/12/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  More than 40 faculty, staff, and students took part in a
lively 2-day strategic planning retreat Sept. 10–11, led by Donna Ching and her
expert team of facilitators. Participants represented various segments of the
CTAHR ‘ohana. Dean Gallo (pictured at the head of the room) kicked off the
process with a fun warm-up exercise to expand self-confidence for thinking
forward. The group memory from the retreat and an overview of the process will
be posted in the employee section of the CTAHR website within the next week or
so, and employees are encouraged to view these documents to stay current with
the strategic planning progress.
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Chill Out!
9/12/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Soojin Jun (HNFAS) just got a grant from the Agriculture
Food and Research Initiative Foundational Competitive Grants Program, “Improving
Food Quality and Value,” from the USDA-National Institute of Food and
Agriculture. This project proposes to preserve the original freshness of
fruits and vegetables, as well as possibly other food products such as meat,
grains, and dairy, by controlling supercooling and ice crystallization of water
molecules at subzero temperatures using combined pulsed electric and magnetic
fields—nothing at all like the freezer-burned, clumpy frozen vegetables
pictured here!
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Heating Up
9/12/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Samir Khanal recently received two highly competitive
federal grants on aquaponics, climate change, and bioenergy totaling $650,000. He
was also selected as a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) research fellow
to conduct bioenergy research in Germany this summer for 3 months, also a
highly competitive fellowship given by the German government to an outstanding
US researcher. Congratulations on recognition for research with global implications!
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Flying Out of Harm’s Way
9/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Chris Lepczyk (NREM) was interviewed for and quoted in an article in New Scientist concerning a study on birds and speed limits. Two Canadian scientists studied the distance from an approaching car at which birds took off into flight and discovered that on roads with higher speed limits the birds took off when the car was further away—regardless of the speed of the particular car. “I just think it’s really cool,” says Chris of the work—though he can think of other, more quantifiable benefits of the study as well.
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Puttin’ on the Glitz
9/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Fashion Schools, a comprehensive online resource for information about fashion school programs and careers in fashion, recently judged CTAHR’s newly renamed Fashion Design and Merchandising (FDM) program (formerly APDM) number 52 of the top 75 fashion merchandising programs in the US, out of over 200 surveyed. The criteria for ranking consisted of academic reputation, admission selectivity, depth and breadth of the program and faculty, and geographic location. (Pictured here is FDM’s Shu-Hwa Lin with a student.) Fashion Schools also recently interviewed Ju-Young Kang (FCS) on the program’s highlights and local focus. According to Ju-Young, hot trends for the upcoming fall/winter season include metallic fabrics, including metal-foiled leather; two-toned furs; and mirror coating. Keep your eyes out for what sounds like quite a dramatic and scintillating season! Ju-Young also discusses the ways Hawai‘i’s distinctive location and cultural milieu influence local fashion—including, perhaps, a bit less two-toned fur.
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OMG—CBB IPM!
9/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The LIFE and Risk Management Hawaii programs are partnering with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to conduct a Coffee Berry Borer Integrated Pest Management Workshop and Field Day. It will be offered on Friday, September 20, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. in the Kunia Village & Agribusiness Complex Conference Room. Coffee and orchard crops extension agent Andrea Kawabata will be teaching farmers and processors on O‘ahu about integrated pest management (IPM) of CBB, from field sanitation to monitoring, prevention techniques, and first response. Rob Curtiss and representatives from HDOA describe HDOA protocol for first detection of CBB and what growers can expect if/when CBB is identified. Extension economist Stuart Nakamoto will discuss crop insurance policies available to growers for coffee and coffee trees. A representative from the Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council (SHAC) will also be on hand to give a grower’s perspective on CBB management and talk about SHAC’s program with growers on the Big Island. In the afternoon, Derek Lanter of Waialua Estate Coffee and Chocolate Company, along with Rob and Andrea, will lead a field walk through the Waialua coffee farm to discuss and show different CBB IPM techniques. Participants will learn how to identify CBB-infested coffee cherries to help with the early detection of this pest. There will be time for questions and answers after the presentations and during the field walk. Because space is limited to the first 50 attendees, a maximum of two representatives from each roasting or retail company should attend, to allow as many individual farms and entities as possible to participate. There will be a waiting list for additional representatives. Please call Gina at 322-4892 or email ginab@hawaii.edu by September 18 to make your lunch reservations (optional, $10 at the door) and RSVP (required). Water and soft drinks will be available.
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Instructional Innovations
9/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Maria Stewart (pictured) and HNFAS are organizing Instructional Innovations. a brown bag lunch series for instructional faculty and TA’s in CTAHR, with meetings to be held on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month through November, noon to 1:00 p.m. in Ag Sci 219. The first one is scheduled for September 11, at which Jinan Banna and Rajesh Jha will share helpful insights gained at the Hawaii National Great Teachers Conference. The informal workshop series will allow participants to engage in conversation and share ideas about teaching and learning; each session will include a 20- to 30-minute presentation followed by discussion/questions. Other topics will include technologies to enhance learning, troubleshooting common classroom issues, and dealing with large lecture classes. Maria, the organizer, is the 2013 winner of the Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, so she knows whereof she speaks! If you have any questions, just email her at mstew@hawaii.edu.
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Retreat!
9/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  FSHN Council will be holding their annual three-day Leadership and Diversity Retreat at Camp Timberline from late afternoon Sept 13 through noon of Sept 15. CTAHR students are invited to attend this retreat to meet, mingle and bond with fellow students; develop leadership skills and professional etiquette with the help of Dr. Lori Ideta (Assistant Vice Chancellor and UH Dean of Students) and Dr. Leslie Opulauoho (WCC); cook delicious meals with CN Lee (HNFAS); and enjoy the other fun activities planned at Camp Timberline! The fee is just $20/person, which includes meals, lodging, and activities. What a deal! The only catch is that the deadline to turn in your retreat registration form and dues is Friday, September 6. Email fshnnews@gmail.com for more information and a copy of the form.
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Moist but Not Too Moist
9/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The LIFE and Risk Management Hawaii programs are partnering with the Kona Coffee Council and their educational coordinator, Gary Strawn of Kona Earth Coffee, to conduct a hands-on, educational workshop about how to calibrate moisture meters. It will be offered on Thursday, September 5, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Kona Cooperative Extension Service Conference Room at 79-7381 Mamalahoa Highway in Kealakekua. Bring your moisture meter and learn how to calibrate it to state standards! Hawai‘i law requires green coffee to be dried to 9–12% moisture, and it can be surprisingly difficult to meet this narrow range. These meters are used to measure moisture content of parchment and green coffee beans during the drying process. Too dry, and the coffee loses quality; too wet, and you’re encouraging mold. Not to mention that to manage CBB damage within the bean, parchment and green coffee should be dried to approximately 11%. The workshop will discuss the basics of how moisture meters work, allow participants to compare several types of meters, and have calibrated parchment available for testing. You can even bring your own parchment to see if your meter measured it correctly. Don’t have a moisture meter or need a new one? This is the perfect opportunity to try out different models. CTAHR’s coffee and orchard crops extension agents Andrea Kawabata and Ryan Tsutsui will be on hand to assist Gary during this workshop and will also help growers to calibrate their meters. Don’t forget to bring your moisture meter! Please call Gina at 322-4892 or email ginab@hawaii.edu to RSVP by September 4.
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Fuel the Future!
9/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Richard Ogoshi (TPSS) will present a talk on “Biofuel Feedstock Crops for Hawaii” on Thursday, September 5, at 3:30 p.m. in St. John 11. He will summarize his research on biofuel feedstock crops being evaluated on projects funded by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy and the Office of Naval Research. As you may know, the US Navy has pledged to convert a significant percentage of its fleet to plant-based fuels, so there is a large potential market for this important research. Come find out more about it!
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August
Buy Local, It Matters!
8/27/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR’s 2002 Outstanding Alumnus Derek Kurisu waxes passionate about supporting locally grown and locally made products in this Civil Beat news video. Derek, who is the executive vice president of KTA Superstores on the Big Island, explains that it’s a matter of working together and coordinating efforts, different farmers growing different produce so that more of Hawai‘i’s needs can be met without shortages or flooding the market.
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Tilapia Sex
8/27/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Clyde Tamaru has been working with Jeff Garvey at Waipahu High School for the last few years to develop an aquaculture/aquaponics curriculum for high school students in his Natural Resources Production class. Clyde has also provided fish stocks for the systems and technical advice on keeping them healthy and happy. Now those tilapia are mature and large enough to form their own breeding program; that means selecting broodstock, and Clyde was asked to provide training for the students on how to distinguish the difference between female and male tilapia. “Not as easy as it seems,” he concedes, but the students were up to the task and now are adept at telling which is which. They’ve moved on to other issues in setting up breeding systems, including optimal male to female ratio, stocking density, and water-quality management. The class’s ultimate objective is for students to be able to create and improve any natural resource production system—a laudable goal, and one that Clyde’s help has brought that much closer to attainment. Pictured from left to right are students Josh Cabulera, Roy Vilaspir, Ronell Catajan, Kyle Marcelino, and Briana Banua.
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A Directory for Every Desktop
8/27/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The CTAHR online directory has been updated, and the 2013-14 CTAHR Directory is now available as a downloadable PDF for you to print out or keep on your computer desktop. If you don't want to download the full directory, you have the option of two partial versions. One contains department/program information and employees by listed unit; the other is a single alphabetical list of all employees. The start of the semester is also a good time to update your biographical information and provide a photo in the online directory—you can do that here. Get your face out there, and make your accomplishments known!
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Cone Snail Defense
8/27/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Everyone is invited to attend Zachary Bergeron’s Ph.D. dissertation final defense seminar on Tuesday, September 3, at 4:00 p.m. in AgSci 219. The dissertation, titled “Peptide Toxin Bioengineering - Advancement of Fluorescent Probe Design for Targeting Human K+ Channels,” discusses work he has done with cone snail toxins in the lab of his committee chair, Jon-Paul Bingham (MBBE, pictured here with Zach). Zach’s other committee members are Abby Collier, Dulal Borthakur and Winston Su (both MBBE), and Robert Richmond; and they must all be justifiably proud of their much-honored student.
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An Ear a Day...
8/27/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Get a jump on your daily corn requirement at the Horticulture Society’s fresh, juicy corn sale on Wednesday, August 28! The sale, held in the driveway between St. John and Ag Engineering, will run from 11 a.m. until all the ears are gone—and at 3 for a dollar, they’ll go fast! Crunch into some sweet—and locally grown—kernels!
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FSHN Fishin’ for New Members
8/27/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Food Science and Human Nutrition Council is now accepting new members for the school year! The FSHN Council is a club for intended/declared FSHN majors, but anyone is welcome to join. Come learn more about FSHN and future careers, network with other FSHN students, professors, and RD’s, get involved with nutrition-related volunteer opportunities, and make friends with other FSHN students! You can learn more about FSHN Council at their first general meeting of the year on Thursday, August 29, at 4:15 p.m. in AgSci 219. Visit their website to fill out a member application and turn it in to one of the officers listed on the application or at the first meeting!
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Better Health Through Better Eating
8/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  About twice a month, Joannie Dobbs and Alan Titchenal publish a nutrition, health, and fitness column in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser called “Health Options.” Last week’s article was headlined “Physical woes can indicate a lack of certain nutrients.” Have a crazy sweet tooth, crave salt, or can’t stop chewing on ice? There may be a nutrient deficiency behind that—check it out! For lots more bite-sized chunks of useful information, turn to their archive for a treasure trove dating back to 1997!
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Social Network for Fishers
8/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Michele Barnes-Mauthe (NREM Ph.D. candidate) will defend her dissertation proposal: “Exploring resource users’ social networks and their role on environmental and economic outcomes in an ethnically diverse common-pool resource system: three essays.” The defense will take place on Friday, August 23, at 1 p.m. in Gilmore 311. Michele’s committee members are PingSun Leung, Kirsten Oleson, Steven Gray (all NREM), Minling Pan, and John Lynham. As Michele explains, “Effectively managing the current and unprecedented level of anthropogenic impacts on the natural environment requires a clear understanding of the components of natural resource systems and their interrelationships.” She plans to look at Hawai‘i’s longline fishery, exploring how the social relationships of the users of this resource will influence economic and environmental outcomes. In particular, she’ll look at the effect of ethnic diversity on the role of “social network capital” in this context, a factor that has not been sufficiently studied. Come for an eye-opening discussion!
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Welcome to the ‘Ohana
8/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR’s New Student Orientation provides a great introduction for incoming freshman and transfer students to our college. About 40 new students attended this year’s program, where they received words of welcome as well as an overview of our four main values of instructional philosophy (Scholarship, Ethical Behavior, Diversity, and Service) from Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs Charly Kinoshita. Lisa Kitagawa-Akagi then discussed academic requirements, followed by short presentations by student club and organization representatives. Students were then divided into smaller groups, each led by our student committee members. Arby Barone, Nicole Castellano, Melissa Dumas, Kiana Ebeling, Angela Stein, Tiffany Ulep, and Kelli Zakimi led these sessions, which included Aloha Bingo, a discussion of personal development of various skills and competencies for life after college, and a question-and-answer segment. Groups went out on a campus tour and then came back for advising sessions for majors, where they received guidance on classes to take and what to expect in college from their academic advisors. The orientation ended with a delicious lunch with peers, faculty, and staff. The new students left with a better understanding of what it means to be a part of CTAHR. This orientation would not have been possible without the assistance of many individuals—a big thank you is due to the student committee members, faculty advisors, and student club and organization representatives!
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A Bubbling Caldera of Knowledge
8/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Volcanoes National Park was the site of the 25th Annual Hawaii National Great Teachers Seminar, which HNFAS faculty Jinan Banna and Rajesh Jha recently attended. This international meeting brought educators together for a week of problem solving and sharing innovative teaching practices: the participants were the experts, sharing their knowledge with others in the group. The seminar consisted of a series of discussions in large and small groups related to various teaching topics: motivating and evaluating students, the use and misuse of technology in the classroom, maintaining academic standards, and more. Among the most useful activities was the presentation of “teaching innovations,” in which each participant contributed one strategy or activity used in the classroom to facilitate learning. Both Jinan and Rajesh brought back a wealth of information to apply in their courses, which they’ll also be sharing in an upcoming brown bag lunch.
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More Lychee?
8/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  TPSS is sponsoring a seminar by Biyan Zhou on Tuesday, August 20, 10 to 11 a.m. in St. John 106. Dr. Zhou, a professor in the Department of Horticulture at South China Agricultural University, will be discussing the effects of hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide as stress signals on flowering and on flowering induction in lychee. She has published more than 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Experimental Botany, Crop Science, Plant Cell Reports, Plant Growth Regulation, and Scientia Hortculturae; participants should learn important information on her research focus, the physiology of evergreen woody fruit trees.
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Aqua-Web
8/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Tetsuzan Benny Ron (HNFAS), in collaboration with Glenn Martinez of Olomana Gardens, recently posted at the eXtenstion Community of Practice for Freshwater Aquaculture website the second in a series of webinars on more effective aquaponics systems, including the advantages of airlift pumps. The efficiency and other benefits of aquaponics can be shocking—but you don’t want to take that literally! While many aquaponics systems incorporate a submerged electrical pump in the fish tank, there can be hazards associated with that set-up. The airlift pump solves that and other potential problems—and this webinar walks viewers through the specifics. You’ll also find Benny’s previous webinar introducing the concept at the same site.
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Stockmen in Paradise
8/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR The 2013 Stockman’s Fall Field Day Program will be held at the Mealani Experiment Station on August 30 and 31. Kit Pharo, a well-known speaker at livestock events across the US, will be returning for a second engagement at a Mealani Forage Field Day to discuss low-input, profitable cattle ranching. The program will also feature John Hewlett of the University of Wyoming and Jay Parsons of Colorado State University, who will provide details of the USDA’s Livestock Risk Protection Insurance program (LRP) and several USDA Risk Management Agency tools for managing risk for ranchers. Additional presentations and workshops will introduce participants to the UH CES and HDOA’s Cooperative Secusio extensa rearing program, which provides integrated management for fireweed by releasing the Secusio moth to eat it, and an update on the Kamehameha Schools Leucaena project. There will be a pasture walk and discussion about assessing drought-stricken range and pasturelands. Participants will have the opportunity to practice using various online tools to enhance ranch management provided by RightRisk and the Risk Management Agency. Finally, participants will learn about the “Hawaii Forage Production Estimator,” a new decision-support tool that can be used to facilitate grazing management decisions during drought. Pre-registration, which includes lunch and materials, is strongly encouraged.
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Food Safety Beyond the Field
8/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Just pick your island of choice, and you can attend a produce post-harvest workshop featuring world-renowned Dr. Trevor Suslow, Extension research specialist at the University of California-Davis, and representatives from water-treatment companies. Also featured will be a brief overview of the USDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act given by Sri Pfuntner of the food safety consulting company Hartono & Co. And you will also be eligible for pesticide recertification credits! Each workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a bento-type lunch and water provided. The island-hopping schedule? Kaua‘i on Monday, August 26; O‘ahu on Tuesday, August 27; Hawai‘i Island on Thursday, August 29; and Maui on Friday, August 30. The cost is $20 per person; sign up here, and give your email address to receive updated information as it becomes available. Please direct all workshop questions to Luisa Castro, on the Big Island, at (808) 969-8261 or luisac@hawaii.edu.
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Heirs to the Chairs
8/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  TPSS and PEPS welcome their new department chairs, appointed by Dean Gallo: Russell Yost and Mark Wright, respectively. Congratulations on the honor, Russell and Mark, and thanks for being willing to serve! The remaining department chairs—Catherine Chan-Halbrendt (NREM), Doug Vincent (HNFAS), Bobbie Yee (FCS), and David Christopher (MBBE), will continue their excellent service.
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Sweet Thoughts
8/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Nutrition expert Joannie Dobbs (HNFAS) is featured in a recent article on Discovery.com about the new generation of fruits bred to be super-sweet or otherwise especially appealing to kids, like the cotton candy-flavored grapes recently released by a California company. Joannie points out that that kids will readily eat fruit—even regular fruit!—and that even sugar-enhanced varieties have obvious nutritional advantages over candy, but that factors like convenience and shelf life keep vendors and consumers reaching for those chocolate bars.
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Manoa Beauty
8/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Did you know that the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa made the list of the top 10 most beautiful college campuses in the United States? There’s still a lot of construction underway, but things are looking good!
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The Roof Over Their Heads Is a Garden
8/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR The Star-Advertiser recently ran a laudatory article on the new aquaponic and planter garden that’s been created on the roof of the Institute for Human Services. The gardens, the article explains, utilize a variety of experimental techniques that are being worked out in consultation with CTAHR. The aquaponics set-up is particularly successful: only a month after planting, it is already yielding lettuces and other leafy greens for the guests at the IHS’s two homeless shelters; when the tilapia in the tanks mature, they too will provide food for the guests. There are even possible plans to sell the greens, if production continues well, and the shelter residents are also learning self-sufficiency and valuable skills by tending the garden plots.
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A Caffeine Jolt of Funding
8/7/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The continued menace of the coffee berry borer has recently led the USDA to grant $1 million in funding to research techniques to combat it, as highlighted in an article in Honolulu Civil Beat. The story discusses the particular problems the borer poses in Hawai‘i and describes the ways Elsie Greco (pictured), Ken Grace, and other researchers and extension agents are working to solve these issues. It’s funding, and work, that is urgently relevant—the future of Kona’s unique coffee may be at stake.
