November 2011

Issue 1

Dean’s corner 2

Crop of the month: Māmaki

3

Animal Science labs 3

Vermiculture with Dr. Arancon

4

Americorps Students-in-Service Program

4

Student spotlight: Yuri

Zhuraw 5

Calender of events 5

Inside this issue:

CAFNRM Agr iCULTURE C lub Newsletter Publ isher: Norman Arancon Editor: Kim Kido

Contr ibutors: Rory Akau Mar ie Faatua la Noah Hegerfe ldt A leys ia Kaha Kim Kido Seeseei Toa

About 1400 forestry profes-sionals from ten countries were in Honolulu this month for the Society of American Foresters' 91st annual national conven-tion. The convention was held at the Hawaii Convention Cen-ter from November 2 to 6. The Society of American Foresters, founded in 1900, is the largest organization of professional foresters in the world. Among the attendees were UH Hilo CAFNRM Professor of Forest-ry Dr. Yiqing Li, the author,

and Hawaii Community Col-lege students Lori Bothwell and Nohealani Casperson. . The students, along with four others from UH Mānoa and several from mainland univer-sities, were named “Diversity Ambassadors” and provided with scholarships to attend. Funds for the scholarships were provided by the USDA Forest Service and the program was administered by the Socie-ty of American Foresters' Di-versity Committee, whose mis-

sion is to encourage people of diverse backgrounds to be-come involved in the field of forestry. The Ambassadors participated in a workshop where they learned and prac-ticed networking skills, attend-ed a panel session about the different possible career paths within the field, were intro-duced to the Peace Corps' Master's International Program at Michigan Tech University, and attended a special recep-

(Please see “SAF convention”, page 5)

Students and faculty attend Society of American Foresters’ Annual Convention By Kim Kido

CAFNRM/Agriculture

Club Newsletter

The Agriculture Club opened

their market booth with big

smiles for a day of selling or-

ganic vegetables and fruits.

UHH students, staff, and fac-

ulty stopped by the booth to

buy avocados, pineapples, cu-

cumbers, bok-choy, lettuce,

bananas, and many other edi-

ble fruits. The produce sold is

organically grown on and off

the UH Farm by students and

faculty in the College of Agri-

culture, and donated to the

Club. Most of those buying

produce preferred, that it was

produced organically, and

some of the student growers

were on hand to explain grow-

ing methods. People of various

ages were amazed at how

Market Day a continued success By Marie Faatuala

Agriculture Club President Brittany Rocha mans the booth at Market Day.

Photo credit: Norman Arancon.

much produce was available,

and how reasonable prices

were. Bok-choy and lettuce

were a hit and went quick. Big

thanks to the Agriculture stu-

dents who brought their pro-

duce to be sold at the Market

(Please see “Market Day”, page 5)

This fall has been a busy one as Dean. For those who do not understand University administrative func-tions, the Dean is not just the manager of the College, s/he is also responsible for academic programs, fis-cal management, and oversight of College resources such as the farm. The Dean signs off on most faculty and APT leaves as well unless a hierarchy of responsibility exists. Deans are also responsible for projecting the College into the community, developing funding resources and meeting demands of upper administra-tors such as Vice Chancellors and the Chancellor.

The busy times this fall come from requests to speak at four different professional meetings between Octo-ber 27 and November 20. These included the First Annual Big Island Body and Health Workshop (Oct 27-30), the Big Island Green Jobs Summit (Nov 1), the 15th International Fish and Wildlife Society Sympo-sium (Nov 5-8) , the 125th meeting of Sigma Xi or the National Biology Honors Society in which I present-ed an invited paper on how and why culture might be important to the future survival of humankind under today’s stressed economic and biological ecosystems. Components of each talk came together in the final Honor’s Society discussion and all rode a theme that was underlain by the dozen or more threats that now face all food production systems around the globe. Those of you in my Ag 496 course know I have called this the “Perfect Storm” facing food production; never before has humankind faced such a congruence of events deriving from global climate change, overpopulation and resource depletion.

Just how can culture be an answer to these problems? In part the answer lies in how less developed cultures lived close enough to their environments to realize their dependency. This led to societal rules, often couched in tribal religious belief, that governed how and even when early human societies interacted with different aspects of their environment. Using the definition that culture is an expression of environment, the necessity of using religion as way of expressing this dependence is not surprising. Consider, for exam-ple, that many different cultures did not have a way of writing down rules and so by putting them in a reli-gious context the taboos could be more easily remembered and the threat to society easily monitored and to the consequences to the individual for breaking them better understood.

But today we have the written word, it is pervasive in world societies, yet still we become farther and far-ther removed from the environment that supports us. This is because just as pervasive is how the modern world has tied the relative worth of our natural resources to monetary value. This frees up the resource for exploitation and at the same time spreads the guilt for overuse across the majority of humankind. No one person it seems can be blamed for the declines that happen; we all need oil to drive our vehicles for exam-ple.

So how do we get back to a better balance between use or our natural resources and a more healthy future and world? I leave you with this question because I think the answer(s) are enlightening; and I believe the cultures we all came from hold the keys to how to survive. It is in this area that future research for the right answers must come, and why there is such a spate of meetings at this time to begin opening the doors to approach the answers we need.

Dean’s corner CAFNRM Dean

Dr. William Wallace

Mokahi Steiner

“[CAFNRM

students should]

think critically,

because doing so

will allow future

decisions to be

made that may

affect the survival

of humanity in

the future.”

