Issue 311   |   May 11, 2017   |   Archive

News & Events

Healthy for the Department (3)

Come to the HNFAS research seminar presented by Maria Ferreira, a candidate for HNFAS’ Assistant Professor/Dietetics Program Director (DPD) position. Maria, an alumna of Baylor University, has conducted research in nutrition, exercise, and preventive health. On Friday, May 12, from 11:00 to 12:30 p.m., she will give her research seminar, “Inter-professional Collaboration in an Online Health Science Course,” in Ag. Sci. 219 (Zoom video conference capable, ID 914 630 154). Light refreshments will be provided.

Help Out the GENE-iuses!

The GENE-ius Day Program is still looking for 10 more volunteers for its 5th Annual Graduation Extravaganza to celebrate the hard work and dedication that the young scientists put towards learning science. It’s on Saturday, May 20, from 7:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hawaii Convention Center on 1801 Kalakaua Ave. The students will be participating in a graduation ceremony, 14 science-experiment stations, and a prize drawing, so lots of extra hands are needed! Would you be interested in volunteering to spend the morning helping to run an activity? Everything will be prepared in advance and you will be provided with everything you need, including lunch! You just need to wear a navy blue or black shirt, with any style of shorts of pants. The GENE-ius Day Program, directed by interim associate dean Ania Wieczorek, is a STEM education program that offers hands-on science classes to a wide range of children in the community and inspires them for future careers in the field. This year, over 300 students in grades 1 to 9 came to UHM one Saturday a month for labs. If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up here.

Don’t Get Rat Lungworm!

Rat lungworm cases are showing up in Hawai‘i, but CTAHR Extension is on the job, informing the community about how to help prevent this worrying disease. The UH Farm Food Safety website advises farmers and home gardeners to manage rats, slugs, and snails in fields and gardens and consumers to make sure they correctly wash and/or cook produce before eating. They’re partnering with the Department of Heath, which is the lead agency educating the public about the parasite and health-related issues. Here is a list of approved slug and snail baits for commercial use in Hawai‘i. This weekend, O‘ahu CES also hosted a RLW booth at Oahu RC&D’s Parade of Farms.

Get in Business…Ag Business!

Agricultural business management is the second-largest specialization for undergraduate programs in land-grant universities across the nation. In acknowledgement of the need to connect the plants in our living environment with our food-production system and food-supply chain, TPSS is now offering an Agribusiness Certificate program open to all undergraduate students. The program offers entrepreneurial skills for starting and managing a successful, sustainable agricultural business; opportunities for hands-on experience with modern management-science techniques that assist agribusiness managers and industry analysts; increased proficiency in formulating and implementing problems using computer models; improved economic decision-making ability; and better understanding of marketing, management, and finance, including the ways traditional business-school approaches must be modified for perishable plant and animal products raised on land or in the water. Those who complete the program receive a Certificate in Agribusiness Management.

Grants & Awards

Hort Honors

TPSS undergrads Michelle Au, Rachelle Carson, and Micah Grumblis have been awarded the Collegiate Scholars Award by the American Society for Horticultural Science. This award honors the academic achievements of junior and senior undergraduates from departments of horticulture or from departments of plant and crop science who are majoring in horticulture. Students are selected on the basis of their scholarship achievements, leadership abilities, participation in campus/club activities, and service to their department.

The Right Tools for the Job

Herbavore, a customizable garden handtool business that was created by CTAHR BS and MS alumnus Robert Saito (left) and his partner Derek Woodruff, won first prize at the 2017 Shidler PACE Business Plan Competition at the Wai'alae Country Club on May 3. Four teams competed for prize packages totaling more than $40,000 in cash and legal and marketing help—as first place winner, Herbavore received $10,000 cash and more than $12,500 value in other aid. The UH Business Plan Competition provides mentorship, training, and resources to UH students and faculty who want to learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur and start a business venture. Participants practice the art of testing the feasibility of a business idea, developing a business plan, and pitching it to investors.