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Full Plate for Farmers
8/7/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  LIFE is partnering with the Hawai‘i Departments of Ag and Health and the USDA Farm Service Agency to offer a Farm Resources Workshop that will cover a myriad of topics: pesticide use, including sprayer calibration and mixing demonstrations; on-farm food safety; lease opportunities; and loans. Participants will also be able to apply for a USDA agricultural cost reimbursement program to help offset the cost of transporting agricultural inputs and products. It all happens on Thursday, August 22, 6–8:30 p.m. at the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center: 94-340 Kunia Road, Waipahu. For more information, contact USDA’s Jason Shitanishi at 483-8600, ext. 104, or jason.shitanishi@hi.usda.gov. You can also ask Jari Sugano, at 622-4185 or suganoj@ctahr.hawaii.edu. Take advantage of this chance to get free food, lots of information, and 2 credits toward pesticide recertification!
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Bug Brains
8/7/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Everyone is invited to a meeting of the Hawaiian Entomological Society on Thursday, August 15, 2:30–3:30 p.m. in Gilmore 306. Guest speaker Kirk Hillier will discuss “Picking the Insect Brain: Applied Chemical Ecology Based in Neural Approaches.” You probably won’t get too many invitations to pick insect brains, so don’t miss the opportunity!
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The Chemistry of Aquaponics
8/7/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Zhen Hu, a post-doctoral researcher in Samir Khanal’s (MBBE) lab, will be presenting a seminar on “Nitrogen Transformations in Aquaponics” on Wednesday, August 14, 10–11 a.m. in Gilmore 212. Zhen will discuss the role of nitrogen in aquaponics, looking at the mechanisms and dynamics of nitrogen transformations in these systems. Come be enlightened on this relevant and under-studied topic!
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Cycad Blues
8/7/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  PEPS is presenting a special invited talk by Yu-Feng “Frank” Hsu with relevance to the topics of invasive species and rare-plant conservation. Dr. Hsu’s talk, “Cycad Blue: A Lesson on Plant and Insect Conservation,” will be offerend on Wednesday, August 14, 2:30–3:30 p.m. in Gilmore Hall 306. It concerns the invasive Cycad Blue butterfly, which damages endangered cycad plants in many areas of Asia and the Pacific. Dr. Hsu looks at the sources of the invasive outbreaks and considers the possibility that cycad species will become extinct, theorizing that if this happens the extinction of the butterfly itself may not be far behind. This topic is highly relevant to the Islands’ own fragile ecosystem, so be sure to find out more about it.
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Not Just Ornamental
8/7/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The college is recruiting for the position of assistant researcher in ornamental plant breeding in TPSS, and three candidates will be offering research and teaching presentations: Bunmi Aina, Adrienne Kleintop, and CTAHR’s Tessie Amore (pictured). Research presentations will be given at the Komohana Agriculture Complex in Hilo, at the times listed below, while teaching presentations will be offered in St. John 106 at Manoa, all at 1–2 p.m. All presentations will be available over Polycom to all county offices. For assistance with a Hilo connection, contact Kathy Aoki at 969-8201; for assistance with a St. John connection, contact Richard Manshardt at 956-6063. Dr. Aina, who gave her research presentation on August 7, will give her teaching presentation on August 8. Dr. Kleintop’s will showcase her research on August 14, noon–1 p.m., and her teaching on August 15. Dr. Amore’s research presentation will take place August 22, 11 a.m.–noon, and her teaching presentation on August 23. Come hear them and help to determine the composition of the CTAHR ‘ohana!
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This Little Piggy Lived in Myanmar...
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Halina
Zaleski (HNFAS) spent May in Myanmar as a consultant with Winrock
International and ActionAid Myanmar to provide advice and training
for small-scale pig producers. She conducted workshops on pig
genetics and breeding, housing and environment, feed and nutrition,
health, and management in several villages in the Pakkoku and Myiang
areas (pictured). She evaluated programs and practices on larger
farms that supply piglets to villagers. She also discussed challenges
and recommendations with township and district livestock
veterinarians and agronomists, and with the Pig Farmers Association.
Among the key recommendations was the introduction of the 4-H program
to Myanmar to help youth develop both academic and practical skills,
because most village children receive only primary school education.
Development of 4-H programs could provide opportunities for greater
collaboration between CTAHR and organizations in Myanmar. Let's hope
it happens!
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A Lifetime of Achievement
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  FCS
Chair Barbara “Bobbie” Yee has been selected for the James M.
Jones Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological
Association, Minority Fellowship Program. She will receive this award
at the annual meeting of the Association on Friday, August 2. The
event will take place starting at 6:30 in the Hilton Hawaiian Village
Beach Resort's Coral Ballroom I. She will be honored for her career
contributions in ethnic minority teaching and training. She
generously insists that the honor is also a tribute to her wonderful
students (one of whom is here pictured standing beside her) and many colleagues across the nation. An award well
deserved!
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The Fashion Landscape
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  LICH’s Project Greenway, a night of fashion and fundraising to raise
awareness of native and non-invasive alternatives to common invasive landscape
plants, is featured in a 4-page spread in Hawaii
Landscape magazine. Adding a touch of haute couture to the event were APDM
students’ fashion designs worn by local models; several of these designs are
featured in the magazine, including Cole Lida’s elegant black gown
gracing the cover. Project Greenway was also featured on KHON and
KITV news; in the Star-Advertiser; on Nadine Kam’s fashion blog, and on HPR radio. Clearly
an event whose time is now! CTAHR benefited from the event through more than exposure, as well: palms and dracaenas featured at the celebration, donated by growers through the Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association, are now beautifying the entryway in Gilmore. Thanks, HFNA!
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Getting to the Root of the Matter
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  JB Friday (NREM) has posted a new YouTube educational video discussing containers for tree seedlings with four forestry and conservation nurseries. The size and shape of the container are important: larger containers offer more leeway in terms of time before the seedling has to be planted without getting rootbound, but they’re more expensive in the amounts of potting medium and water that they require, and the seedlings need to be planted in areas where large-enough holes can be dug. Holes at the bottom of the tubes encourage air pruning, so that the roots stop growing instead of continuing uncontrolledly. And ridges along the inside of the tube encourage roots to grow straight down instead of swirling around the inside of the container and strangling themselves. Find out more here!
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Tea Lives
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The CTAHR Tea Project and LIFE program are presenting a special event, Tea 101: Production & Processing Basics, on Thursday, August 8, 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m., at the Mealani Research Station. Randy Hamasaki and Stuart Nakamoto will offer participants basic training in tea production and processing and explain the tea research being conducted at the Mealani Research Station. Topics will include market feasibility of Hawai‘i-grown tea, basic types of tea (includes tasting), crop fertility and pest management, pruning and harvesting, tea-processing equipment, and evaluation of processed tea. Attendance is limited due to facility and event constraints to first-come, first served. RSVP to Didi or Perci at 887-6183 or ddiaz@hawaii.edu by August 7.
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Malama Na Keiki
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Center on the Family, Hawai‘i’s KIDS COUNT affiliate,
contributed state data to the
KIDS COUNT Data Book just released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. According
to the report Hawai‘i ranks 25th out of 50 states in overall child well-being.
The Data Book presents data on indicators in four essential areas:
economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Certain
conditions for Hawai‘i’s children have improved since 2005, while others have
worsened: the state is in the bottom third in the nation in terms of all
economic indicators, such as children living in poverty or whose parents lack
secure employment; on the other hand, Hawai‘i ranks 16th in terms of family and
community well-being. We’re glad COF has the numbers covered.
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Read Before Drowning
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Chennat Gopalakrishnan (NREM) has published a
state-of-the-art review entitled
“Water and Disasters: A Review and Analysis of Policy Aspects” in the June 2013
issue of the International Journal of Water Resources Development. Based
on original research, the paper presents a survey and analysis of water
disasters globally during the period 2000–2010, including comprehensive
information about economic losses and human fatalities. The author
identifies and examines five broad groups of water policies—risk management, vulnerability
assessment, capacity building and resilience, and the link between disaster
risk reduction and development/institutional design—to determine their adequacy
and effectiveness in successfully dealing with water disasters. Drawing on
the study, a number of specific policy recommendations are offered to correct
the serious shortcomings of the current policies. Five priority areas for
future research have also been identified.
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Sew It, Grow It, Blast It Off!
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The 4-H program hosted three weeklong day camps at the
Komohana Research and Extension Center this summer. The Ready, Set, Sew
beginning sewing camp gave youth the opportunity to learn about parts and functions
of the sewing machine and how to create different stitches. Along with sewing, they
learned about the importance of accurate measuring and how to make and use
patterns. By the end of the week, each of the participants created a pillow to
take home with them. At the Green Thumb Gardening day camp, campers got to
learn hands-on by planting seeds, propagating, and transplanting. Instruction
also included the importance of drainage and nutrients. At the end of the week,
each participant took home the vegetables they planted—tomatoes, beans, and
strawberries. The third day camp focused on aerospace and rocketry, and throughout
the week, the youth learned about the science of flight. They first designed
and tested paper airplanes to demonstrate the concepts of lift, thrust, and air
pressure, and by the end of the camp, each participant had built and was able
to launch a model rocket!
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Good Soil to Grow In
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Jonathan Deenik (TPSS) is one of a number of UH faculty who
have participated in the Wai‘anae Malama ‘Aina Field School, a
five-week summer program for eighth- and ninth-graders from Nanakuli
High and Intermediate School spearheaded by the Hawai‘inuiakea School of
Hawaiian Knowledge. The students have studied the geology of the mountain
ridges towering above Waianae, learned about the importance of healthy living
and the work going on at He‘eia Fishpond, and toured the research station on
Coconut Island. Framing his lesson in terms of food security, Jonathan
showed the class how to identify different soil types and how to figure out
which crops will grow well in each type. The students will visit the UHM campus
and the Magoon Research Facility on July 9 to get a taste of the opportunities
the university can offer and, it’s hoped, spark the desire to go to college
themselves.
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Trees From Space
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  NASA/NOAA’s satellite product, on which Tomoaki Miura (NREM) works, is featured
in NASA’s latest news. The “Earth-observing research satellite” named Suomi
National Polar-orbiting Partnership, or Suomi NPP, collects all types of visual
data on the globe, giving insight into everything from the amount of electric
light generated by different parts of the earth to instances of forest fire,
Arctic ice melt, and much more. Tomoaki’s project, entitled “Evaluation
and Validation of NPP VIIRS Vegetation Index EDR for Earth System and Climate
Sciences,” looks at visual data of the vegetation covering the globe. Being
able to visualize vegetation is important for researchers into climate change,
drought, and other hydrological and biogeochemical processes; it’s also got
far-reaching implications for public health and land-use studies.
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Luncheon of the Stars
8/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A
contingent of CTAHRites joined 800 others in honoring four women community
leaders—among them former Interim Dean Sylvia Yuen—at the YWCA’s recent
LeaderLuncheon event. Also on hand at the gala affair were Gov. Neil Abercrombie and his
wife, Dr. Nancie Caraway; Mayor Kirk Caldwell; Sen. Michelle Kidani; Rep. Ann
Kobayashi; and business executives from a wide variety of businesses. Sylvia and the other honorees
were chosen because of their dedication to the community and the benefit of others, and because they are creators,
innovators, and thought leaders. And cable channel ‘Olelo filmed the entire event, including Sylvia’s inspiring speech!
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July
Aquaculture for Chefs
7/24/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  HNFAS is hosting a Seafood Culinary Education Workshop presented by the National Aquaculture Association (NAA) on Wednesday, July 31, 9 to 11:30 a.m. in Ag Sci 219. This workshop, designed specifically for future chefs and food professionals, provides an overview of U.S. aquaculture, including methods of production, sustainability, feeds, environmental impacts, common and emerging species, food safety concerns, third-party certification programs, seafood inspection programs, new technologies, and important health benefits of increased seafood consumption. The workshop will dispel some of the misinformation and disinformation that swirls around aquaculture production and is an opportunity to provide science-based answers to any questions. Free parking, coffee breaks, and lunch will be provided—just RSVP by 5:00 p.m. on July 25.
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Berry Borer, Kona Style
7/24/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR’s Local and Immigrant Farmer Education (LIFE) and Risk Management Hawaii (RMH) programs will be hosting two workshops on CBB Integrated Pest Management at the Kona Cooperative Extension Service Conference Room. They’ll take place on July 30 and August 7, both 1:30–5:30 p.m. Extension agent Andrea Kawabata and HDOA entomologist Rob Curtiss will be teaching farmers about first-response actions and the most current CBB Integrated Pest Management and sampling protocols; extension economist Stuart Nakamoto will be discussing risk management and crop insurance policies available to growers for coffee and coffee trees; and coffee farmer Bob Nelson will talk about the CBB protocols he uses. There will be a talk-story Q&A afterward. To register, call Gina at 322-4892 or email ginab@hawaii.edu by July 29 and August 5 for the respective workshops. And spread the word to other coffee growers!
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New Faces: Mililani Isaacs
7/24/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Office of the Dean is happy to welcome Mililani Isaacs to the position of office assistant. Mililani, a self-proclaimed “Army brat,” lived all over the world as a child and still loves traveling—dream destination, Rome! The proud mother of two teenage boys, she enjoys supporting their school and sports clubs, as well as volunteering for other community organizations. She earned her associate’s degree from WCC and is currently pursuing a B.S. in psychology. She writes, “I look forward in working at CTAHR and gaining knowledge in the many facets in the field of agriculture.” Welcome, Mililani!
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HBT Takes Flight
7/24/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The paper on helicopter-assisted Herbicide Ballistic Technology recently published by James Leary and Linda Cox (both NREM) and their collaborators has been picked up by TV stations and newspapers across the nation! Locally, Hawaii News Now, KITV, and the Kauai Garden Island newspaper were excited to discuss this new innovation and its implications for local invasive species management. Other proponents are the authors of these Techline Invasive Plant News and SunHerald articles. Want to experience a simulacrum of the experience of shooting weed species with herbicide-filled paintball-type pellets? Just check out this video!
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High-Tech Food Tech
7/24/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Kara Yamada, MS candidate in Food Science, and Natthakan Rungraeng, Ph.D. candidate in MBBE, who both work in Soojin Jun’s food engineering lab, recently won the second and third places at the Division Student Competition of the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists meeting at Chicago. Following the presentation and interviews, Kara received the $750 second-prize award and Natthakan the $500 third-prize cash award and recognition by Phi Tau Sigma, the Honor Society of Food Science and Technology. Kara presented “Multi-Junction Microwire Sensor for Simultaneous Detection of Foodborne Pathogens” and Natthakan presented “Development of Easy-to-Clean Slippery Liquid-Infused Carbon Nanotube Composite Structure Coating on Food Contact Surface.” Only 6 finalists were selected out of 76 candidates, and two were from Soojin’s research group! Not only that; Natthakan won first place in this division at the 2012 meeting. The Institute of Food Technologists is the primary international professional association for food scientists. This year’s annual meeting hosted over 20,000 food scientists, students, R&D professionals, suppliers, marketers and others involved in the food industry. Congratulations both to Kara and Natthakan and to Soojin for his mentorship.
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The Triumph of Taro
7/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
Waimanalo Research Station’s wildly successful Taro Field Day continues
to
garner positive notice—and hopes for a repeat next year—including a news
video
produced by Jeela Ongley of UH System’s Media Productions Office.
The
video touches on some of the sensitive issues surrounding taro culture
and
the culture of taro in the Islands, and it also shows how CTAHR’s work
is
appreciated by those on both sides of the divides.
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For the Love of Livestock
7/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  4-H’s
participation in last weekend’s Farm Fair got enthusiastic TV coverage from
both
Hawaii News Now and
KHON, with young participants and a leader explaining the learning
opportunities and satisfactions of participating in the program and raising
animals. CTAHR’s aquaponics was also briefly featured. Best of all, everyone
involved, producers and visitors, looked as though they were having a great day
out learning about local ag.
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Going Ballistic
7/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A paper written
by James Leary, Linda Cox, and co-authors, “Calibration
of an Herbicide Ballistic Technology (HBT) Helicopter Platform Targeting Miconia calvescens
in Hawaii,” was recently published in Invasive Plant Science and
Management, and the journal also
chose the paper as the subject of a media release targeting journalists
interested in plant science and ecology. This publicity may boost nationwide
exposure of the HBT technology pioneered by James Leary, which can target invasive
weed populations in remote and inaccessible locations by shooting pellets of
herbicide with a paintball-type gun from a helicopter. Sounds like fun…and it’s
all for a good cause!
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A Green Lite on Insurance
7/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
Risk Management Hawaii program will be hosting two workshops on AGR-Lite crop
insurance programs on Monday, July
29, at Pearl City Urban Garden Center. The guest speaker, David Green, is a
retired employee of the USDA Risk Management Agency. The first session, 2:00–4:00 p.m., will be for non-grower agricultural professionals, while the second session, 5:30–7:30
p.m., is for growers. AGR-Lite
is a federally subsidized crop insurance product that can cover losses from
causes such as natural disasters, bad weather, and pests/diseases, as well as
losses due to market conditions. Organic growers and direct marketers may be
covered at market instead of commodity prices. Producers of all crops are encouraged
to attend to learn about its applicability to their situation, what it takes to
qualify, recordkeeping requirements, premium cost, how to apply, and similar
questions. There’s limited seating, so email mddiaz@hawaii.edu
or call Didi at 887-6183 to
pre-register. For general questions, contact Stuart Nakamoto at
snakamo@hawaii.edu or call 956-8125. Be there or risk being uninsured!
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Bearing With the Berry Borer
7/18/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR’s
Local and Immigrant Farmer Education (LIFE) and Risk Management Hawaii (RMH)
programs will be hosting two workshops on CBB Integrated Pest Management.
They’ll take place in Hilo on July 22, 5:30–8:30
p.m. in the Aupuni Center Conference Room at 101 Pauahi St.; and in Kamuela on August 7, 5:30–8:30 p.m. in the Waimea Civic Center
Conference Room at 67-5189 Kamamalu Rd. Extension agent Andrea Kawabata will be teaching
farmers about first-response actions and the most current CBB Integrated Pest
Management and sampling protocols, and extension economist Stuart Nakamoto will
be discussing risk management and crop insurance policies available to growers
for coffee and coffee trees. CTAHR’s county administrator Russell Nagata will
be in attendance, along with other agents and government agency personnel. Feel free to spread the word to coffee growers!
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News From the Lab
7/10/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Zachary
Bergeron (PhD student, MBBE) was recently interviewed by KTUH (90.3
FM) about some of the research he is doing in the lab with his
adviser Jon-Paul Bingham, with whom he is pictured here, and about his recent participation—and
honors—in the ARCS symposium. Many congratulations on his ongoing, and well-deserved, recognition!
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From Minnesota With Love
7/10/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Catherine
Dehdashti, a communications professional with the University of
Minnesota Extension, emailed a
video she produced of her recent visit to the Hilo Farmer's Market.
Catherine recorded some nice testimonials of CTAHR's Extension impact
on the community. She writes, “My visit here has helped me learn
more about the value of Extension.” Mahalo to Catherine for kindly
sharing her video with her Extension 'ohana in Hawai'i!
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Satisfy Your Curiosity
7/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR What is the outlook for the agricultural industry in Hawai‘i?
Hear from expert farmers on the challenges and rewards of farming. Hear from
current students of the GoFarm Hawai‘i program. Learn more about GoFarm Hawai‘i
program, a comprehensive and practical training program built around the
real-world needs of tomorrow’s farmers. It’s all happening at the Ag-Curious
presentation on Tuesday, July 9, 5–8 p.m., at Hale Akoakoa building at Windward
Community College. Register by emailing your name and contact information to info@gofarmhawaii.org or by leaving a
message at 236-9265. Be there, or always wonder, “What if...?”
