Issue 48   |   October 12, 2011

News & Events

Report for the Report

Reminder: The 4-H Review Team will be presenting its report on Thursday, Oct. 13, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in Gilmore 212 on the UHM campus and via polycom to all neighbor islands. All faculty and staff, as well as 4-H members and affiliated groups, are welcome to attend the presentation. Please share this announcement with individuals who may be interested in the report. Gary Heusel, State 4-H leader, points out that 4-H members commonly attend college at the land-grant institution responsible for the 4-H program in their state, so supporting 4-H is an investment in CTAHR's future strength. For those who would like to hear the report but are unable to attend, the session will be taped and made available.

Kav-ahh

The 8th annual Hawaii Pacific Islands Kava Festival, aka KavaFest 2011, was held on the McCarthy Mall on Oct. 8. KavaFest, which is sponsored by CTAHR and the ‘Awa Development Council, aims to educate the public about kava (‘awa) and to provide an opportunity to taste and drink it. Festival founder Skip Bittenbender (TPSS, second from right) points out that kava is “the original pau hana drink” and “the perfect anti-road rage beverage.” Certainly it would be hard to be aggro while sipping samples from the kava variety tasting booth hosted by the college or stocking up on the local, organic vegetables grown at Magoon Research Facilities that the student group SOFT was selling. Over 20 vendors sold kava, food, and crafts, and several bands played lots of local music. The festival ended with a short film festival—about kava, of course. Also pictured are Travis Idol (NREM, left), Andrew Bowles (MBBE, graduate student, second from left), and Marc Rosen (Physics, right).

Hogs on the Range

The Mealani Taste of the Hawaiian Range was started primarily to promote local grass-fed beef, but it has expanded to showcase and support local production of numerous agricultural products...including pork. Swine Specialist Halina Zaleski (HNFAS, center) and the Hawaii Pork Industry Association (HPIA) were featured at the recent Taste; aided by HPIA Vice-President Darlene Leong (left), and HPIA Secretary Evelyn Telles (right), Halina helped explain the new cooking temperatures for pork. Gone are the days when USDA advised cooking pork to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. The recommended internal temperature was recently lowered to 145 degrees F, which creates juicier, more tender meat. Also helping were HPIA Treasurer Wayne Shimokawa, Lorraine Shimokawa, HPIA State Contact to the National Pork Board Patsy Oshiro, and HPIA Director Clayton Lee. Following the Taste, the Hawaii Pork Industry directors met with Big Island pork producers at the Small Swine Farm Workshop in Kamuela presented by Halina and Extension Livestock Agent Mike DuPonte (HNFAS).

Food, Glorious Food

Corilee Watters (HNFAS, left), with the assistance of senior dietetics student Crystal Bossola (right), is leading UH Food Day, part of a national event to promote healthy eating, support sustainable farms, and increase awareness of local food sources. On Oct. 24 Corilee, Ted Radovitch (TPSS), and Dean Okimoto (second from right) of Nalo Farms will present a forum at the Campus Center dining room from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Nalo Farms, located in Waimanalo, supplies approximately 130 restaurants—as well as UH’s dining services—with over 3,000 pounds of their tasty greens every week. Following the presentations, there will be a food demonstration by Philip Shon (second from right), UH Sodexo executive chef, who works in collaboration with Donna Ojiri, RD, general manager of Sodexo. Also available will be food tastings from local farms. There will also be booths on careers in Food and Nutrition. Food Day emphasizes the importance of making healthy food choices and promoting changes in food and farm policies that benefit the environment, the economy, and the health and well-being of all Hawai‘i’s people.

Gardening Synergy

CTAHR Master Gardener coordinators statewide are collaborating on a cooperative extension gardening column in the Star-Advertiser. Statewide Master Gardener Program coordinator Jayme Grzebik established the column with the local daily paper and has tapped the knowledge base of the college for the benefit of home gardeners statewide. Harold Keyser, on behalf of the Maui MG Coordinator (Maui), Andrew Kawabata (West Hawai‘i Island), Richard Ebesu (Kaua‘i), Ty McDonald (East Hawai‘i Island), and Jayme (O‘ahu) will be the backbone of the column, which is scheduled to appear on the first Monday of every month.