CBB on the Web

Congratulations to Extension agent Andrea Kawabata, who has been selected by the Hawai‘i Association of County Agricultural Agents (HACAA) as their candidate for the national organization (NACAA)’s Communications Award in the Website category. Andrea serves as a key member of the multiagency team working to halt the spread of CBB across the Hawaiian islands and help farmers deal with this damaging coffee pest. As part of that outreach, she has created a website which serves as a valuable educational resource to growers, researchers, Extension faculty, students, and the general public.

Spotlight on Our Community

Highlights of Glory

If you’ve got a fever and the only cure is more 3MEP, you’re in luck, because the highlights video for this inaugural competition—first aired at the recent CTAHR Awards Banquet—has now been posted. Let it inspire you to get involved with the competition next year, whether as a participant, judge, or enthusiastic audience member. Check it out!

Ag Day on the Garden Isle

On May 5 CTAHR’s Kaua‘i Agricultural Research Center (KARC), in partnership with the Kauai County Farm Bureau, hosted its 21st Agricultural and Environmental Awareness Day. More than 625 fifth-grade students and their teachers from all parts of the island—including public, charter, and private school and home-schooled students—came to the Research Station for interactive lectures and educational displays. Community contributors included the Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee, Kaua‘i Master Gardeners program, Hanalei Taro, Kaua‘i Forest Birds Recovery Project, Kaua‘i Nursery & Landscaping, Kaua‘i Anthurium Club, Kawamura Farms, USDA-APHIS and NCRS, and many more. Master Gardener coordinator Josh Silva, pictured here, is also mentioned in the Garden Island’s article on the event. The Farm Bureau’s Joni Ito did a masterful job in organizing the event, and Kaua‘i’s Family & Friends of Agriculture graciously supported it financially. Thanks also go to the hardworking farm crew at KARC: Frank Matsuno, Lou Nishida Jr., Randy Yokoyama, Michael Carle, and Tyrus Moises; the KISC field crew; and many other volunteers who donated time and resources to make this annual event a success.

Looking Back on the Banquet

If you missed last week’s Awards Banquet, or just want to relive the memories, check out the photos posted here. Although the location was new, the great feelings of fun, pride, admiration, and fellowship were just the same! There’s also a detailed and laudatory article on this year’s Outstanding Alumnus, Ernest Harris, in the Star-Advertiser’s Sunday Magazine. Here he is pictured with Dean Rachel Novotny and his wife of 63 years, Bettye Jo Harris.

’Flower and Water

Extension agent Jensen Uyeda has been busy in the fields as well as in the news recently: he’s featured on Hawaii News Now talking about the concept of precision agriculture and his irrigation-management trial at Waimanalo, and on KITV discussing the cauliflower variety trials and recent field day at Poamoho. The irrigation trial is using time-lapse photography and other technological aids to assess whether techniques developed for drought-stricken regions of California can work in Hawai‘i and save growers money by carefully calibrating the amounts of water and fertilizer needed for best growth. And the cauliflower trials are looking at purple, orange, green, and white varieties that will do well in the Islands, providing a new crop for producers, a new locally grown ingredient for chefs, and a fun and tasty alternative for home gardeners. Extension educator Lynn Nakamura-Tengan is also quoted in this article—she remembers the problems her family had with growing cauliflower in her childhood in Kula, so she knows how helpful trials like this will be.

A Congress to Be Proud Of!

Kona 4-H Federation member Wailana Medeiros is one of eight youth on the 2017 National 4-H Congress Design Team! The National 4-H Congress is a unique leadership opportunity for 4-H members from all 50 states, providing recognition to 4-H youth for their outstanding achievements. The event focuses on leadership, youth empowerment, community service, career development, and cultural diversity. It brings together over 900 4-H members in Atlanta, Georgia, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend for outstanding workshops, sought-after national guest speakers, cultural events, community service projects, and Atlanta’s attractions. They also have the opportunity to network with other 4-H members from across the United States. Wailana is part of the youth–adult partnership team that plans this event—the adults are Extension professionals and the youth are 4-H members who have participated in the event the prior year.

Help our community to keep in touch! Please send news items -- awards, grants, special projects, special people -- and pictures to Frederika Bain at ctahrnotes@ctahr.hawaii.edu. Also refer to the submission information and guidelines.

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