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Not Just a Pretty Shell
7/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Jon-Paul
Bingham’s work with venomous cone snails was recently featured on KHON News. The feature emphasizes the very real danger
of the snails—when their tiny harpoons inject venom into their prey, it can be
deadly—even for humans. But the deadly nature of that venom is exactly what
makes it useful for pesticide applications and, in an interesting twist, curative
drugs as well. However, the deadly nature of the venom may also be why his lab is the
only one in the world studying the potential benefits of the toxin!
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Life Begins With Livestock
7/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  At the 56th Annual Hawai‘i County 4-H Livestock Show &
Sale recently held at the Mealani Research Station in Kamuela, 4 steers, 17
hogs, 13 lambs, 8 goats, 4 rabbits, and 6 poultry were entered in the
contest. Over 30 youth from across the Island participated in this year’s event,
while Dr. Jan Busboom from Washington State University served as the judge of
all species and as the carcass evaluator for the livestock that were harvested
following the sale. Prior to the show, youth participated in a livestock-judging
contest; the weekend was concluded with the livestock sale. Sale prices were
high this year, with the average for steers at $4.85/lb., hogs at $8.10/lb.,
lambs at $10.75/lb., goats at $2.60/lb., and poultry at $46/pen. Many thanks are due for
all the community support of the youth. Pictured is Cullen Andrade with the
Grand Champion Market Lamb.
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So That’s How They Do It...
7/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Under the watchful eye of livestock extension agent Mike
DuPonte (HNFAS Extension), students in the ANSC 491 Special Topics class taught by extension veterinarian
Ashley Stokes (HNFAS) learned about artificial insemination in beef cattle at the
Mealani Experiment Station. Here Geneva Graef, Krista Ann Lee, and
Kayleigh Morrison were able to review cow reproductive anatomy. HNFAS
Department Chair Doug Vincent also gave them a lecture on synchronization of
estrus during the weeklong intensive class, in which they gained hands-on
experience in reproductive management of beef cattle. Besides learning
artificial insemination, the students will be meeting with ranchers and farmers
and seeing animal agriculture on the Big Island. Thanks are due to Hawai‘i county
administrator Russell Nagata, Mealani farm manager Marla Fergerstrom, and the
crew at the Mealani Station for being such gracious hosts, and are due as well
to CTAHR for helping to defray the travel costs for these students.
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Today IFAMA, Tomorrow the World!
7/3/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A team from NREM placed 2nd in the Student Case Study Competition at the
2013 International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) World
Forum held on June 17–18. The competition, judged by industry representatives from
Monsanto, Novus International, and others, this year featured 25 teams
of students representing 15 countries who traveled to Atlanta to
participate. The NREM team was comprised of Jacqueline Halbrendt, Cynthia Lai,
Bikash Paudel, and Mary Pleasant, along with their academic adviser, Catherine
Chan-Halbrendt. The competition was fierce, with agribusiness school giants
such as Santa Clara University, Nanjing University, and Wageningen University
among the finalists against which UH had to compete. With excellent critical
and creative thinking, the UH/CTAHR/NREM team—who, having no agribusiness
training, were by far the underdogs—came this
close to capturing the grand prize! They and the rest of the top-notch contestants received many compliments, including
from the CEO of Monsanto, Hugh Grant, who said future agribusinesses will be in
great hands judging from what he heard and saw in the final competition. Kudos
for a great effort and performance by the UH/CTAHR/NREM team!
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June
Clearer Honey (Regulations)
6/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Governor Abercrombie has just signed a bill, SB482, that will make it easier for small beekeeping
operations to navigate or get exemptions from the complicated permitting
processes necessary to bottle and sell their own honey. It also provides for
food-safety precautions to help make sure customers get a pure and safe
product. The regulations were so complicated and difficult to deal with before
that some local beekeepers had even given up producing honey, so this bill offers
a needed boost to the Islands’ bee industry. The signing coincides with
“Hawai‘i Pollinator Week,” which recognizes the essential role
pollinators—butterflies, birds, bats, and beetles, as well as bees—play in our
food supply.
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GMO on ‘Olelo
6/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Hector
Valenzuela (PEPS) will be featured today, Wednesday, June 26, on ‘Olelo as part of the
local cable channel’s “GMO Week,” joining UH-Hilo College of Ag dean Dr.
William Steiner and science policy analyst Bill Freese on an anti-GMO panel
that along with a pro-GMO panel will answer questions posed by viewers. All
the hour-long shows start at 6:30 p.m.; on ‘Olelo Channel 55 on O‘ahu and on
Channel 54 on neighbor islands. You can also
catch the shows online. The discussions today and tomorrow will be live; questions or comments by
phone should be submitted by calling 834-5303 no later than 4 p.m. on June 27.
To submit questions via Twitter, the community is asked to use the hashtag
#olelogmo. Check out
the ‘Olelo web page on this topic for more information on the coverage of this
hotly debated issue.
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Sharks Redux
6/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The study on shark
conservation and ecotourism to which NREM
PhD student Michele Barnes-Mauthe contributed, showing that sharks are
potentially more valuable in the wild than harvested for soup, continues to get
press coverage, including
this segment on KITV featuring an
interview with Michele. Congratulations on the recognition of your work, Michele!
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Bravo for Taro!
6/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Waimanalo Research Center has received
a great deal of positive feedback from farmers and community members and who
attended their recent Taro Field Day (check it out here). Over 250 people showed up at an event
projected to draw only 60 to 100, a sign of work whose time has come. The
Honolulu Star-Advertiser and KITV News (here’s KITV’s transcript)
were on hand to document and celebrate the event, which brought CTAHR together
with community and government partners E kupaku ka ‘aina, Hui Ulu Mea ‘Ai, Hui Malama O Ke Kai, God’s County Waimanalo, USDA, HDOA,
Hawaii Farm Bureau, and the Taro Purity and Security Task Force. Organizers
Jari Sugano (PEPS), Ted Radovich and Jensen Uyeda (both TPSS), station manager Roger
Corrales, and extension agents Steve Fukuda and Rose Saito thank everyone who helped to create the successful event,
promising, “We will continue to bring awareness, research and education to
Hawai‘i’s taro farmers, communities and the public while being mindful and
respectful of the culture and traditions here in Hawaii.” A lofty goal—firmly
rooted in Waimanalo soil.
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CTAHR Sets Sail
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR
researchers and extension workers are collaborating with the Polynesian
Voyaging Society to boost nutrition aboard their new ship the Hikianalia for their upcoming round-the-world
adventure. CTAHR MBBE alumna Miki Tomita invited the college to help with her
collaboration with PVS because crewmembers wanted to be able to grow their own
vegetables. There were stringent space, weight, and energy requirements, and
the system had to be designed so water wouldn't splash out in rough weather.
Jensen Uyeda (TPSS Extension) created a prototype hybrid wick/hydroponic
micro-green-growing system, here shown being installed in the escape hatch of
the Hikianalia;
also installed was a hanging soil bag for sweet potatoes, Jari Sugano’s (PEPS)
design. Also collaborating with the PVS are Kai Fox and Clyde Tamaru (both
MBBE), who hope to tap into the voyaging canoe’s power supply or install their
own photovoltaic panels to power an LED array to help promote the veggies’
growth. The ship has just left for a year’s interisland “test” cruise, after
which it will embark on its 3-year journey around the world. By that time the
vegetable production system should be flourishing, and with it the crewmembers’
health.
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Filipino Food for Health
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Corilee
Watters (HNFAS, second from right) is the recipient of a $12K education grant
from the Hawai‘i Department of Health Chronic Disease Management and Control
Branch to develop education materials for chefs, dietitians, and health
professionals on ways to improve nutrition in the diets of Filipinos in
Hawai‘i. Funding for the project was supported by the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention. Working with her on the project are recent dietetic
students Erika Chinn-Galindo and Samantha Ordonez (left and right), who are
providing nutrition and cultural expertise; dietitian and recent PhD graduate
David St-Jules; and Lee Rosner (second from left), who offers a culinary and
chef’s perspective.
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Fountain of Youth
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  David Christopher’s (MBBE) work with
undergraduate students to research enzymes that contribute to the aging of
fruit and flowers such as pineapple and anthurium was
featured in the National Science Foundation’s newsletter this month.
These enzymes, cysteine proteases, are less active in unripe fruit and fresh
flowers because of the enzyme inhibitor cystatin, but when they’re activated
the aging process begins. The students learn how to sequence genes and help
with the research into how to manipulate these enzymes so as to delay browning
and softening. And since humans have the same enzymes, in whom they contribute
to such degenerative diseases as arthritis and Alzheimer’s, the research also
has important implications for treating these conditions. The project also
provides research opportunities to university and community college
undergraduates in genomics and molecular biology research, opportunities that
are relatively rare.
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Tough Tomatoes
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Over 40 elementary summer school students from the Hawaiian immersion school Pu‘ohala visited the Waimanalo Research
Station, where they learned about active research programs including
aquaponics, virus screening, and taro variety preservation. Here PEPS MS student Amber Tateno explains to them the importance
of disease-resistant cultivars in managing tomato viruses. This variety
trial at the certified organic plots at the Waimanalo Research Station is part
of the WSARE-funded project “Low-input Integrated Management of Tomato
Viruses in Hawaii,” awarded to Mark Wright and Leyla Kaufman (PEPS). The Pu‘ohala visit is part of a
larger program of school visits to utilize the Station as a center for learning
in partnership with local schools and non-profits, with support from CTAHR and
the Castle foundation.
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Waimanalo Lani
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A group of
students from the Blanche Pope Elementary School in Waimanalo visited the
Waimanalo Research Station’s experimental farm last month to learn and to meet
special guest Sen. Mazie Hirono. The students have created a school and
community garden they named Ka Malo Lani, the Heavenly Garden, where they grow
taro and sweetpotato, and they got important tips about sustainable growing
methods from CTAHR researchers, staff, and students such as Ted Radovich (TPSS)
and Leina‘ala Bright.
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Don’t Take the Shirt off Someone’s Back; Get Your Own
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Need a
nice, cool fashion option during the hot summer months? Pick
up a CTAHR polo shirt complete with embroidered spirit mark, and your spirits
will be high enough to withstand all the rigors of the summer swelter. The
men’s sizes even come with the option of pocket…in which to carry your
sunglasses. Now if only those also came emblazoned with CTAHR spirit!
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Save the Sharks!
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  NREM
Ph.D. student Michele Barnes-Mauthe, in collaboration with researchers from the
University of British Columbia and Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur,
recently published a new study on the global economic value of shark ecotourism in Oryx – The
International Journal of Conservation. The research team, who analyzed shark fisheries and
shark ecotourism data from 70 sites in 45 countries, argues that sharks are
more valuable left in the ocean than put on the menu. Their results show that
ecotourism currently generates more than US$314 million annually worldwide and
is expected to more than double to US$780 million in the next 20 years, while
the landed value of global shark fisheries is currently US$630 million and has
been in decline for the past decade. The authors argue that shark watching,
combined with more effective controls on global fisheries and an added focus on
consumer awareness of unsustainable fishing practices, could prove crucial for
the future status of shark populations because it provides incentives for
conservation. Check out coverage of their article in the popular press here, here, here,
and here.
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A Look at Hawai‘i’s Youth
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Hawai‘i
KIDS COUNT has developed an updated series of data snapshots on Hawai‘i’s young children
(ages 0–5), children (6–11) and teens (12–17). The Snapshots present point-in-time data
focusing on three important areas of child well-being: economic security,
health and safety, and education. Data were collected from various sources,
including the U.S. Census Bureau, Hawai‘i Department of Health, Hawai‘i
Department of Human Services, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
and Hawai‘i Department of Education. Here’s a sample of the data that are included
in the series: • 8% of babies are born at low-birth
weight (less than 5.5 lbs.)
• 28% of public school fourth graders
do not meet DOE standards in reading
• 7% of sixth graders reported
skipping school in the past 30 days because they felt unsafe
• 52% of public elementary school
students receive free and reduced-cost lunches
• 11% of teens ages 16-19 are not in
school and not working
• 62% of high school seniors reported
that they definitely will plan to complete a post-high school program.
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You Know You Wanna…Farm
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  GoFarm Hawai’i’s new
farmer training program kicks off its next round with the AgCurious seminar on
July 9, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Windward Community College, Hale Akoakoa
building. Just register by sending your name and contact information to
info@gofarmhawaii.org. The seminar is coordinated by David Ringuette, who can
be reached at 236-9265. If this round is as successful as the last, you won’t
want to miss it!
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Multimedia Aquaponics
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  If you
couldn’t make it to the Aquaponics in Hawai‘i Conference, you’ll be glad to
know there are still a couple of ways to access all that fish-information
goodness. Segments of the conference for specific audiences will be airing on
Olelo. Commercial Aquaponics in Hawaii will air on July 3 at 6:00 p.m. and July 8 at 10:00
a.m. on FOCUS 49 (only available on digital cable) and July 4 at 2:30 p.m. and
July 5 at 11:30 a.m. on OAHU 55. Then Urban Garden Aquaponics will air on July 9 at 9:00 p.m.
and July 10 at 12:30 p.m. on OAHU 55, and July 11 at 9:30 a.m. and July 12 at
3:00 p.m. on FOCUS 49. Can’t make those times either? No problem! You can also access the
presentations here!
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Banquet Benefactors
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A good time was had by all at CTAHR’s 25th Annual Awards
Banquet on May 3: the 460 guests applauded—and waved signs for—the distinguished honorees, feasted on
guava-glazed steak, admired—or grazed on—the living herb centerpieces, and laughed
at the tribute videos to the Ka Lei Hano
and Outstanding Alumnus award winners created by MC Derek Kurisu. It wasn’t all just fun and games and ‘ono food at the Banquet, though; thanks to sponsors
and donors, CTAHR was able to present a check for $35,000 to the UH Foundation
to create an endowment for the CTAHR Centennial Endowed Scholarship. This
scholarship, which was first conceived in the year of CTAHR’s 100-year
anniversary, will offer scholarships to students who are the first members of
their families to attend college…and give them a chance to one day become
Outstanding Alumni themselves. See more photos of the Banquet at the Flickr site created by Cheryl Ernst.
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Hope for Scholarship Recipients
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Coming on
the heels of the establishment of the CTAHR Centennial Scholarship, the college
is now the recipient of another endowment, the James Richard “Dick” Bunker
“Hope” Scholarship. This scholarship is directed to undergraduate students
pursuing a degree in HNFAS; preference is given to those who are committed to
community service, particularly those who have volunteered to care for people
with cancer. One of the founders of the American Cancer Society branches in
Arizona, Hawai‘i, Guam, and American Samoa, Dick Bunker was also an avid sailor
who characterized his life as devoted to giving and sharing and who hoped to
pass on these values to future generations.
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Aquaponics Across the Pacific
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR
hosted a special ceremony at which ATOLL interns from Rota, in the Northern
Mariana Islands, received their ATOLL internship certificates with a specialty
in aquaponics. As part of HNFAS extension, the Aquaculture Training
On-Line Learning program, or ATOLL, promotes practical knowledge of fisheries
and aquaculture based on technical
expertise to people in Hawai‘i and other Pacific islands. Dean Gallo and HNFAS Chair Douglas Vincent conferred the certificates on the “Magnificent 5,” Dave,
Harry, Jack, Gus, and Jimmy, while the ceremony was broadcast live via video
teleconferencing between CTAHR and Rota so their families and friends, not to
mention the mayor of Rota and his staff, could watch live. The mayor gave a
short speech conveying the appreciation he and the people of Rota feel for the
collaboration with CTAHR and expressing the wish that they might collaborate in
other areas as well. In addition to the ATOLL online classes, Doug Vincent had invited
the Rota interns to sit in on HNFAS classes, and during their 3-month stay in
Hawai‘i, they were trained to build various types of aquaponics systems by
Glenn Martinez of Olomana Gardens, who took them to many sites on the Hawaiian
Islands to learn trouble-shooting. Dr. Barbara McLain, the ATOLL program director,
also helped by training the interns in the use of software and the Internet and
providing studying techniques.
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All’s Fair at the Farm Fair
6/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  This
year’s Hawaii State Farm Fair will take place on Saturday and Sunday, July
13–14, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Kualoa Ranch.
It will offer fun and education for the whole family, including the 4-H
Livestock Show and Sale, a country market, a plant sale, horse rides, good
food, and much more. There's free admission for children ages 12 and under
and full-time students with a valid ID, thanks to the title sponsor, HDOA,
while general admission tickets will be $5.00. There will be ample free
parking. Check it out!
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Corm to Waimanalo!
6/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Come to the Waimanalo Research Station’s Taro Field Day on
June 21 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
and check out CTAHR’s Taro Germplasm collection. Learn about the statewide Taro
Purity and Security Task Force, different taro varieties in Hawai‘i, new and innovative
ways to grow taro, dryland taro culture, organic taro production, phytosanitation,
and apple snail infestation prevention. Visit CTAHR’s organic taro
collection and network with Hawai‘i’s agricultural agencies (HDOA, USDA, etc.)
and fellow famers. Enjoy the kalo pounding demonstrations by Waimanalo
community members and an afternoon in beautiful Waimanalo! For more
information, please contact Jari Sugano at 622-4185.
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IQ for Life
6/12/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  In this year’s UH Saves Day
LifeSmarts Challenge, Family Resources was represented by Chelsie Smyth and
Jessica Cheng. Chelsie and Jessica were awarded gift certificates from the UH
Bookstore for having the second-highest score across four teams on their knowledge of personal
finance. The FamR team members, including alternate Jerico
Dollopac, were mentored by Diane Masuo in FamR 361 Family Financial Planning to
prepare for the competition. The winning team was represented by Shidler
College of Business Fish scholar students, who each earned $250 scholarship
prizes. LifeSmarts Challenge is a consumer education program of the National
Consumer League. It is brought to Hawaii by the Hawaii Department of
Commerce and Consumer Affairs in partnership with the Hawaii Credit Union
League and UH co-sponsors—CTAHR’s Cooperative Extension Service; UHM Student Activities Council, Campus Center, Office of Undergraduate Education, Financial Aid Services, Student Life & Development, and Office of Student Housing Services; Shidler
College of Business; and KTUH. Pamela
Chow (FCS Cooperative Extension Services) provided leadership in organizing
this financial literacy annual event for students at UHM. All of the photos from the competition can be viewed
and downloaded here.
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Visitors From Abroad
6/12/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A
delegation from the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University in Yangling,
Shaanxi, in China visited CTAHR on Friday to sign an MOU with Chancellor Apple
and Dean Gallo. They also heard presentations from Kai Fox (MBBE); Tessie Amore
and Russel Yost (both TPSS); and PingSun Leung, Jinzeng Yang, and Rajesh Jha
(all HNFAS), as well as meeting over lunch with Associate Dean Charly Kinoshita and
John Hu (PEPS) and over dinner with CY Hu.
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Garden of Faith
6/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Associate
Dean of Extension Carl Evensen and a group of CTAHR faculty, staff, and alumni
assisted Waimanalo community members in constructing garden beds at St.
Matthews Church as part of the Department of Health’s Healthy Hawaii Initiative
to promote consumption of fresh produce. They planted eggplants, kale, mint,
oregano, and other vegetables and herbs.
Check out the pictures illustrating the transformation of simple yard to
incipiently productive garden!