Spotlight on Our Community

Not Just a Pretty Place

A new garden on campus is a model—and that doesn’t just mean it looks pretty. A group of CTAHR faculty, staff, and students have planted the garden in front of Gilmore Hall with several very specific purposes in mind. The project, funded by CTAHR Efficiency and Capacity Improvement Funds, is entitled “Butterfly Garden and Back Yard Cover Cropping at Gilmore Building,” a long title that doesn’t give a full sense of its scope. Several PEPS and TPSS members involved are Koon-Hui Wang, Andy Kaufman, Leyla Kaufman, Dan Rubinoff, and William Haines. Establishing, tending, and observing the garden will be used in the teaching and outreach activities of a number of classes or programs on the UHM campus. The focus is on Native Hawaiian plants and noninvasive plant species that provide habitats for beneficial insects, especially those native or endemic to Hawai‘i and those that are natural enemies to insect pests and/or are pollinators. Finally, Andy also designed the garden for efficient water use, incorporating drip irrigation and organic mulch. It’s not just attractive to insects, either—spicy-scented peppermint and the bright colors of heliotrope make it just as pleasant for humans.

A Contributer to the College Celebrated

Goro Uehara (TPSS) has been associated with CTAHR for more than half a century. He is one of the college’s most eminent scholars: He has written frequently in the area of international agronomy, was appointed by President Clinton to serve as a member of the Board of International Food and Agricultural Development, was selected by the National Academy of Sciences to participate in the US-China Distinguished Scholar Exchange Program, and was named the 1993 Scientist of the Year by the Honolulu Chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation and as CTAHR's Outstanding Alumnus in 1999 (he received his MS in Soil Science in 1955). Goro was recently diagnosed with cancer and is being cared for at home after receiving chemotherapy. He is pictured with Jonathan Deenik (TPSS, right) and Joshua Silva (NREM student, left).

Hawai‘i Ag Goes to Washington

Interim Dean Sylvia Yuen recently joined a delegation consisting of Russell Kokubon, Director of the Department of Agriculture; Kris Kanazawa, USDA State Director of Rural Development; Diane Ley, USDA State Director of Farm Service Agency; and Jennifer Wooten, program officer for Senator Inouye, to the nation’s capitol. The delegation met with Senators Inouye and Akaka and Representatives Hanabusa and Hirono. They also met with USDA Under Secretaries Catherine Woteki and Ed Avalos, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, and administrators of all major programs to present information on Hawai‘i’s food and agriculture system. The discussions went well, and positive follow-up actions will be taken as a result of the meetings. For example, Dr. Woteki has agreed to present at a food security and safety workshop that Sylvia and Russell are organizing in conjunction with the APEC meetings in Honolulu, and she will try to schedule time during that visit to meet with CTAHR faculty to learn more about the college’s programs.

Never Too Early to Recruit

The East Hawai‘i 4-H program feels you’re never too young to be an honorary member! During National 4-H Week, which ran Oct. 2–8, one of the activities 4-H members did as part of a community service project was to hold a “National 4-H Week’s First Baby Born Contest” in collaboration with the maternity ward at Hilo Medical Center in Hilo. Members gathered donations of baby items and presented them to one lucky family. This project was such a success that the hospital has asked the group to make this an annual tradition. Other activities and events during the week included the annual 4-H Sunday Service at the Hilo Hongwanji, a 4-H Volunteer/Leader Orientation Training, and a 4-H Kick-Off event at Hapuna Beach State Park.

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.

Do you have an upcoming event that you'd like to promote? CTAHR faculty and staff can post events to the CTAHR website's calendar.

All CTAHR Notes readers can browse the calendar to learn more about the college's activities.