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Health Plan
6/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
Hawai‘i Department of Health recently launched the Physical Activity and
Nutrition (PAN) Plan for 2013–2020, a plan that takes an inter-sectoral
approach to improving the health of communities in Hawai‘i. Corilee Watters
(HNFAS, shown here with landscape architect Brad Kurokawa) is vice-chair of the
Community Design Sector. Its priorities include enacting policies that increase
access to healthy foods, such as removing the general excise tax on fruits and
vegetables, and reduce access to unhealthy foods. It is also working to increase the number of
farmers’ markets that accept SNAP EBT transactions and identifying issues
related to access to and consumption of healthy foods in counties across
Hawai‘i.
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Germs on a Journey
6/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Extension
educator Rose Saito, with O‘ahu County 4-H, is collaborating with organizations
to promote health among youth in the community as well as to provide community
service and learning opportunities for UH-Manoa students. On May 24th, Rose and
six members of the UHM Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society took
the “Germ City” exhibit to the Kapolei Elementary Health Fair. The exhibit
offers a fun, interactive to way talk about germs, personal health, and
wellness, core Department of Education Health Standards.
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Big Apple Fashion
6/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Students
from APDM 496 went on an exciting five-day NYC study tour led by Youngjin Bahng
to see one of the world’s fashion capitals. They went on business tours of
apparel and marketing companies such as Firmenich, the Knit Resource Center,
Cynthia Steffe, Lost Art, Women’s Wear Daily, Fashion Institute of Technology,
and Macy’s, illustrating lessons learned in APDM courses. They made time for
major sightseeing spots, including a cruise around Manhattan to see the Statue
of the Liberty, a trip to the top of the Rockefeller observatory, and a visit
to the 9/11 memorials. They took in exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and relaxed with a visit to Central Park and the popular Broadway musical Kinky
Boots. The group
also had a chance to meet APDM alumnae Rita Blais (2008) and Holly Fujishige
(2009), who have been working at apparel companies in NYC. Over dinner the
students were able to ask them questions about living in New York and getting
apparel jobs. The group returned with an increased understanding of the apparel
industry and plans to use their New York experience to improve for their future
practice, creations, and careers. They appreciate the funding support from FCS
and CTAHR that allowed them this learning adventure!
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The Start of a Proud Tradition
6/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Congratulations
to David St-Jules, who successfully defended his PhD thesis on the effects of
the consumption of fish and omega-3s on pediatric liver disease last week—he’s
the first PhD graduate of the HNFAS Nutrition program! His doctoral
dissertation committee was chaired by Corilee Watters (left) and included
Michael Dunn (right) and Rachel Novotny (behind David), both HNFAS, as well as
Lynne Wilkens and Jeremy King (back right and back left,
UH-JABSOM). Of his five research studies, four papers have been accepted for
publication and the fifth is pending review. Way to go, David!
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Flowers on the Road
6/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR
and the USDA Risk Management Agency are excited to sponsor the 2013 Risk
Management Floriculture Road Show on June 25–26 in Hilo. This Road Show event
is also being co-sponsored by the Hawai’i Floriculture and Nursery Association.
Day 1 will take place at Nani Mau Gardens in Hilo and will include
presentations by researchers from CTAHR, USDA-PBARC, and UH Hilo-CAFNRM on such
topics as plant breeding and insect and disease pest management on flower
crops. Also included will be presentations on CTAHR’s Risk Management Hawai’i
program. Day 2 will include a half-day of farm tours to see tropical flowers
produced by local growers/exporters; then, in the afternoon, Arnold Hara (PEPS) will
conduct a workshop on “Shipping Pest-Free Products to California” at UH-Hilo’s
UCB 127. This afternoon workshop is free if it is the only portion of the event
you will be attending. Registration for Day 1 includes continental breakfast,
refreshments, buffet lunch (rock salt-crusted roast pork, grilled mahi mahi,
boneless chicken, salad bar) and access to Nani Mau’s beautiful gardens.
Because of the need to provide a head count for the dining services, you must
register and pay by June 14. This Road Show event should prove to be very
informative, while providing the opportunity to network with researchers,
government officials, and fellow growers. Please call Kelvin at (808) 969-8211 or email
ksewake@hawaii.edu for questions.
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May
The Children Are Our Food Future
5/28/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Want to
sponsor a future food leader? Seeds for Tomorrow Summer Adventure Camp will be held June 17–21 from 8:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m. daily at the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center at 94-340 Kunia
Road in Waipahu. The camp is being hosted by Hawaii Agriculture Research Center
and sponsored by CTAHR, LCC, the Hawaii Farm Bureau, and a number of businesses
such as Kunia Country Farms, Hawaiian Earth Products, Oils of Aloha, and Ali‘i
Kula Lavender. But the cost to students is still $200 each, and scholarships
are being offered to students who need them. Consider making one of those
scholarships possible! It could do a world of good. Seeds For Tomorrow is open
to all students from the 9th to the 12th grade who attend charter, private and
public schools or are homeschooled. The students will leave with new friends,
dirt on their shoes, and a fabulous new perspective on fun, food, and friendship:
They’ll be interacting with the people making contributions throughout Hawai‘i,
creating a worldwide stage of career opportunities from farm to fork. They’ll
be developing, growing, distributing, and marketing a variety of farm-fresh foods.
And they’ll be making friends with the creative people in the Farm to Fork
process and fellow program classmates. Click here for more
information, or phone 808.621.1361 or email Seeds4Tomorrow@gmail.com.
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Coffee and Labor Law, Kona Style
5/28/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  UH-CTAHR’s
Local and Immigrant Farmer Education (LIFE) program is partnering with the Kona
Coffee Council (KCC) to present a workshop on labor law on Saturday, June 1,
from 9:00 a.m. to noon, in the Kona Cooperative Extension Service Conference
Room at 79-7381 Mamalahoa Hwy. in Kealakekua. Extension agent Andrea Kawabata
and junior extension agent Ryan Tsutsui will be co-hosting the event with Dave
Bateman, with guest speakers John Knorek of Torkildson Law Firm from Honolulu
and Pamela Martin, administrator with the Hawaii Department of Labor and
Industrial Relations (DLIR), Wage Standards Division. Both speakers will be
discussing the federal and state labor laws that impact coffee farmers and
processors. There will be up-to-date, informative, and detailed reference
materials available free from the United States Department of Labor (USDOL),
DLIR, and knowledgeable attorneys. Come for an in-depth refresher on federal
and state labor laws as they impact the local coffee industry. You will have an
opportunity to give feedback to both federal and state regulators on what is
working and not working in the industry. For more information, please contact
Dave Bateman, Heavenly Hawaiian Farms, at 322 7720 or by email at coffee@heavenlyhawaiian.com.
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Feeling Sheepish?
5/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
Hawai’i Sheep & Goat Association will offer a 1-day Sheep and Goat Care
Course on Saturday, June 1, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ohia Fields Farm on Kahana
Drive in Ahualoa on the Big Island. Dr. Kim Kozuma, deputy state veterinarian
and instructor at UH-Hilo, will introduce and discuss basic care for a healthy
herd, while Ohia Fields Farm’s sheep flock will be available for demonstration
and hands-on experience. Sign up and get directions online or call 430-3847. Registration cost is $20
for HSGA members, $25 for non-members. You’ve
goat to check it out!
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Malama ke Kalo
5/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Waimanalo
Research Station will present a Taro Field Day on June 21, from 2:00 to 4:00
p.m., to showcase the UH CTAHR Waimanalo Germplasm collection. Everyone is
invited to spend an afternoon learning more about the statewide Taro Purity
Task Force; different taro varieties in Hawai‘i; and new and innovative
techniques for growing taro, including dryland taro culture, organic taro
production, phytosanitation, and apple snail infestation prevention. Check out
CTAHR’s organic taro collection and network with fellow farmers and Hawai‘i’s
agricultural agencies. Visitors will get to enjoy the kalo-pounding
demonstrations by Waimanalo community members as well. Come to the field day
and get to the root of the matter!
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From Albania With Love
5/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Cathy
Chan-Halbrendt and Jean Fantle-Lepczyk (both NREM) have recently published a
new book, Agricultural Markets in a Transitioning Economy: An Albanian Case
Study, informed by
CTAHR’s Albania/Hawaii Higher Education and Economic Development (AHEED) Project.
AHEED, begun in 2008, partners with the Agricultural University of Tirana to
help the university to better educate and advise its students and stakeholders
to strengthen economic development and increase prosperity. The book also
includes chapters written or co-written by other CTAHR faculty and AHEED
collaborators Halina Zaleski (HNFAS), Brinton Foy Reed (NREM), and Interim
Associate Dean of Extension Carl Evensen, on subjects ranging from Albanian
research and extension services to Albania’s ag industry. Albania is in the
middle of large-scale changes, and CTAHR and the AHEED Project are helping to provide
the tools to face them.
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Shining Lights of Leadership
5/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Mark
your calendars for Wednesday, June 19, when Sylvia Yuen, former Interim Dean of
CTAHR, will be honored along with three other outstanding women leaders of the
community at the YWCA of O‘ahu’s 2013 LeaderLuncheon. The theme of this year’s
awards luncheon is “Shine,” so be sure to register for it now so you can be there to applaud Sylvia as she continues to do
just that. The luncheon will be held at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel from noon to
2:00 p.m.
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Poster Pictures for the Rest of Us
5/22/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Did you
find the deluge of exciting, cutting-edge information at the recent CTAHR/COE Student Research
Symposium poster session just a mite overwhelming? Well, here’s a chance to peruse photos of the session at your leisure, courtesy of OCS’s Cheryl Ernst.
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4-H PR
5/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Two
representatives of Hawai‘i’s 4-H groups are featured in Idaho’s 4-H State
Newsletter. Zachary Matthews from East Hawai‘i and Jade Nakamoto from Kaua‘i are 4-H Ambassadors who recently attended the 4-H Ambassador Conference in
Idaho and have nothing but good to say about it and about the 4-H agents and
volunteers who made the trip and their continued involvement in 4-H possible.
They’ve come back home with new skills and new ideas, and the renewed
confidence to share them with their peers. The 4-H program also received some
great publicity from Derek Kurisu’s cable show Living in Paradise, which details next month’s county
livestock show and sale on June 14 and 15. This PR segment will run the entire
month of May, but those without cable can also view the clip online (to see it, just
fast-forward the clip to about the 6-minute mark).
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Seeds of the Future
5/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  JB Friday and
Jody Smith (NREM) have just posted a video for the Hawaii RREA project in which Jill
Wagner, director of the Hawai‘i Island Native Seed Bank and owner of Future
Forests Nursery, discusses how to collect and catalogue seeds of rare native
trees and demonstrates the techniques for processing them for storage. Ms.
Wagner stresses that in forest restoration it is important to plant seeds that
have been collected as close to the planting site as possible, ideally from the
same elevation and at least from the same ahupua‘a. For this reason the seeds
collected from each tree are given their own accession number. She admits that
at the moment she is doing the bulk of the Native Seed Bank’s collecting, but
she envisions increased community involvement in the process, an outcome this
instructive video may foster. As a bonus, the slack-key stylings of Skip Bittenbender
(TPSS) add a pleasing counterpoint to the information.
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Scholar of the Year, and Then Some
5/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Zachary
Bergeron (MBBE) has been winning awards lately. First there was the award for
the best oral presentation by a PhD student in CTAHR/COE’s 2013 Student
Research Symposium, then the Helen Jones Farrar Award in Tropical Agriculture
from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation, and this
was followed by his being honored at the ARCS Foundation’s Honolulu Chapter
2013 Scholar Awards Banquet on May 6 as one of two Scholars of the Year. And he’s
just capped off this semester of achievements by earning his PhD! Zachary, here
shown with Cheryl Ernst, president of ARCS’s Honolulu Chapter and CTAHR’s new
events/public information officer, was recognized for the strength of his
presentation, the quality of his research, and the profound potential benefit
that his work has for society. The techniques he is developing to screen
peptide toxins from endemic snails to counter the carriers of rat lung disease
has potential applications in pharmaceutical as well as safer pesticide
development. Zachary shares the Scholar of the Year award with Jonathan
Whitney, a doctoral candidate in biology who was recognized for his work using
gene sequencing to document speciation occurring in reef fish.
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Don’t Let a Knowledge Gap Keep You From Implementing GAPs!
5/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR The Risk Management Road Show Series continues with its latest
installment on the Big Island: Farm Food Safety Training with Good Agricultural Practices. Effectively managing
risk is important to all agricultural producers, and having an acceptable food
safety program is in the best interests of consumers, buyers, and farmers. This
workshop helps fresh produce growers of all types learn about Good
Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and how to write and implement an effective,
farm-specific food safety plan. With the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations to be in force in the
near future, it’s never too soon to get started on implementing GAPs on your
farm! CTAHR’s Farm GAPs coach Luisa Castro will also cover what most 3rd-party
audit companies require. The training workshop will be offered at the following
locations and times: Monday, May 20, 6:00–8:00 p.m. in the Waimea Civic Center
Conference Room at 67-5189 Kamamalu Rd. in Kamuela (next to the Waimea Police
Station); Tuesday, May 21, 6:00–8:00 p.m. in the Aupuni Center Conference Room at
101 Pauahi St., Hilo; and Wednesday, June 12, 5:30–7:30 p.m. in the Kona
Cooperative Extension Service Conference Room at 79-7381 Mamalahoa Hwy.,
Kealakekua. Please call Didi or Perci at (808) 887-6183 to RSVP or email mddiaz@hawaii.edu.
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Mysteries of the Sacred Lotus
5/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Robert Paull and Nancy Chen (TPSS)
with their research group recently published a paper on the sequencing of the sacred lotus genome. The sacred lotus, which
is known for its symbolism of purity, its seeds’ potential 1300-year longevity,
and its extremely waterproof leaves—not to mention its candied roots enjoyed at
Chinese New Year—also has important research implications. The genome shows
evidence of slow evolution, stemming from a low mutation rate perhaps caused by
the seeds’ longevity. Some of its more effective mutations deal with extracting
nutrients from its aquatic environment, the lotus being originally a land plant
that then moved to the water. Robert Paull and Nancy Chen were involved in this
sequencing project; their role was to analyze and annotate the predicted genes
in cell wall metabolism and modification and to determine their evolutionary
relationships. This effort follows from their earlier collaborations on the
papaya and Asian pear genomes, both of which led to peer-reviewed articles in Nature and Genome Research.
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Native Insects, Introduced Habitats
5/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  It has
often been assumed that most native Hawaiian insects have vanished from the
highly disturbed agricultural ecosystems and invasive forests of the Island.
This assumption was recently tested in a project led by Luc Leblanc (PEPS),
curator of the UH Insect Museum and a member of the Rubinoff lab. Through
surveys of endemic Hawaiian Drosophilidae, a group of flies with nearly 1,000
species, including 13 federally listed as endangered, the project revealed that
species diversity and fly numbers were greatest in native forest areas, but
half of the species also ventured into the adjacent invasive strawberry guava
belt and plantation forests, almost 500m from native forest. More surprising, a
number of species even persisted in orchards and nonnative forests as far as 10
km from native habitats. This suggests that more careful management of
disturbed forest and a reassessment of its conservation value are in order. For
more information, see the published article, and its associated online database.
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FAMR Gets Wired
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Every
year, Sony Electronics Inc. awards up to five sets of Sony VAIO Ultrabooks, HD
camcorders, and other neat electronic gadgetry to outstanding undergraduate
students at UH-Manoa. The awardees are selected by a committee appointed by the
Vice Chancellor for Students based on several criteria, including academic
excellence, need, and valuable service given to the community and/or campus as
part of their college education. Impressively, two of the five UHM students
selected to receive the Sony Technology Awards this year were FAMR majors: Lena
Phomsouvanh and Stanley Chan. Lena, who will be the first in her family to
graduate from college, volunteers at campus events, has worked with
underprivileged minority youth, and currently assists elderly immigrants
prepare for naturalization. Stanley has found his passion working with youth
and volunteering in a cancer research study. Both plan to pursue
graduate education after getting their bachelor’s degrees from CTAHR.
Congratulations to Lena and Stanley for their superior academic performance and
tireless voluntarism, and thanks to FCS’s Rick Caulfield for his strong letters
of recommendation, which helped both outstanding students win the awards.
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Advice for Advisors
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Congratulations
to FAMR student Cheri Kau, who won 2nd place in both the oral and poster
competitions, Social Science category, at UHM’s Spring 2013 Honors and
Undergraduate Research Thesis Competition. And congratulations as well to her
mentor, Lori Yancura! Cheri’s study surveyed UHM undergraduates to see if
students who engage in life planning discussions with an academic advisor are
more satisfied with the advising process than those who receive only academic
advising for registration and career preparation. Results showed that those who
did engage in life planning discussions with their advisors were more satisfied
than those who did not. These results support developmental, holistic advising
that focuses on assisting and supporting students in a multidimensional manner
to reach beyond their graduation requirements. The Spring Symposium is
sponsored by the Honors Program and Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Program to showcase undergraduate research.
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Food Education, Glorious Food Education
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  At its
annual conference on April 25, the Hawaii Dietetic Association honored Cyndy
Kahalewale,
Hawaii Foods project coordinator, with the Outstanding Nutritionist Award. The
HDA also presented a certificate of recognition to Sylvia Yuen for her
outstanding support for the education of dietitians in Hawai‘i. Congratulations
to both these exemplary foodies!
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Sustainability at Kamehameha
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program’s traveling team of Jari Sugano
(PEPS), Jensen Uyeda (TPSS), Bradley Fox (MBBE, pictured), and Ted Radovich (TPSS)
participated in Kamehameha School’s annual Sustainability Fair. Students and
faculty learned about sustainable, do-it-yourself growing systems such as
aquaponics, hydroponics, and taro cultivation. Participants also learned about
the story behind CTAHR’s ‘Anahu’ tomato variety, developed by CTAHR plant
breeder Jim Gilbert and named after Bill Anahu (Kamehameha HS, 1938) who died
in serving in WWII as a fighter pilot. ‘Anahu’ is remains a popular parental
line of tomato hybrids worldwide.
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Showing Fashion Flair
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The 47th
Annual APDM Senior Fashion Show, Zeitgeist, has been getting plenty of media
buzz: it’s been featured on KITV News, in Honolulu Magazine’s fashion and lifestyle column
Lei Chic, and on the
entertainment website
Nonstop Honolulu, as
well as on the
UH System website in a
video by UH’s own Dan Meizenzahl. And the talent showcased in the event more
than matches the notice it’s getting, with fashions ranging from futuristic
urban warrior to retro-glam. Now, if there were only more events at which to
wear such exciting styles—possibly next year’s fashion show!
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Growing the Future
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Corn and
beans are the stuff of excitement and triumph as the Noelani first-grade
students make their final harvest. SOFT volunteers have been mentoring the
students all semester as they planted and tended their own garden plots at
Magoon Research Station, in the hopes that their interest will extend to a
lifelong love of and appreciation for growing and the land.
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Graduation Sendoff
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Over 200
CTAHR students, their families and friends, and CTAHR faculty and staff
attended the CTAHR Convocation in the Campus Center Ballroom. This intimate
celebration, emceed by Lisa Kitagawa-Akagi, began with congratulatory remarks
from Dean Maria Gallo and CTAHR Alumni Association and Friends President Dr.
Susan Miller. Student marshals Roberto Rodriguez (BE) and Shelley Wong (FSHN),
selected for their academic achievements, leadership, and service to CTAHR and
the University, were then called on stage to be recognized. Afterwards,
graduating students active in CTAHR-affiliated student organizations were
acknowledged for their participation, and the ceremony concluded with the
individual recognition of 52 new graduates. Following the program were
refreshments and a chance for family, friends, and mentors to mingle with the
graduating students. Congratulations to the graduating students for achieving
such a milestone, and good luck in your future endeavors! A big mahalo to all
those who supported the students: thank you to SAPFB for partially funding this
event, to the CTAHR Alumni Association and Friends for donating lei, to CTAHR
scholarship recipients and student ambassadors for volunteering at the event,
and to ASAO for providing the CTAHR memorabilia presented to the graduates and
organizing this event.
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Getting a Bead on Weeds
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Everyone
is invited to the student design presentations for the BE 420 (Sensors
and Instrumentation for Biological Systems) course taught by Dan Jenkins (MBBE). It will take place on Tuesday, May 7, at noon in AEI
123, the multi-purpose room at the back of the machine shop in AEI between
Gilmore and St. John. The title of the project to be presented is “Integrated
Datalogging and Delivery System for Herbicide Ballistic Technology,” and its
objective is to automatically record locations of invasive plants targeted by
herbicide ballistic technology during airborne operations. Thanks are due to
James Leary (NREM) for providing ideas and funding for this project—as well as
for inventing HBT in the first place! The presentation should be enjoyable,
help showcase the ingenuity of our students, and stimulate additional ideas for
collaborations. Food and beverages will be provided, but feel free to bring
your own lunch as well.
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GoFarm, Take Two
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR The 2013
Go Farm AgCurious seminar will be held Tuesday, July 9, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
at Windward Community College. Register now by sending your name and contact
number to info@gofarmhawaii.org, or call David Ringuette at (808) 236-9265. This is
GoFarm’s second year, and by all accounts all stages of the first year’s class (pictured) have been a
resounding success, so look for lots of enthusiastic participation in this
program to educate and mentor beginning farmers.
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The Wide World of Aquaponics
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  An Aquaponics in Hawai‘i Conference
will be held on Saturday, May 25, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Windward
Community College’s Hale Akoakoa. Hear from Hawai‘i’s commercial aquaponic
producers, urban garden producers, aquaponic services, and community groups
about the challenges and opportunities of aquaponic operations in Hawai‘i. Learn from CTAHR’s faculty about the latest developments in aquaponic research and
extension being conducted by the College. Provide input as to the role aquaponics should play in increasing
Hawai‘i’s self-reliance and producing our own food. There’s limited enrollment,
and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis; pre-payment will be
required to participate in the conference. There are no refunds, but substitutions are allowed if the original person can’t attend. The Early Bird rate,
available till May 8, is $79 per person for non-HAAA members, which includes a
1-year HAAA membership, and $64 per person for HAAA members or previous
workshop attendees. After that it’s $99 for non-HAAA members, including a
1-year membership; $84 for members or previous attendees. Lunch will be included. This event is presented by WCC’s Career and
Community Education, the Hawaii Aquaculture and Aquaponics Association, and CTAHR.
For more information, please contact Clyde Tamaru (MBBE) at ctamaru@hawaii.edu.
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Know How to Share Your Organic Know-How?
5/6/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Organic Agriculture at CTAHR
website has been the landing place for online inquiries about organic
agriculture research and extension efforts within CTAHR for many years now. Now
available within the website is a listing of individuals in the Organic Agriculture Working Group.
If you wish to be listed at this webpage, please contact Jody Smith at
smithjos@hawaii.edu by May 15th with your name, field(s) of interest, and email
address. Participation in the group is completely voluntary, and
responsibilities are limited to answering questions from the public about
organic agriculture within your particular area of expertise. Help spread the green word!
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April
Student Winners
4/30/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
results for the CTAHR Entrepreneurial Competition
and the CTAHR Aloha Shirt Design Contest are in! Congratulations to all of those who
participated in both contests and, particularly, to those who won awards: in the
Entrepreneurial Competition, 1st place went to Stephanie Chang and Norine
Ornellas-Walsh for the Herb n’ Worm Box; 2nd place and Viewers’ Choice awards to
Robert Saito for his Kid-N-Garden Tub; and 3rd place to Mitchell Loo for the
Rubbish Can-A-Vision. Chloe Rivera won 1st place in the Aloha Shirt Design
Contest (pictured); Savannah Tatreau and Gabrielle Sanehira won 2nd and 3rd
place respectively. The winners of the competition will be recognized at the
Awards Banquet, so come give them a round of applause!
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Three for CTAHR
4/30/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Three outstanding
educators associated with CTAHR were celebrated at the 2013 UH-Manoa Awards
Ceremony. Not only were Maria Stewart (HNFAS) and Creighton Litton (NREM) (pictured
with Chancellor Apple) honored for their excellence in teaching; Joshua Irvine,
who got his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biological Engineering from
CTAHR, won the Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for
a Graduate Assistant. Josh, who is now in the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, served as a student ambassador for CTAHR while he
was with the college and also was awarded funding to spend a semester
studying abroad at Earth University in Costa Rica. Find out more about the award
recipients and watch the ceremony here.
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Clothing Against the Flames
4/30/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Shu Hwa
Lin (APDM) and her colleagues have published the results of an assessment study
on firefighters’ needs for their protective gear, “Exploration of Firefighter
Turnout Gear Part 1: Identifying Male Firefighter User Needs,” in the Journal
of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management. They analyzed the types of
protection that the gear should afford and the types of movement firefighters
need to be able to make while wearing it, and they even had recommendations
about how to make the gear more comfortable. This publication resulted from
research conducted under the regional project #360R (NC170): Personal
Protective Technologies for Current and Emerging Occupational and Environmental
Hazards.
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Fashion Passion
4/30/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Dean Gallo
praised the talent at the 47th Annual APDM fashion show, “Zeitgeist: Spirit of the Times,” that was staged this past Sunday at the Waikiki Marriot. The senior student designers looked to fashion eras of the past for inspiration, mingling this
homage with a fresh, cutting-edge creativity that gave rise to such stunning
designs as these Jazz Age looks on the models pictured with Dr. Gallo.
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A Forest Grows in Honolulu
4/30/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Travis
Idol (NREM) spoke at the recent Honolulu Zoo Children’s Discovery Forest groundbreaking ceremony, which was
attended by about 75 student volunteers, parents, and invited guests. Assisted
by UH grad students, elementary school children helped to plant the seedlings
that will form the basis of the Discovery Forest, which will be a
representation of natural systems, creating a scene of Hawai‘i before the
arrival of humans. The project, which stresses community involvement, will
demonstrate culturally significant plant and tree species that once grew near
traditional shoreline villages of O‘ahu and will provide habitat for Hawaiian
plants, birds, and invertebrates. It is spearheaded by the Hawai‘i Forest
Institute, of which Travis is president.
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How Does Corn Know What Shape to Grow?
4/30/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Developmental
corn geneticist Mike Muszynski will be presenting a talk on his exciting
research on May 6th at 10:30 a.m. in Ag Science 219. Dr. Muszynski, of the
Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology at Iowa State University,
will speak on “Cytokinin signaling and leaf pattern formation in maize”: Pattern
formation is key to generating the overall structure of different body parts,
which create the characteristic shape of an organism, he explains, but exactly
how the organism knows which pattern to make isn’t yet understood. Corn is a
useful plant in which to study this, so come hear Dr. Muszynski’s latest
insights on this important process from his study of maize.
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Want to Do Your Taxes Better Next Year?
4/30/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Risk
Management Hawaii is bringing back Michael Holl to give an updated lesson for farmers and ranchers about business taxes. This
workshop is specifically designed to enable Hawai‘i farmers to lower their tax
liabilities through a better understanding of business deductions, tax preparation
and recordkeeping to minimize taxes and chances of an audit, business entities
for your farm, how employment laws and independent contractor requirements
affect your business, how to obtain relief from certain federal penalties, and special
provisions in the tax code regarding farm income. President of Tax Services of Hawaii
and Michael Holl and Associates, Michael is a renowned speaker who has
presented numerous tax workshops on taxes on behalf of the IRS, for the SBA
Women’s Business Center, the National
Association of Tax Preparers, UH, KCC, and various non-profits and foundations. The workshop will be given on
O‘ahu on May 1, 6:00–8:00 p.m., at Windward Community
College. Then it will be offered on the Big Island on May 8, 6:00–8:00 p.m., at Waimea Civic Center Conference Room in
Kamuela; May 9, 5:30–7:30 p.m., at Kainaliu Cooperative
Extension Service conference room in Kona; May 22, 5:30–7:30 p.m., at Aupuni Center conference Room in Hilo;
and May 23, 5:30–7:30 p.m., at Pahala Community
Center in Pahala. There will be a workshop on Moloka‘i on June 5, 8:30–10:30 a.m., at Office of Hawaiian Affairs Conference
Room, and on Maui on June 6, 5:30–7:30
p.m., at Maui County Farm Bureau (tentative location). Please call Didi or Perci at
887-6183 or email mddiaz@hawaii.edu
to RSVP.
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Do the Can-Can
4/23/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The 2013 Hawai‘i Foodbank drive is still going strong, so if you haven’t yet
offered your support—or if you have and just want to recapture than great
feeling—there’s still time! You have till Friday, April 26, to donate
non-perishable food, buy a Foodbank T-shirt, or just give cash. Every little
bit helps—$10 can buy enough food for 25 meals. Just remember that canned goods
can’t be accepted if they’re more than 6 months past the expiration date. Get more information here—including forms for electronic fund transfers.
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We All Scream for…Frozen Yogurt
4/23/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
Fashion Design and Merchandising Program is having a Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt
Fundraiser! What better way to cool off from school stress? Just invite your
friends and family to Menchie’s at Ward Warehouse, April 22 through April
28, and click here for a flyer
that you can either print out or show on your phone upon purchase! It's easy and
tasty, and all proceeds will benefit the FDM students.
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Zachary and the Snails
4/23/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Right
after being selected for CTAHR’s Best PhD Oral Presentation award in this
month’s CTAHR/COE Student Research Symposium, Zachary Bergeron (PhD candidate,
MBBE), will be honored again, with the prestigious 2013 ARCS Farrar Award in
Tropical Agriculture from ARCS’s Honolulu chapter. For more than half a
century, the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation has
advanced science and technology in America by providing financial awards to
academically outstanding US citizens studying to complete degrees in science,
engineering, and medical research. Zachary (left, with mentor Jon-Paul Bingham,
MBBE) delivered an oral and poster presentation at the 2013 ARCS Symposium,
“Development of a Fluorescent Assay Platform for the Identification of
Potential Pharmaceutical and Pesticide Candidates.” Zachary is developing a
fluorescent ligand-based assay for screening bioactive peptide toxins from
local sea snails that prey on mollusks, with the goal of engineering biodegradable
molluscicides that can be used for crop protection. The Farrar Award will be
conferred to Zachary at the ARCS Scholar Award Banquet on May 6. At that time
the ARCS Scholar of the Year Award, for which Zachary is also in the running,
will be announced as well.
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Is There Life After CTAHR?
4/23/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Students and employers
gathered in Gilmore Hall last week for the Careers after CTAHR
Workshop, which
focused on careers related to the fields of study of Family Resources (FAMR),
Animal Sciences (ANSC), and Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN). Local
professionals, many of them CTAHR alumni, came from a diverse array of
companies and organizations, including US Customs and Border Protection, USDA
APHIS, the Honolulu Zoo, The Plaza at Moanalua, KCC’s TRIO program, Coalition
for a Drug-Free Hawaii, Center on the Family, Meadow Gold Dairies, and Sodexo.
Students learned about potential internship/career opportunities, personal
career pathways and experiences of those working in jobs related to their
fields of study, and tips on how to prepare themselves for the workforce. After
the workshop sessions, students had a chance to mingle and network with
employers during the refreshment session. Thank you to all of the professionals
who volunteered their time to share their valuable knowledge and experiences
with our students, ASAO for organizing this event, CTAHR student volunteers,
and to the students who attended this event.
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Symposium Sizzle
4/23/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  For the third year in a row, CTAHR
teamed with the College of Engineering (COE) for this year’s 25th annual
Student Research Symposium. One of the main goals of the Symposium is to give
students the experience of presenting their work in a friendly yet professional
setting, similar to national and international conferences. Students at UH have
few opportunities to present their scholarly work in professional conferences
due to the geographic isolation of Hawai‘i and the high cost of travel to
attend conferences outside the state. Through travel grant awards, the
symposium also enables graduate students to compete for funding to share their
research findings at professional conferences outside Hawai‘i. This year, more
than 300 students, faculty, staff, and guests gathered at the Ag Sci building
for a lively, scholarly exchange over the 139 poster and oral presentations by
undergraduate and graduate students in all six CTAHR departments and three
departments in COE. The topics spanned all stages of the process of research
and development as well as all types of student learning, including discovery;
advanced diagnostics and laboratory testing; design, validation and field
testing; and adoption of new methods and technologies. The caliber of the
students’ work was truly impressive. Attendees enjoyed a short welcome by
CTAHR’s Dean Gallo and mingled outdoors, with dinner served under a spacious
tent. Thank you to those whose hard work made this event successful, including
the student participants and faculty advisor/mentors, judges and moderators,
staff and student volunteers, members of the Symposium Coordinating Committee,
and to SAPFB for funding part of this event. Big congratulations to the award
recipients, who will be recognized at CTAHR’s Awards Banquet on May 3!
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Gone Buggy
4/23/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Ka Mea Kolo, CTAHR’s entomology club, got to share space
with some oversized arthropods at the Bishop Museum’s Science Alive! Family
Sunday last month. The outreach event coincided with the Museum’s Xtreme BUGS
exhibit of huge, animatronic insects, but Ka Mea Kolo members offered a better
sense of scale with their booth, which featured monarch caterpillars and other
insects for the visitors to marvel over. CTAHR was also represented by booths
from NREM and MBBE’s Biotechnology Outreach program, both showing how learning,
especially about science, can be fun as well as useful.
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Banquet Bonanza
4/17/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Monday, April 22, is
the deadline to register for the CTAHR Awards Banquet on May 3, so
make sure to do so if you haven’t yet ensured your place amongst the
merrymaking crowd. Laugh at MC Derek Kurisu’s hilarious videos paying tribute
to award winners Dennis Teranishi and Wayne Iwaoka (HNFAS), vie over who gets
to take home the beautiful CTAHR-grown flower arrangements, and pay tribute to
the student winners of scholarships, the CTAHR Entrepreneurial Competition, and
the CTAHR-COE Student Symposium!
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Food Movers
4/17/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The SOFT
student group and TPSS GSO are partnering on a Sustainable Agriculture Lecture Series that explores issues of
importance to Island agriculture. On Thursday, April 18, at 3:30 p.m. in BusAd
A102 they present “Food Movement,” on distributing locally produced foods. Featured at this event will be O‘ahu Fresh representative Lisa, who will discuss her
organization, which provides delivery of food from famers’ markets; Vivian
Best, who runs Give It Fresh Today (GIFT), which collects donations of fresh
food at farmers’ markets to give to the hungry; Lynette Larson, representative
of the natural foods coop Kokua, and Jill Nordby, who will discuss the mobile
Holoholo General Store. The next lecture will be on
sustainable land stewardship on April 25.
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Thanks for All the Fish
4/17/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
staff at the He‘eia Fishpond recently expressed
their gratitude for Clyde Tamaru’s generous donation of moi fingerlings to
their fishpond. The transfer went smoothly and appears to have been a success
in terms of fish survival. Almost 300 fingerlings at an average fork length of
114mm were released, and workers at the fishpond have high hopes that they will flourish in their new home.
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Science Fair Synergy
4/17/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  In a
quantum leap from last year’s count of eight, this year 19 CTAHR faculty and
graduate students volunteered as judges in the 56th Hawaii State Science and
Engineering Fair, April 7-9, at the Hawaii Convention Center, where they got to
marvel at the accomplishments of hundreds of Hawai‘i’s best and brightest middle-
and high-school students. With funding from USDA-NIFA, CTAHR presented a $500
award on behalf of all campuses in the UH system to Ariana Kim, a 9th grader at
St. Andrew’s Priory, who presented results from research performed under the
mentorship of HNFAS’s Soojin Jun and Food Science graduate student Kara Yamada
(both shown flanking Aliana alongside her award-winning poster) and Priory
teacher Michael Grech. Ariana’s project, “Microwire Biosensor: Novel Detection
of Escherichia coli,”
shows great promise for increasing the accuracy and speed of testing for E.
coli, one of the
most common causes of foodborne illness. CTAHR was hardly alone in recognizing
the excellence of Ariana’s research—she was also selected to represent Hawai‘i
at next month’s International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona.
The CTAHR Alumni Association also presented $100 awards to two high school
students at the Fair. Mahalo to the many CTAHR faculty, staff, and students who
generously mentored the next generation of scientists and engineers
participating in this year’s Fair.
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Scat!
4/17/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Two NREM
undergraduates were featured in a recent KITV News segment about the growing population of feral cats at the
Hawai‘i Kai Park and Ride. Anela Whisenhunt (left) and Stephanie Nagai have
been conducting a month-long survey of area residents to see what they think
should be done about the cats, which now number about 100 and which are
becoming a nuisance and even a possible hazard.
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New Faces: Cheryl Ernst
4/17/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  OCS is
pleased to welcome Cheryl Ernst as its new events/public information officer. Prior
to joining OCS, Cheryl served as director for Creative Services in the UH
System’s External Affairs and University Relations Office, and she has 25 years
of progressively responsible public relations roles at UH. Welcome, Cheryl!
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Veteran Designer
4/17/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Junior Trevor Manu, who has
worked for HNFAS since his freshman year, was just named the 2013 Student
Employee of the Year for Categories A1-A3 Student Assistant. Trevor, who is a
Fine Arts major with an emphasis in Graphic Design, is a veteran of the United
States Marine Corps, and his job as student assistant was his first civilian
job after leaving the Marines. Besides helping out in the HNFAS office, Trevor
uses his skills as a graphic artist to help with the HNFAS and other
departments’ web pages. Trevor says, “Considering this would be my first
civilian job after getting out of the Marines, I was worried that my skills
would not translate properly. My apprehensions were quickly dispersed, however.
Working at HNFAS has not only allowed me to carry over my skills into a
civilian world setting but also develop new skills that will help me
professionally.” We are delighted to have such a capable young man as Trevor as
part our HNFAS ‘ohana.
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Malama na Pua‘a
4/17/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
Animal Welfare Research Priorities for the Spring Call Proposals for 2013 is
now available on the www.pork.org National Pork Board’s website.
The deadline for submission is Tuesday, May 21, at 5:00 pm CST. For questions
about the funding history of the National Pork Board, click here; if you have questions specific to the content of your
proposal, please contact the program manager for Animal Welfare, Sherrie
Niekamp, at sniekamp@pork.org or (515) 223-2533.
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What to Wear While Starting a New Business
4/17/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR It’s not
too late to cast your vote! CTAHR students now have the opportunity to
demonstrate their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in two
competitions—CTAHR’s Entrepreneurial Competition and CTAHR’s Aloha Shirt Design
Competition—and you have the opportunity to help determine the winners! In the
CTAHR Entrepreneurial Competition, CTAHR students or teams led by CTAHR
students were challenged to share their ideas on a new product or a repurposed
existing product made with biological materials from Hawai‘i. Here are the four YouTube video entries—your
vote will help the judges determine the winning entries for the following
prizes: 1st place: $1000, 2nd place: $500, 3rd place: $250, and viewers’
choice: $100.
In the
CTAHR Aloha Shirt Design Competition, APDM majors were challenged to create
men’s and women’s Aloha shirt designs incorporating “CTAHR” and/or the CTAHR
spirit mark and suitable for professional wear. The designs also had to reflect
or connect with Hawai‘i agriculture or natural landscapes. Here are the designs created by the four APDM finalists. Your vote will determine the
winning entries in the CTAHR Aloha Shirt Design Competition for the following
prizes: 1st place: $500, 2nd place: $300 prize, 3rd place: $100 prize. Voting
will close at 4 pm, Thursday, April 18, so get voting! |
Leading Ladies of Leadership
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The College was well aware that Sylvia Yuen, former
Interim Dean of CTAHR, was outstanding. It seems clear that the YWCA of O‘ahu agrees, as they’ve selected her as one of four to be honored at their 2013 LeaderLuncheon on
Wednesday, June 19, along with a local artist, a public health educator and
lawyer, and the CEO of Kamehameha Schools. Register now to attend the
luncheon, where you can support and applaud her as she continues to demonstrate
her commitment to furthering community members’ well-being
throughout the state, and be able to say you knew her when!
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CTAHR Teaches How to Do It
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Congratulations
to CTAHR faculty for winning the top two teaching awards at UH-Manoa. Maria
Stewart (HNFAS) won the 2013 Frances Davis Award for Excellence in
Undergraduate Teaching, and Creighton Litton (NREM) won the 2013 Board of
Regents’ Excellence in Teaching Award! The college is honored to have two such
pedagogical superstars in its midst!
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Got Nutrient Info?
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
“Got Nutrients?” website project created and written by Joannie Dobbs and Alan
Titchenal (both HNFAS) is heading into its fifth year of sending out “Daily
Tips” on nutrition, fitness, and health, with over 1,500 tips archived on the
project website. Now there’s a new public service announcement video for the website showing on television. The PSA
targets the older generation, but the tips are beneficial to all ages—and you
can sign up at the website to get them every day in your email. And with the
large and growing number of daily tips linked to both popular articles and
research abstracts, keyword searches of the website can provide a large number
of links to related content of interest. Check it out—good nutrition benefits
everybody!
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Let Them Eat Fish
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  As part
of their series on “Feeding Ourselves: Hawai‘i’s Food Future,” Hawai‘i Public
Radio recently did a segment on aquaponics that highlighted the important work Clyde Tamaru (MBBE)
and CTAHR are doing both within the college and in partnership with community
organizations such as God’s Country Waimanalo. As Clyde points out, urban
gardens are going to be very important components in the state’s future food
security, and aquaponics is a great way to make the most of small amounts of
space.
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Ag at the Legislature
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  This
year’s Ag Day at the State Capitol, co-sponsored by Senator Nishihara and
Representative Wooley, brought Hawai‘i’s food and agriculture industries
together in an impressive display of unity. CTAHR was amongst over 40
exhibitors at this year’s event. The college’s UH Honeybee Project (including Ethel Villalobos, PEPS, pictured), Sustainable
and Organic Agriculture Program, Master Gardeners Program, and Aquaculture Hub
were on hand to answer questions from legislators and their staff. They even
ran into CTAHR alumnus Tyler Jones, who’s now with the Hawaii Agriculture
Research Center.
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An Ocean of Trash
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Lesley
Jantz, a 2012 NREM alumna who now works as a fishery biologist with NMFS-NOAA,
did her thesis work on the ingestion of marine debris by longnose lancetfish in the
North Pacific Ocean with committee members Greg Bruland and Chris Lepczyck. She
was recently interviewed by CNN
concerning this study for a news story on Japan tsunami
marine debris in Hawai‘i at the 2nd anniversary of the great East Japan
earthquake and tsunami. She dissected several stomachs from longnose
lancetfish, bigeye tuna, and yellowfin tuna, pulling out pieces of plastic up
to a foot square. Almost half of the 24 lancetfish analyzed had ingested
plastic, along with two of the tuna. Eating plastic isn’t a problem only for
the fish, Lesley explained; chemicals from the plastic may get into the flesh
of the lancetfish and into the tuna that eat them, which then poses a risk for
humans consuming the tuna. Though he’s not identified by name, work done on ingestion
of plastics by NREM student Andrew Titmus, who works in the HPU lab, is also
discussed in the interview.
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What’s Eating the Trees?
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  William
Haines (PEPS) is keeping watch over the koa forests. In January 2013, a
helicopter flyover above Hilo and the Hamakua coast on the Big Island showed
that 25,000 acres of koa trees had been defoliated, and the area is still
increasing in size. Koa is the most important native hardwood for agroforestry,
conservation, and restoration, and it’s also the preferred food of caterpillars
of the endemic koa looper moth. Koa loopers experience natural population
outbreaks, which have been documented since the late 1800s; these outbreaks
produce mass defoliations, while native birds have been reported flocking in
large numbers to feed on the abundant caterpillars. Past outbreaks indicate
that most trees recover from defoliation to resprout leaves within a year, but
mortality rates of 35% have been recorded in unhealthy forests. And this is the
largest outbreak of koa looper ever seen. No one knows what triggers outbreaks,
or how they are brought back under control. William Haines has been monitoring
caterpillar populations on the ground, in cooperation with the Hawaii
Department of Land and Natural Resources and local US Forest Service staff,
with the goal of tracking the outbreak and learning more about the biology of
the caterpillar and its native and non-native predators and parasitoids, as
well as monitoring the impacts on and recovery of koa trees.
Check out more of his photos of the looper and the damage it causes.
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Cone of Power
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Jon-Paul
Bingham’s (MBBE) research on cone snail toxins was recently featured in
an ABC news story. Jon-Paul explains that the cone snail’s venom, though
potentially fatal to humans, has one positive side effect: its victims don’t
feel any pain. Isolating the chemical compound that makes this possible has led
to the creation of a pain-relieving drug a thousand times stronger than
morphine…that isn’t addictive. Jon-Paul points out that while some drugs are
like skeleton keys, which may have both the desired effect and a number of
unintended and even deleterious side effects, compounds made from cone snail
venom are targeted and specific. This is also what
makes them so deadly…something those in Jon-Paul’s lab must never forget.
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Be Aware, Be Very Aware
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Urban
Garden Center brought together more than 600 elementary students and their
teachers with exhibitors from CTAHR and other ag-related agencies and
businesses at the 2013 O‘ahu Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Day hosted
by the O‘ahu Cooperative Extension Office and Office of Academic and Student
Affairs. Also on hand were news crews from KITV and
Hawaii News Now. Students got to see an aquaponics display and experience the
heartbeat of a baby pig (pictured here with Halina Zaleski, HNFAS) with ultrasound; other crowd-pleasing exhibits included
compost-creating worms, invasive species-sniffing beagles, and an artificial
cow with which to demonstrate artificial insemination. The annual event serves
a two-fold purpose: To create a greater awareness and understanding of
agriculture and the environment among today’s students, teachers, and the
general public; and to introduce students to career opportunities in
agriculture and environmental studies throughout the state. The
Urban Garden Center’s Second Saturday event featured
many of the same exhibitors on the following day.
Thank you to the UGC staff and volunteers; CTAHR faculty, students, and staff; community members and company representatives; and Golden
Key, for volunteering for this event. Funding support was provided by USDA-NIFA through
the Agribusiness Education,
Training and Incubation (AETI) Program.
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Moths to the Rescue
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR is featured, and Mark
Thorne (HNFAS) quoted, in a recent
Maui News article about the fireweed
moths that have been released on the Big
Island and will soon be released on Maui. The invasive fireweed, which has been crowding out
forage for cattle and can even be toxic to them, is the favored food of this
moth’s larvae—so much so that researchers have confirmed that the introduced insect
won’t eat anything else but this noxious plant. And we say they’re welcome to it!
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Help on the Road
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  LIFE and Risk Management Hawaii have two installments of their very popular farmer education “road show” coming up: On April 19, there’s the Floriculture and Nursery Pest Control Field Day, which will tell all about management strategies for thrips, snow scale, ants, and more, and will also discuss the pest-abatement hot shower treatment for ornamentals. The field day is 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Cal-Hawaii Foliage Growers in Keaau; to RSVP, call Andrew at (808) 981-5199 or email kawabataa@ctahr.hawaii.edu. And on Saturday, April 27, you can find out about fruit flies, banana moths, and Korean Natural Farming at the Orchard Growers Field Day—how to control the first two and how to harness the unique and ecologically conscious principles of the third. This is a great opportunity to learn more about two major pests and a major breakthrough! It’s 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m at CTAHR’s Kona Research Station; call Gina at (808) 322-4892 or email ginab@hawaii.edu to reserve your spot.
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Cool Kulanui
4/15/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Did you know that up to 40 percent of some agricultural
crops can’t be sold? The fruits and vegetables might be too small, too green,
too ripe, too scabby, or just not shaped appealingly. These are the seconds, or
culls. And the processing of value-added foods also often creates edible
byproducts that may not get used. This is where Kulanui comes in. After Wayne
Iwaoka, Stuart Nakamoto, and Alvin Huang (all HNFAS) got the idea to challenge
students to come up with their own value-added products using byproducts and
culls, Kulanui was born. Now the company markets foods made by CTAHR and other
UH students out of these previously unused products, as well as beauty products
made from local beeswax. There’s a new UH News video about Kulanui,
which also features CTAHR alumna Jennifer Shido (pictured), Kulanui’s enthusiastic project
manager. Kulanui products are available in most campus bookstores and at all
Rainbowtique locations.
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Borlaug’s Heirs
4/10/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR
alumnus Abdul Rashid has been
honored with the 2013 IFA Norman Borlaug Award for excellence in crop nutrition
research. This award is offered annually to an individual whose work has led to
significant progress in crop nutrition and has been communicated successfully
to farmers as practical recommendations. It consists of an invitation to
receive the award during IFA’s Annual Conference in Chicago, a handsome cash
prize, and sponsorship to another conference anywhere in the world. Dr. Rashid,
an East-West Center scholar, earned his PhD in soil science from CTAHR, and his
fertilizer-use technologies have been adopted in Pakistan for improved soil
fertility and the optimization of crop nutrition.
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To Infinity and Beyond…
4/10/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Last
month military-connected teens from around the island participated in the “To
Infinity and Beyond…Your Journey After High School” day camp, held on the
grounds of the UHM campus. Army Reserve Child, Youth and School Services along
with CTAHR program Operation: Military Kids hosted this full-day event to give
military youth the opportunity to learn more about campus life. With the help
of the UH Office of Admissions, Manoa Career Center, and Student Housing
Services, the day campers got to meet college students, take a campus tour,
explore different college degrees, and learn about tools that will help them
become successful in the workforce.
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One-Stop Shop
4/10/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Almost
150 farmers, agency representatives, and interested members of the public
gathered at the hugely successful agricultural outreach workshop in Kahuku this
weekend, probably the highest attendance for a workshop by immigrant family
farm operators. Farmers from as far as the Big Island and Maui showed up to
what one participant called a “one-stop shop” road show event to learn about
safe pesticide use, food safety, land opportunities, and more. The ag agencies
were also represented, and legislators were present. CTAHR partnered with Jason
Shitanishi of USDA FSA to create this illuminating and convivial event, and a
good and helpful time was had by all.
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Be a Contender
4/10/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  If you
didn’t get a chance to attend Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer Dr. Irani’s
Extension workshop on “Dealing with Contentious Public Issues and Public
Opinion: The Role of 21st Century Extension and How We Get There,”
you’ll be glad to know that it’s available online here, just in
case you have any contentious public you need to deal with. You’ll be even more glad to
know it can be found on the CTAHR employee webpage as well.
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They’re Banking on Us!
4/10/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Hawai‘i Foodbank’s
24th Annual Food Drive has begun, and everyone is invited to participate in
continuing a proud CTAHR tradition of helping Hawai‘i’s needy and preventing
hunger. The Foodbank’s goal is to provide one million meals, so let’s
make sure we’re one of the biggest donating units at UH again, following last
year’s outstanding effort and contributions. To find out more about UH-Manoa’s
food drive, check here.
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Growing All Over
4/10/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The SOFT
student group and TPSS GSO are partnering on a Sustainable Agriculture Lecture Series that will explore issues of
importance to Island agriculture. Thursday, April 11, at 3:30 p.m. in BusAd
A102 they present “Farm to Table,” a look at the connections between the farmer
and the consumer, including food service. Leyla Caugos and Kendra Ozaki of Grow
Hawaii will discuss the use of local foods in schools; Nat Bletter of Madre
Chocolate will discuss the uniqueness of Hawaiian chocolate and the local cacao
industry; and Hunter Haskins will describe his work with FarmRoof, which allows
produce to be grown on the roofs of buildings, including restaurants. Upcoming
lectures will be on distributing locally produced foods, on April 18, and
sustainable land stewardship, on April 25.
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Help Is on the Road
4/10/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR LIFE
and Risk Management Hawaii have three installments of their very popular farmer
education “road show” coming up: On Thursday, April 11, growers can get
important information on Insect and Mite Pests of Crops from 6 to 8 p.m. at the
Waimea Civic Center in Kamuela. Be sure to bring your pesticide card to get 2
credits toward recertification, and call Didi or Perci at (808) 887-6183 or
email mddiaz@hawaii.edu to RSVP. Then, on April 19, there’s the Floriculture and
Nursery Pest Control Field Day, which will tell all about management strategies
for thrips, snow scale, ants, and more, and will also discuss the
pest-abatement hot shower treatment for ornamentals. The field day is 1:30 to
3:30 p.m. at the Cal-Hawaii Foliage Growers in Keaau; to RSVP, call Andrew at
(808) 981-5199 or email kawabataa@ctahr.hawaii.edu. And on Saturday, April 27,
you can find out about fruit flies, banana moths, and Korean Natural Farming at
the Orchard Growers Field Day—how to control the first two and how to harness
the unique and ecologically conscious principles of the third. This is a great
opportunity to learn more about two major pests and a major breakthrough! It’s
8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m at CTAHR’s Kona Research Station; call Gina at (808)
322-4892 or email ginab@hawaii.edu to reserve your spot.
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Clothed in History
4/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  In honor
of UHM Costume Museum Week, APDM will be offering a costume exhibition and
craft sale in Miller 112, April 1–5 and 7. Admire the Japanese wedding gown all
week and the Chinese dragon robe and Western-style tea party frock on April 7,
while browsing a fun collection of crafts, clothing, fashion books, and tote
bags. Be there or risk a fashion faux pas!
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Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!
4/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR It may be time to start stepping up that exercise regimen…it’s just a little over a month till CTAHR’s 25th Annual Awards Banquet! Not only will we want to make sure we still fit into our evening finery, in honor of the banquet’s Silver Anniversary…we’ll also want to get our appetites revved up for all the tasty treats on offer that night. Here are the vital stats for the evening: date, May 3; time, 5:30 for the no-host cocktails and 6:30 for the start of the program; chances to laugh and applaud and talk story with friends…countless. Need more specifics or want to register? Just visit the website!
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A Farm Information Extravaganza
4/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR LIFE is partnering with USDA, the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture and Health, and the Laotian Farmers Association of Hawaii to offer the Farmer’s Resource Workshop this Saturday, April 6, where a wide array of information will be available to local farmers. Extension agent Jari Sugano will be discussing Integrated Pest Management and sprayer calibration, while Jim Hollyer and the On-Farm Food Safety team will explain the new Federal Food Safety Modernization Act and introduce their brand-new comprehensive pesticide information poster. There will be lots more useful information and great Thai food on offer as well! It’s at You Soukaseum’s Farm Warehouse in Kahuku from 3 to 6 p.m. Coming from Haleiwa, take the farm access road shortly after Kahuku High School; from town the access road comes shortly after the Malaekahana State Recreation Area/Gunstock Ranch. Take the access road 0.8 mi. to the warehouse. For more information, you can contact Jari at 622-4185 or suganoj@ctahr.hawaii.edu or Jason Shitanishi at 483-8600 or jason.shitanishi@hi.usda.gov.
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March
Aquaponics Workshop Catches a Big Crowd
3/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Over
100 participants took part in the tilapia workshop co-sponsored by CTAHR and
the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture held last Saturday at WCC.
The workshop was enthusiastically received, as indicated by a 91.0 overall
approval rating from the respondents. Because of the large turnout, Clyde
Tamaru and his co-presenters were able to obtain stakeholder input on to how to
increase and diversify Hawai‘i’s tilapia industry, providing some target
areas for future collaborative efforts for all parties concerned. Tilapia
burgers, anyone?
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Go, Bananas!
3/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Need
some retail therapy? You’re in luck—the Horticulture Society will be holding
not one, but two sales! The banana sale will be held on Thursday, March 21,
from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the driveway between Ag Engineering and St. John,
and the flowering plant sale will take the stage on Friday, March 22, from 9:30
a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in St. John 10-B, on the ground level. All bananas are
locally grown, and all flowers are from local nurseries!
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Extension Workshop Has a Home
3/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR It’s not always easy to make complex scientific concepts
understandable for public audiences or present controversial issues without
being divisive. Find out how from a master, Dr. Tracy Irani! The first speaker
in the Dean’s Distinguished Lectureship Series will be offering a brown-bag extension
workshop to CTAHR faculty and staff, “Dealing With Contentious Public Issues and Public Opinion: The Role
of 21st-Century Extension and How We Get There,” on April 1, 11:30 a.m.–1:30
p.m., in AgSci 219, with a Q&A session to follow. On April 2, 2:00–3:00
p.m. in Kuykendall 101, she’ll give a public lecture, “Bridging the Green
Divide: The Role of Public Issues Education in Enhancing Public Understanding
of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and the Land Grant System.” A Q&A
session wil follow this as well, and refreshments will be served. The lecture
will also be offered via UH Halawai (Adobe Connect). Participants
with UH usernames can log in here;
participants without UH usernames (guests) can visit here.
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Cyber Banquet
3/20/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Can’t
wait for the Silver Anniversary Awards Banquet on May 3? Get a taste of the
coming excitement at the Banquet’s all-new redesigned
website! Read the bios of Ka Lei Hano awardee Dennis Teranishi and Outstanding
Alumnus Wayne Iwaoka, check out the Banquet program, and even find out more
about the history of the event. And keep checking back as the date draws
nearer, for even more information.
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Help for Native Plants
3/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Gaoussou
Diarra will defend his PhD thesis, “Optimizing Fertilization and Root Symbioses
to Improve Seedling Performance in Abandoned Pastures of Hawaii,” on Thursday,
March 21, from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. in Sherman Lab 103. Pictured here with
his committee chair Travis Idol (NREM), Gaoussou reports on the combination of
two separately promoted greenhouse management techniques, exponential
fertilization and mycorrhizal inoculation, to improve the vigor and
establishment of native species such as mamane and koa, which suffer low
survival after outplanting due to competition with pasture grasses, periodic
drought, and cold nighttime temperatures. These species need to be outplanted
and nurtured because cattle ranching has led to the conversion of much of the
Hawaiian forest lands, which included koa and mamane, into pasture. Gaoussou
highly recommends these techniques, as they produce larger, more vigorous, and
more resilient seedlings.
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Pick Tea
3/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Growers,
you know that new crops and products are a diversification strategy to manage
risk. Did you ever consider growing tea? Tea growers and aspiring tea growers
are invited to attend a Hands–On Tea Propagation Workshop presented by LIFE and
Risk Management Hawaii on the Big Island on Wednesday, March 20, 5:30–7:00 pm,
with registration starting at 5:00 p.m. The workshop, hosted by Andrea
Kawabata, Ryan Tsutsui, Randy Hamasaki, and Stuart T. Nakamoto, will be held at
the UHM-CTAHR Kainaliu CES Office at 79-7381 Mamalahoa Highway. Space is
limited to the first 30 to preregister for this event, and cost is $30 cash or
check (payable to RCUH 2352) at the door. Here you’ll get a chance to learn
about the work CTAHR is doing with tea and find out how to propagate tea using
cuttings. Participants will receive a planting tray and about 50 Oasis cubes so
they can select and prepare their own cuttings in a classroom setting. They
will also be introduced to the in-ground method that is more useful (and
economical) for large numbers of cuttings. Please call Gina (on the Big Island) at (808) 322-4892 or
email ginab@hawaii.edu to reserve your spot and for last-minute updates.
Remember to bring your own shears!
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It’s Not Too Late
3/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Just a
reminder that THIS FRIDAY, March 15, is the deadline for submitting abstracts
for the 25th Annual CTAHR Student Research Symposium, which will take place on
April 12–13. More information can be found at the Symposium website, which also
offers downloadable forms and instructions for preparing and submitting
abstracts and oral and poster presentations.
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Bridging That Divide
3/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR The
first speaker for CTAHR’s Dean’s Distinguished Lectureship Series, Dr. Tracy
Irani, will be giving a talk to the University community focusing on work
conducted by the Center for Public Issues Education at the University of
Florida (UF)/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). The talk is
entitled “Bridging the Green Divide: The Role of Public Issues Education in
Enhancing Public Understanding of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Land
Grant System.” It will be given from 2 to 3 p.m. in Kuykendall 101, followed by a Q&A period, and refreshments
will be provided. The talk will also be offered via UH Halawai (Adobe Connect)
for UH faculty, staff, and students. Also save the date for Dr. Irani’s brown-bag extension workshop on Monday, April 1, “Dealing with Contentious Public Issues and Public Opinion: The Role of 21st-Century Extension and How We Get There.” The workshop will run 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., with Q&A to follow, 1:30–2:00 p.m. Location to be announced. Dr. Irani is a Professor in the Department
of Agricultural Education and Communication in the College of Agricultural and
Life Sciences at UF in Gainesville, Florida. The aim of the Dean’s
Distinguished Lectureship Series, a new initiative of Dean Gallo, is to bring
outstanding scholars in food and energy systems, urban and natural ecosystems,
human, animal and plant health, and family and consumer vitality to the
University to share their expertise in a spirit of collaboration and knowledge
building.
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A Banquet to Remember
3/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR Full registration information
isn’t available yet, but here’s a quick reminder to save the date for the CTAHR
Awards Banquet! It’s the silver anniversary of the event, marking a
quarter-century of celebrating the best and brightest in the college and among
our community partners. This year’s star-studded event will take place on May 3
in the Ala Moana Hotel’s Hibiscus Ballroom, with cocktails starting at 5:30
p.m. Stay tuned for more information, and don’t miss it!
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Shakespeare’s Loss Is CTAHR’s Gain
3/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Makana Aloha Lariosa
Agcaoili, a freshman majoring in Plant and Environmental Biotechnology, was
planning to be an English teacher. But then he got involved with Hawai‘i
FFA (Future Farmers of America) Association, of which he’s now president. He
encountered companies like Monsanto and Pioneer and became fascinated
by the work. CTAHR was the logical place to learn more, Makana says, as
the college and FFA are similar in their focus on agriculture and leadership.
Conservation is also important: “I grew up always surrounded by nature. I
wanted to make sure that our beautiful islands stay this gorgeous for future
generations, and what better way than to be in a position to help keep plants
healthy and strong, farmers prospering, and everyone happy?” he asks. Makana is
one of CTAHR’s Dean’s Scholars, recipient of the most prestigious four-year scholarship the college offers. He’s also a member of the UH-Manoa
Peer Review Board, an ambassador for Pahoa AVID, and in the Honors program. One
of the most fun events he’s helped with was CTAHR’s Texas Hold’em
Competition last semester. More challenging and even more rewarding was helping
at the General CTSO State Convention, which brings together a number of student
leadership organizations, and planning the Hawai’i FFA State Convention. “For
this convention, I had to plan activities, speakers, and also write several
speeches. I spent a lot of sleepless nights…but it was worth it!” Makana says
serving in CTAHR and FFA have taught him about time and stress management and
the importance of asking for help. But his greatest insight, and piece of
advice? “Don’t be afraid to do something you never thought of before,” he
advises others who might think they’re sure of what they
want to do when they grow up. “You never know until you try, and isn’t that what college is all about?”
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Soup for You!
3/4/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Here’s something to warm your belly and the cockles of
your heart on these chilly days: The FSHN Council will be having a Soup
Fundraiser on Monday, March 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in AgiSci 219.
They’ll be selling 8 different regional and ethnic soups, breads, and desserts.
Proceeds from the Soup Fundraiser will help fund the FSHN Council's Annual
Leadership Retreat and provide refreshments at the Council’s monthly meetings.
Questions? Just email Katie Jones at joneska@hawaii.edu. The Food Science Human Nutrition
(FSHN) Council is a student organization that strives to nurture students’ interest in dietetics, research, community wellness, and nutrition. It provides
the opportunity for students to network with other students, faculty, and
professionals in food science, nutrition, and other health-related fields. In
addition to enhancing fellowship and facilitating communication, members are
exposed to career information, scholarship opportunities, and community
service activities.
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February
Water and Weeds
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Heads-up
for some upcoming useful information: Local Immigrant Farmer Education (LIFE)
and Risk Management Hawaii (RMH) will be hosting two workshops on Hydroponics for
Ag Tourism and School Systems at Kahuku Farms, located at 56-800 Kamehameha
Hwy. Part I will be held on Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. to noon, while Part II takes
place on March 3 from 9 to 11 a.m. Participants will learn such important
information as what crops and varieties do best in hydroponic systems, what
government programs are associated with hydroponic ag tourism, and how best to
incorporate food safety in the systems. Then it’s off to the Big Island for a
2-day workshop and field demonstration on weed management, where Joe DeFrank (TPSS) will
demonstrate both chemical and non-chemical methods of killing weeds such as
yellow nutsedge. The workshop will be given at the Waimea Civic Center (67-5189
Kamamalu Road) on March 7 from 6 to 8 p.m., while the field demo will be offered
9–9:45 a.m. at Nakamoto Farm in Kamuela. Participants who wish to receive
credits towards pesticide recertification should bring their pesticide cards,
and there will also be information useful to organic growers. For the
hydroponics events, call Lynn at 622-4185 to register; for the weed control,
call Didi or Perci at 887-6183 or email mddiaz@hawaii.edu.
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Fighting Fireweed With Fireweed Moth
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
biocontrol agent the Madagascan Fireweed Moth has
just been released on Hawai‘i Island, and hopes are high it will be a
major ally in the fight against the invasive Madagascar fireweed, which is
toxic to cattle and horses and which also takes up nutrients and water needed by
other native and beneficial plant species. CTAHR researchers including Tomoaki
Miura and James Leary (both NREM) and Mark Thorne (HNFAS), as well as the staff of the Mealani Research Station, helped to map the
range and spread of the weed for assessment and monitoring purposes and to
raise and release the moth’s larvae; monitoring will be continued of the moth’s
spread and the fireweed’s hopeful decline.
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When Is a Crop Not Just a Crop?
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Pearl
City Urban Garden Center will be hosting one of a series of workshops presented
by educators and longtime CTAHR collaborators Craig Elevitch and Ken Love on
making family-farm crops more marketable and profitable. The workshop, which
will be held March 28 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, will discuss ways to add value to
agricultural products, covering an array of topics including creating a brand
identity, developing market niches, using certifications to increase product
worth, and pricing for a range of markets. Click here to see the
other dates and locations the workshop will be held and to pre-register for
free.
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Going With the Grain
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  If you're interested in furniture, art, and sustainability, you'll want to check out the UH System video featuring JB Friday’s young koa tree project. Last year JB Friday (NREM) supplied some koa to the UHM art department in order to see how woodworkers might use wood from young, second-growth koa, as opposed to the old-growth koa commonly used in the current industry. An art class made 11 benches showcasing the wood’s distinctive and beautiful grain, and these were displayed at the UHM gallery and then at the fishcake art/furniture gallery in Kaka‘ako. JB emphasizes that koa from managed or planted forests can be an important addition to the economic and ecological landscape of the Islands: Landowners will have more of an incentive to replant with the native koa, providing watershed protection and habitat for other native species, if they are assured of a market for their wood.
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Fungal Biofuel
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Recent MBBE Ph.D. graduate Saoharit “Pikky” Nitayavardhana was awarded the Best Student Oral Presentation Award at the International Conference on “Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering (CESE-2012)” held in Melbourne, Australia, on September 9 to 13. Her presentation was on “Biofuel residues conversion into aquatic feed via fungal fermentation,” arising from her Ph.D. research under the supervision of Samir Khanal. Pikky (pictured, middle, between Samir Khanal’s students Devin Takara and Dradeep Munasinghe) is originally from Thailand and earned her M.S. from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, with a perfect GPA of 4.0.
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Bioenergy From Down Under
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Doug George will be working with Andy Hashimoto (MBBE) on the $6 million grant he recently received to study sustainable biofuel systems to increase the Islands’ energy security. Dr. George will be collaborating on the project until April 2013, while on sabbatical from the University of Queensland. An agronomist with a background in plant breeding (mainly sunflowers), he has already begun research on bioenergy crops, including sugarcane, bana grass, native grasses, and eucalyptus trees on the UQ Gatton Campus.
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Credit From the Credit Unions
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Michael Cheang’s Kids Savings project partners schools with
credit unions and investors to provide children with seed money and support to
start their own savings accounts, which Michael hopes will help combat the widespread
financial illiteracy in our society. A recent event to honor participating
elementary school teachers who created games to foster financial savvy among
their third-graders was reported glowingly in the Hawaii Credit Union League’s
newsletter. The story explained that these teachers were building on Michael’s
project to instruct their students on the common core standards as well as
dollars and cents.
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The “Doctor” Is in…Cyberspace
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  For those who have one hand dug deep in the soil and the other on the pulse of technology, the Android version of “The Plant Doctor” app is now
available, ready to function on more than 2,100 different Android devices! The
app download and interactive diagnoses of plant health problems are free, as
are the suggestions for pest management. The IOS version for iPhone and iPad is
available at the iTunes store. During the past month the intrepid and indefatigable plant doctors have diagnosed problems from India, China, Iran, England, Canada, and
several states in USA, including Hawai‘i.
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Fab Foodies
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Do you
know how many hectares in Africa are used for growing acai palms? Or where the
US ranks in terms of global food security? Or even the optimal temperature and
amount of time to store cooked rice? Well, the winning team of the second
annual CTAHR Food Systems Quiz Bowl does, plus a whole lot more. HNFAS’s team
the French Toast Mafia, consisting of Yvonne Lee, Tracy Sy, and David St.
Jules, swept the competition in the Jeopardy!-style game on Friday, but everyone
was a winner at the delicious dinner afterward. Thanks to the students in
ANSC/FSHN 601 The Science of Food Systems for writing up the tricky and
informative questions!
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Help From Palau
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Susan
Miyasaka recently
published an article
in HortTechnology
on taro leaf blight (TLB), based on her 12 years of evaluation of taro
germplasm along the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island. Of the 5 cultivars that
showed the greatest resistances to TLB and corm rots, 'Dirratengadik', 'Merii', 'Ngesuas', 'Ochelochel', and 'Sawa Bastora', 4 originated from Palau. In contrast,
2 commercial cultivars from Hawai‘i, 'Bun Long' and 'Maui Lehua', were quite
susceptible to TLB and corm rot. This indicates, Dr. Miyasaka explains, that
conventional breeding of taro to improve TLB resistance could improve yields of
commercial taro cultivars.
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State of the State, State of CTAHR
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Good
news—Governor Neil Abercrombie gave a shout-out to Dean Gallo and CTAHR’s
“integral” role in “nurturing Hawai‘i’s agriculture industry” in his
2013 State of the
State address. He praised the “vigorous leadership”
of Dr. Gallo, saying the college “is poised to meet critical research and
extension needs if given the support.” Support—what a great idea!
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Ginger Woes
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Troubled
by yellowed, necrotic ginger? You’ll need to check out the new website about bacterial wilt of edible ginger, a serious pest that has
substantially reduced the economic value of ginger in the state. The project to
research management options and educate the public on how to deal with the
disease is led by Susan Miyasaka (TPSS); other collaborators include Linda Cox
(NREM), Scot Nelson (PEPS), Bernard Kratky (TPSS emeritus), and community
stakeholders. If your ginger is wilting, don’t delay—check it out today!
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You Go, GoFarm!
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  UH News recently released a video report on the GoFarm Hawai‘i program, describing how the program, which is part of the
Community College Career Training program (C3T Hawai‘i), mentors students in a
process of ever-increasing immersion in the life of farming. CTAHR faculty and
staff are partnering with farmers for the 18-month-long program that will, it
is hoped, add many more farmers and agricultural workers to the Island
landscape. GoFarm! was also featured on KITV News, in a segment explaining how the 13 students in this class are learning everything from how to prep their seeds and till the soil to how to run an agricultural business. After graduating, each student will be allowed to use a half-acre of land at the Waimanalo Research Station on which to grow their crops and further their training.
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Down With Diamondbacks
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
diamondback moth (DBM) (Plutella xylostella (L.)) is a pest of crucifers such
as cabbage and broccoli that can severely damage crops and render them
unmarketable. The moth is difficult to control because it readily grows
resistant to insecticides, and CTAHR Extension professionals have worked with
commercial crucifer crop growers on an insecticide-resistance management
program since DBM’s insecticide resistance in Hawai‘i was discovered in 2000.
Thirteen years later, DBM Insecticide Resistance Management (IRM) team members
Robin Shimabuku, Randy Hamasaki, and Jari Sugano (all
PEPS) , Ronald Mau (PEPS emeritus); Jensen Uyeda (TPSS); Steve Fukuda (TPSS emeritus); Ming Yi Chou, and Sharon
Motomura (Hawai‘i County Extension) are continuing field and laboratory
bioassays to evaluate new chemical classes for the IRM rotation program and
monitor resistance levels to chemicals in the current statewide DBM IRM program
at least twice a year. Managing and tracking insecticide resistance in
commercial areas is an important component in sustaining Hawai‘i’s crucifer
crop industries, which are themselves important to the Islands’ food security.
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A Fashion Maven Is Born
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Andy
Reilly (APDM) was recently profiled in Flux magazine on early influences that
led to his interest in clothing and fashion, such as a sky-blue-and-gold-striped suit he had when he was 5 years old and his early experiments in
designing clothes sewn out of paper towels. He also discusses the accessory
that most defines his personal style as an adult—fragrances, he says,
especially those that echo his more mature fashion sense—“different but
subtle.”
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Step Right Up to Spring
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  About 200 CTAHR students,
faculty, and staff came out for food and fun at CTAHR’s annual Spring Event,
where this year, instead of the traditional dodgeball competition, participants
enjoyed an outdoor carnival. Entertainment included homemade games like
sidewalk bowling and trying to catch a bounced ball in a hat…while wearing it.
Professional balloon artists from Adventure Balloons wowed the crowd with their
skill and creativity, twisting such masterpieces as Dean Gallo’s crown and
dunking booth volunteer Halina Zaleski’s (HNFAS) pig with wings. The highlight
was certainly the dunking booth, where all enjoyed watching brave faculty
plunge into the water: the dripping crew also included Ken Leonhardt (TPSS), CN
Lee and Maria Stewart (both HNFAS), and Mark Wright and Dan Rubinoff (both
PEPS). Monetary donations of $520 were collected to support Collegiate 4-H, a
CTAHR-affiliated program that fosters leadership and personal development in
today’s youth through hands-on learning projects in the community. Mahalo to
Charlie Nelson and Ryan Kurasaki for helping with food arrangements, and to
Janice Uchida for donating potted plants for prizes. Thanks to the Spring Event
student committee, scholarship recipients, and ASAO for their time and
dedication in making this a smooth and successful event, and thank you to
everyone who attended and donated to this year’s cause for making this
first-time carnival-themed Spring Event a memorable one.
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Moth Mystery
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Dan
Rubinoff and William Haines (both PEPS) were recently interviewed on HPR about their paper published last month in the
scientific journal PLOS ONE on the native moth Omiodes continuatalis. The moth, which first
appeared on the islands of Kaua‘i and O‘ahu 3 million years ago, has
disappeared from much of its original range and is now only found in small
portions of its habitat on Maui and the Big Island. It has even disappeared
from Koke‘e on Kaua‘i, which is considered to be a substantially intact native
area. Dan and William explain that the moth’s decline is probably due to
invasive species of ants and wasps, but that they’re unsure of the exact cause.
But since, as they point out, insects are the basis of ecosystems, it’s necessary
to find out what’s killing off insect species—and stop it, if possible. More
quarantine and inspection control are a good start, they advise—of construction
materials as well as agricultural and food items.
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Getting Back to the Roots
2/26/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Save the
date for the
annual ginger growers’ meeting, which this year will include presentations by Linda
Cox (NREM), Susan Miyasaka and Ferol White (TPSS), and Sharon Motomura (Hawai‘i
County extension). The meeting, which will be held on Mar. 13, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
at UH-Hilo Campus Center Room 306, will be the last one for ginger growers
participating in the research study to receive FREE bacterial wilt-free ginger
seed pieces for planting. There’s no cost to attend, and parking for the event
is free. Commercial
growers who are interested in participating should contact Sharon Motomura at smotomur@hawaii.edu or at 808-969-8250,
while backyard growers or researchers should contact Ferol White at ferol@hawaii.edu
or 808-969-8267.
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Before We Disappear Beneath the Waves…
2/25/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Sarah
Henly-Shepard will be defending her dissertation, Climate Change &
Disaster Vulnerability—Socio-Ecological Resilience Research & Planning in
Hawai‘i, on Thursday, March 7, at 9:00
a.m. in Sherman 103. Sarah, whose committee chair is Linda Cox (NREM),
researched the effects of climate change on Hawai‘i and other Pacific islands
in terms of “hazard vulnerability,” arguing for the need to “engage in disaster
resilience, an interdisciplinary approach of proactive prevention, preparation,
and adaptation.” Come hear important insights on a very timely issue!
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Help Along the Path
2/25/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The Plant
Pathology Graduate Student Organization (PPGSO) organized dinner and a personal
meeting for PEPS graduate students with Dr. Brett Tyler, director of the Center
for Genome Research and Bio-computing at Oregon State University. Dr. Tyler
shared his research experiences and views on current research opportunities in
molecular plant pathology and genomics, while students discussed their
individual research projects and received valuable suggestions. Dr. Tyler also
presented two seminars during his visit to CTAHR and met with faculty in PEPS,
MBBE, and TPSS. Dr. Tyler (center) is pictured with (left to right) Kishore
Dey, Gabriel Shierman, Glorimar Marrero, Philip Waisen, Shikha Srivastava, and
Akhil Srivastava.
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Chocolate Buzz
2/25/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  H.C.
“Skip” Bittenbender (TPSS) and the statewide cacao variety trial for which he
is principal investigator were prominently noted in a front-page article in the
Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Though cacao production in the state is still in its infancy,
interest in local chocolate is exploding, and the variety trial will yield
invaluable information for hopeful cacao farmers. As the article explains, 14
plots have been established at sites throughout the islands that represent all
different microclimates in terms of elevation and precipitation. Ten different
types of cacao trees are planted at each site, and they are starting to bear
fruit this year, 4 years after planting, with samples of the finished chocolate
to be available by next year. Mmm-mmm!
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Model Mentors
2/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Helping
others to learn, grow, and manifest their potential is an important part of
CTAHR’s mission. Nominations are now open for the Ka Pouhana (Mentor) Award, which recognizes
outstanding support of student learning and development through co-curricular
activities. (Pictured is Ashley Stokes (HNFAS), last year's honoree.) All CTAHR faculty members are eligible to be nominated; submit the nomination form and 3 letters of
recommendation for the nominee by Thursday, Feb. 28. Any questions? Just email
Lisa at kitagawal@ctahr.hawaii.edu.
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Research Delights
2/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Give
your research the audience it deserves, check out the exciting work being done
throughout the college, and have the chance to win awards at the 25th Annual
CTAHR Student Research Symposium! The Symposium, which takes place on Apr.
12–13, is a multi-disciplinary forum for discussion and the exchange of
information. It’s open to all graduate and undergraduate students conducting
scholarly work under the supervision of faculty in CTAHR and UH-Hilo’s College
of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, as well as
undergraduate students from UH-Manoa’s College of Engineering. The deadline
for submitting abstracts is Mar. 15, so make sure you get them in by then! The Call for
Abstracts can be found at the Symposium website, which also
contains information on the symposium, including instructions for preparing
abstracts and oral and poster presentations, downloadable forms, and sample
judging forms. Be there and be scholarly!
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Local Notions
2/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Good news for CTAHR students: The deadline to submit your intent to compete form for CTAHR’s
2013 Entrepreneurial Competition has been extended to Feb. 28. If you have
a novel idea for a product or service based on local biological materials,
please showcase your idea in a 3-minute YouTube video and win some cash! By
creating a new product or service or repurposing an existing product or service
based on biological materials from Hawai‘i (i.e., locally grown food, fiber,
agriculture, and other bio-products), you'll have the opportunity to win a
valuable award and gain rock-star status! The deadline for creating your YouTube
entry is Apr. 5, and any CTAHR undergraduate
or graduate student who actively participates in the development of the project
may compete. Please visit the 2013 CTAHR Entrepreneurial
Competition website, where you’ll find details on the competition, submission
instructions and guidelines, awards, and contact information. Check out the
many creative 2012 entries to see the extent
of the possibilities, like last year’s winner Sam Durham’s company Island Fungi, and then enter your own great idea!
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4-H in Paradise
2/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  If you
haven’t had a chance to check out KTA Superstores’ show Living in
Paradise recently,
Big Island 4-H groups are being featured on it throughout this month at 7:30
p.m. nightly. If you don’t have access to the show in your area, check out the
4-H’ers in a
12-minute segment on the KTA website. The Shooting Stars Club (pictured here with CTAHR alumnus Derek Kurisu) opens with the
4-H pledge; further on there’s a segment about 4-H’s commitment to service, and
the show ends with the 4-H motto. Cute keiki learning, having fun, and serving
the community—how better to showcase the program?
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Weed Warrior
2/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  James Leary’s (TPSS) Herbicide Ballistic Technology, in which
herbicide is encapsulated in pellets and shot out of a paintball gun at
hard-to-reach invasive weeds, is
featured in this month’s issue of Honolulu Magazine. Even if
weed-control specialists are on foot, the technology gives them extra range and
control, but it can also be used from a helicopter, and that’s where it really
shines! You can also see his HBT in action on YouTube.
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Living With the Borer
2/21/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Stuart
Nakamoto (HNFAS) was featured in a recent Hawaii News Now
report about the
Coffee Berry Borer crisis on the Big Island. “It's one of the worst pests in
the world for coffee growers,” he warns, pointing out that it probably can’t be
eradicated entirely, so the best we can do is learn how to control it at levels
that don’t make too devastating an impact on the coffee industry. In fact,
there’s a bill being considered now at the State Capitol that would allocate
more than three quarters of a million dollars towards new research on
prevention, treatment, and control of CBB.
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Love in Bloom
2/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Want to
assure your beloved of your ever-growing devotion? Try offering some lovely
blossoms. The Horticulture Society is holding a Valentine’s Day flower
sale conveniently on campus, so you don’t have to join the mobs at the flower
shops or resort to those silk roses at the gas-station convenience store. The sale will continue on Thursday, Feb. 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in St. John 10-B (on the ground level). And “Buy Local” types will
be glad to know that all flowers from local nurseries!
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Garden in the Sky
2/13/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Congratulations to TPSS grad student Robert Saito, who has been awarded a grant of $2,500 by the UH Womens Campus Club to research and expand the development of different hydroponic systems on the St. John rooftop.
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A Big Welcome on the Big Island
2/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Dean Gallo
recently returned from a whirlwind tour of the Big Island, accompanied by
PMSO’s Thomas Lim and hosted by the staff and researchers of all the island’s
extension offices and research stations. She toured the Captain Cook and
Lalamilo Experiment Stations; the Kona Experiment Station, where she got to
taste a strangely turpentine-flavored berry; and the Kona and Kamuela
Cooperative Extension Service offices. She sampled delicious blueberries and
consorted with cattle at Mealani, and ventured to the verdant Upper Hamakua
Experiment Station. Then it was on to Komohana, Waiakea, Malama-ki , and chilly
Volcano, to drink locally grown and processed tea and learn about these
Experiment Stations. All in all, the tour was a feast for the senses as well as
the mind.
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There’s a Fungus (Expert) Among Us!
2/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Dr.
Brett Tyler, an expert in plant-microbe interactions and fungal bioinformatics,
will be visiting the PEPS department on Feb. 14 and 15, and everyone is invited
to attend his 2 presentations. He’ll be speaking on “Comparative and Functional
Genomics of Virulence in Oomycete Pathogens” on Thursday, Feb. 14, and on “How
Oomycete and Fungal Effectors Enter Plant Cells and Promote Disease” on Friday,
Feb. 15. Both presentations will be offered 1:30–2:30 p.m. in Gilmore 301. Dr.
Tyler is a professor and the director of the Center for Genome Research and
Biocomputing at Oregon State University. He led the Phytophthora genome and
plant pathosystem projects, and his group has published fungal effector-related
papers in Science
and Cell over
the last few years. Dr. Tyler will also be available for individual meetings
during his visit—contact Yangrae Cho (PEPS) to arrange a personal meeting time
with him.
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Fire in the Pacific
2/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  NREM
faculty Douglas Cram, JB Friday, and Creighton Litton recently published “Fire
and Drought in Paradise: Say It Isn’t So, Smokey,” in a special issue of the
journal Rural Connections focusing on drought and wildfire.
The researchers point out that what with volcanic activity, anthropogenic ignitions,
and the increased growth of non-native species such as Guinea grass, wildfire
is not only increasing in the Islands but can have particularly damaging
effects. When an area is burned, they explain, the native plants often are
destroyed, and invasive species grow in the fill the space. The newly
established Pacific Fire Exchange is working to figure out what can be done to
reduce the risk and damage of fire.
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Fabulous Fiber
2/5/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Maria
Stewart (HNFAS) just published an article in Nutrition Reviews on
“Dietary Treatments for Childhood Constipation,” especially the use of increased
fiber to combat the condition. She points out that although “eat more fiber”
is a common recommendation, its efficacy has been insufficiently studied, and
knowledge gaps remain, including how much fiber is the right amount and even
what exactly a “whole grain” is.
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January
Got Research?
1/28/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Heads
up—the 25th Annual CTAHR Student Research Symposium will take place on Apr.
12–13, in the Ag Science Building. The Symposium, which serves as a
multi-disciplinary forum for the discussion and exchange of information, is
open to graduate and undergraduate students conducting scholarly work under the
supervision of faculty in UH-Manoa’s CTAHR or College of Engineering, and
UH-Hilo's College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management. Please
read the call for abstracts carefully, as some things have changed from
previous years. There’s also a
new website with additional information on the symposium. THE DEADLINE FOR
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION IS MARCH 15. All students are encouraged to participate!
Any questions? Email Traci Sylva at tsylva@hawaii.edu or Charles Kinoshita at kinoshitac@ctahr.hawaii.edu.
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Back to the Land
1/28/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR CTAHR’s
beginning farmer program GoFarm! was recently
featured on KITV News.
The segment described how the 13 students in this class are learning everything
from how to prep their seeds and till the soil to how to run an agricultural
business. After graduating, each student will be allowed to use a half-acre of land
at the Waimanalo Research Station on which to grow their crops and further their training.
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Speedy Diagnosis
1/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Growers,
aware that pests and diseases are major production risks and can easily wipe
out a crop, often approach Team LIFE’s “Farm Doctors” for assistance. Rapid
identification followed by implementation of appropriate measures is crucial
for managing these problems and mitigating their risks, and a critical link in
the process is the diagnosis provided by the Agricultural Diagnostic Service
Center (ADSC). In a recent surprise event, Team LIFE’s Big Island members
recognized Brian Bushe of the Komohana Research Extension Center for his
outstanding contributions in support of LIFE. Several agents mentioned Brian’s
accuracy and speed, to wit: “If I get the sample to Brian in the morning, I
will typically be able to get back to the grower by that afternoon. That gives
the grower a big advantage in controlling the pest.” As part of his award,
Brian received $1,000 to support his work. Besides pest and disease diagnoses,
the ADSC offers plant tissue, soil, and water analyses and administers CTAHR’s
Seed Lab. Brian is pictured in the center, surrounded by Team LIFE members
(left to right) Randy Hamasaki, Andrea Kawabata, Kelvin Sewake, Evann Goo,
Stuart Nakamoto, Sharon Motomura, and Andrew Kawabata.
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The Awards Banquet Is in Your Hands
1/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  It’s
that time again… What time? Time to nominate outstanding faculty and staff
members who deserve recognition for their hard work, dedication, and
inspiration! All award winners will be recognized at CTAHR’s 25th Annual Awards
Banquet on Friday, May 3, at the Ala Moana Hotel, but your help is needed to
identify just who those honorees will be. Nomination information is
available here for the following awards:
- 2013
CTAHR Outstanding Alumnus/Alumna
- 2013
CTAHR Dean’s Award for Excellence in Extension
- 2013
CTAHR Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research
- 2013
CTAHR Dean’s Award for Outstanding Civil Service
- 2013
CTAHR Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service by an Administrative, Professional,
and Technical Employee (last year’s awardee, Ruth Niino-Duponte, is pictured here with former Interim Dean Sylvia Yuen.)
Please
note that the recipient for CTAHR’s Excellence in Teaching Award was selected
in January from among the applicants for the University’s 2013 Excellence in
Teaching Award. The deadline for all five awards is Friday, Feb. 15. Send
hard-copy nomination packets to Gilmore 119, or electronic files or questions to events@ctahr.hawaii.edu.
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Pride by Design
1/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A CTAHR fabric and shirt design contest
is being sponsored by Innovators of Fashion Challenge. The challenge in
question? Design a fabric and use it to create men’s and women’s Aloha shirt
designs for CTAHR professional wear. The design should reflect or connect to
Hawai‘i agriculture or natural landscapes, and the CTAHR wordmark and/or spirit
mark, the petroglyph design, must be incorporated as well. Any CTAHR APDM
student can submit fabric and shirt designs:
1. Create a poster
board that illustrates the fabric and the shirt design (color fashion sketch
and flat sketch).
2. Include the
following information on the back of the poster board: name, major, UH email,
phone number, and address.
3. Submit by March 1
to Andy Reilly, Miller Hall 208.
APDM faculty will select the top designs, which will be featured
on the CTAHR website for voting. The winning design will be announced by May
2013. Prizes: First place: $500 and consideration for production; second place:
$300; third place: $100.
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Save That Thought!
1/14/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The 25th
Annual CTAHR Student Research Symposium will take place on April 12–13. The
Symposium, which serves as a multi-disciplinary forum for discussion and
exchange of information, is open to graduate and undergraduate students
conducting scholarly work under the supervision of faculty from CTAHR and
UH-Hilo’s College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management.
Undergraduates from the College of Engineering will be participating again this
year as well. A call for abstracts will be announced shortly, and a website
with additional details on the Symposium will soon be up. The deadline for
submitting abstracts will be announced with the call for abstracts, but it
should be mid-March. All students are encouraged to participate, so please set
aside these dates. For more information, you can email Traci Sylva at
tsylva@hawaii.edu or Associate Dean Charles Kinoshita at
kinoshitac@ctahr.hawaii.edu.
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Happy N.E.W. Year!
1/8/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  The
Nutrition Education for Wellness Extension program would like to wish everyone
a “healthy happy new year!” Check out NEW’s
new publication, full of healthy suggestions for you and your family, home,
community, and workplace. If you’re stumped for resolutions, this handy flyer
will give you plenty of ideas for fostering physical, mental, emotional,
familial, and community wellness. And with such suggestions as eating more
fruit, going to beaches and parks more often, getting a massage, sharing a
laugh with co-workers, and taking time to talk story with friends, this is one
group of resolutions that should be easy to keep!
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New Faces: Marietta Escobar-Solis
1/8/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Marietta Escobar-Solis,
a new hire with OCS, says that 20 years ago when she moved from her native
Colombia to Hilo she began the most exciting time of her life. OCS is certainly
excited to have her on the team, stepping capably into the position vacated
when Sharon Tasato retired and bringing a renewed sense of order and
organization to the office. Welcome, Marietta!
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Pesticide Protocols
1/8/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR The Local
and Immigrant Farmer Education (LIFE) Program has invited Derek Shigematsu,
Environmental Health Specialist with the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture’s
Pesticide Branch, to present an educational workshop summarizing the important
skills of crop grouping and commodity definition. This will be of use to
growers who apply pesticides—properly using the crop grouping and
definition summary can mitigate production and legal risks. Remember to bring
your pesticide card to get 2 credits toward pesticide recertification! The
class will be held Jan. 10, 6:00–8:00 p.m., at the Waimea Civic Center at 67-5189
Kamamalu Road, Kamuela, HI.
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The Carnival Is Coming to Town!
1/8/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Question:
What’s even more fun than a fierce dodgeball competition with costumed
contestants?
Answer:
A free traveling carnival with food, games, and other attractions! Don’t miss
out on this year’s CTAHR Spring Event on Friday, Feb. 8, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.,
in the grassy area next to Gilmore Hall. Join your friends for 2 fun-filled
hours of hot dogs and other refreshments, carnival games with prizes, a dunking
booth, balloon artists, and more…ALL FOR FREE! And, to add to this year’s fun
and excitement, you'll have a chance at the carnival to donate to CTAHR’s own
4-H program!
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GoFarm Hawai‘i Goes to Poamoho
1/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  A group of 20 individuals with a strong interest in farming in Hawai‘i were chosen to participate in the AgXposure classes of UH’s GoFarm Hawai‘i program. CTAHR is a key partner in GoFarm Hawai‘i, while the US Department of Labor sponsored the AgXposure classes. Participants recently took part in a comprehensive educational field training session at the Poamoho Experiment Station, where they were able to get firsthand experience dealing with seedling production; propagation of a value-added crop such as tea; construction of hydroponics vegetable boxes; evaluation of tomatoes grown using Korean Natural Farming practices; and hybridizing, harvesting, and grading new CTAHR eggplant cultivars, all in just 3.5 hours. Senator Donavan Delacruz spoke to the group about the potential of Hawai‘i’s agriculture industry and also about the Whitmore village agricultural development. The training session was organized by Koon Hui Wang (PEPS); David Ringuette; Fred Reppun; Steve Chiang of the Agribusiness Incubator Program; Ted Radovich (TPSS) of the Sustainable and Organic Agriculture Program; and Jari Sugano (PEPS), Jensen Uyeda (TPSS), Susan Migita, and Stuart Nakamoto (HNFAS) of the Local and Immigrant Farmer Education and Risk Management Programs.
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A Milestone Celebrated
1/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Over 150 CTAHR students, their families and friends, and CTAHR faculty and staff attended the CTAHR Convocation in the Campus Center Ballroom on Friday, December 7. This was the first time in 10 years that the College held a convocation ceremony for its graduating students. The celebration, emceed by Lisa Kitagawa-Akagi, began with congratulatory remarks from Dean Maria Gallo and CTAHR Alumni Association and Friends president Dr. Susan Miller. Our Fall 2012 student marshals Allyson Fujii (FAMR) and Jordan Oshiro (FSHN), selected for their academic achievements and high involvement in CTAHR, were then called to stage to be recognized. Afterwards, graduating students active in CTAHR-affiliated student organizations were acknowledged for their participation in these groups. The formal program concluded with the individual recognition of 40 graduates. Following were refreshments and a chance for family, friends, and mentors to mingle with the graduating students. Congratulations to our graduating students, and good luck in your future endeavors! A big mahalo to all those who supported our graduating students, including the CTAHR Alumni Association and Friends for donating lei, CTAHR scholarship recipients and student ambassadors for volunteering at the event, Yama’s Fishmarket for catering the food, and ASAO for providing the CTAHR memorabilia presented to the graduates and for organizing this event.
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Impact Through Research
1/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  If you haven’t checked out the latest Impact Report, give yourself a late present and do so! You’ll find heartwarming and inspiring stories about ways CTAHR is working to make the Islands and beyond a better place for us all.
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Local Support for 4-H
1/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Members
of the Hilo Rainmakers 4-H Club, located on the east side of the Big Island,
recently presented the Paper Clover Award to Del’s Feed & Farm Supply, one
of the many supporters of the 4-H program. During the Paper Clover Campaign,
customers can pledge $1 towards 4-H, and Del’s Feed & Farm Supply, thanks
to the support of their committed customers, was able to raise $1,910. The
money raised was sent to National 4-H Council, where it will be divided among
the 4-H community on the state and county levels. Thanks to Del’s Feed &
Farm Supply for helping to fulfill the 4-H motto and “Make the Best Better.”
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Wrapped With a Smile
1/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  One of
the things 4-H is best known for is giving back through community service.
Recently, several 4-H members, leaders, and parents from the East Hawai‘i 4-H
Federation came together to help wrap Christmas presents for Catholic Charities
in Hilo. These presents then were given to local families in need this holiday.
It was a great day, and East Hawai‘i County Extension agent Becky Settlage
reported that there were BIG smiles as the families picked up their presents
the following day. Catholic Charities has never wrapped the gifts they give out
in the past because they didn't have the staff or time to do it; now, because
of the success of this community service project, members were asked to
participate again next year!
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Aloha
1/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  CTAHR
joins the nation in grieving the loss of a true patriot and son of Hawai‘i,
Daniel K Inouye, 1924–2012. Senator Inouye was instrumental in securing funding for important programs in the College and supporting agriculture throughout the state.
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Korean Natural Farming in Poamoho
1/2/2013 Source: Office of Communication Services, CTAHR  Extension agent Mike Duponte (HNFAS) has been incorporating Korean Natural Farming into swine and poultry industries to minimize effluent waste and odor since 2010, but recently he’s also started collaborating with PEPS Sustainable Pest Management faculty Koon-Hui Wang to evaluate the effects of Korean Natural Farming on vegetable crops through replicated field trials. Side-by-side comparisons of tomato plants grown using natural farming vs. organic farming practices were conducted, and research showed significant benefits from natural farming techniques. In response to popular demand, farmers, Master Gardeners, CTAHR and NRCS agricultural agents, students, and other agricultural practitioners were given an opportunity to see the field trial and cook up some nutrient inputs from excess farm products such as weeds, fruits, and eggshells at a recent field day at Poamoho Experiment Station. The field day was organized by Koon-Hui Wang (PEPS), extension agents Jari Sugano (PEPS) and Jensen Uyeda (TPSS), and the farm crew at Poamoho led by Susan Migita.
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