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I ssue 1

Animal Science labs connect students with Hilo-Hāmakua farmers By Kim Kido

In a field as practical as agriculture, not everything can be taught effectively in a classroom. Learning how sheep are sheared, for example, is not the same as knowing how to do it. The Animal Science labs balance hands-on experience with tours of local operations, providing stu-dents with practical experience in manag-ing livestock as well as an introduction and connection to the rich farming community beyond campus borders. . In "Sheep and Goat Production" (ANSC 355), students gain first-hand experience with the ruminants both through laborato-ry sessions held at the UH Farm and on field trips to farms in the community. Stu-dents visited farmers in Waiakea, Volcano, and Mountain View last semester, for ex-ample, to practice shearing sheep, trim-ming hooves, and administering medica-tions. The farmers benefited from the labor. "One of the best parts of the class was shearing sheep," said student Rory Akau. A trip to Lava Rock Goat Dairy in Puna gave students a chance to see the inner-workings of owner Lava Stacey's cheese-making operation, from livestock raising to processing and pasteurization.

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I ssue 1

Students also got to sample several differ-ent cheeses and raw milk. Another excur-sion to a Boer goat operation in Hāmakua was an opportunity to see a rotational grazing system in practice. Back on the farm, students learned how to perform castrations. . "Swine Production" (ANSC 351) offers excursions to local piggeries. Students have visited Kong's Pig Farm, the first pig operation in the U.S. to apply Korean Natural Farming methods to raising pigs. The pigs are kept in indoor pens with deep bedding made by layering wood shavings, dirt, and salt over a foundation of logs. Microorganisms are mixed into the bedding to break down the manure and prevent the beds from smelling. Stu-dents have also visited Hubbell's Hog Heaven, a small-scale piggery operated by farmer Mike Hubbell who also uses Kore-an Natural Farming principles and grows protein-rich crops like Hawaiian sweet potato as a feed supplement. . In "Introduction to Animal Sci-ence" (ANSC 141), students have toured

(Please see “Cleveland”, page 6)

Crop of the month: Māmaki By Rory Akau

Māmaki (Pipturus albidus) is an indigenous Hawaiian tree or shrub with green leaves containing prominent red veins. Māmaki grows up to 30 feet tall in Hawaii, and is found no where else in the world. Based on ethnobotanical folklore and Hawaiian traditions, māmaki evolved in the islands prior to the arrival of Polynesians to Ha-waii. The plant produces edible white ber-ries annually that grow along its branches.

The leaves are usually hand plucked from the tips of the plant and used to make a healing herbal tea and tonic. The plant has numerous health and medicinal benefits, including lowering high blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, cleansing toxins from the blood, and relieving stress and fatigue. To this day, it is used to treat stomach, colon, liver, and bladder problems. It has also been credited with helping to maintain blood-sugar balance for people with diabe-tes. Māmaki is naturally cholesterol and caffeine free. The fruit and tea have mild laxative properties as well as being useful in treating yeast infections in women, thrush in nursing mothers, and infections in babies and children. The tea and berries were also used traditionally to relax tense muscles prior to childbirth, while the bark was used to make cloth (kapa) and rope (kaula).

Students in “Introduction to Animal Science” (ANSC 141) learn about cattle feeds during a tour of

the State’s largest dairy in O’okala. Photo credit: Kim Kido.

Māmaki growing below a bridge in Honolulu.

Photo credit: spartanjoe via Flickr Creative

Commons.

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I ssue 1

AmeriCorps Students-in-Service program provides tuition awards to students for community service By Noah Hegerfeldt

Are you looking for tuition assistance? Do you like to do volunteer work for your community? Are you looking for a reward-ing opportunity where you learn and gain experience in your field while serving your community? If so, check out the Ameri-Corps Students-in-Service Program.

The program was created by the federal government in 1997 to foster civic engage-ment among college students. Students in the program commit to doing 300, 450, or 900 hours of community service over a one or two-year period, and receive an “education award” between $1175 and $2775 at the end of service. The award can be applied toward outstanding federal stu-dent loans or future tuition costs, and ser-vice can be done at virtually any 501(c)3 non-profit organization, including right on campus.

The program is an opportunity for stu-dents to gain relevant work experience in their field of interest while reducing stu-dent loan debt. Agriculture student Kim Kido, for example, interned with Washing-

ton, D.C.-based think tank World Watch Institute's “Nourishing the Planet” Pro-ject last semester. “I improved as a writer, met talented people with shared interests, and learned a lot of interesting things about African farming, all while off-setting the cost of tuition,” said Kido.

In many cases, volunteering is something students would already be doing. The hours Kido spends writing for and editing the College of Agriculture newsletter count toward the education award, but, she says, “I would be doing this anyway. The benefits of the AmeriCorps program are icing on the cake, and make it easier to handle the burden of rising tuition.”

Service learning during and outside of class time also counts, and those who were awarded Federal Work Study can even count paid work hours. Other vol-unteer work with the Agriculture Club, like manning a booth at Market Day, can also count.

Maybe you are not sure of exactly what

you want to do because you haven’t tried it before. The program is a chance to get out in the field and get hands on work experience. During your journey, you will be working with other like-minded stu-dents where you could form life-long per-sonal and professional connections. This isn’t a bad addition to your resume either. The author recently signed up for this program because he has a lot of free time and wants to give back to the community.

If there are any drawbacks, it is that there is a lot of paperwork involved and the program has rules that are enforced. Pay-ing attention in the orientation session, explicitly following the rules, staying orga-nized, and keeping good records will help make it easier to spend more time actually doing volunteer work and less time docu-menting it. For more information, first check out UH Hilo's website on the program then con-tact Program Coordinator Tupou Koenig directly at (808) 974-7381 or tkoenig@hawaii.edu.

Vermiculture expert Assistant Professor of Horticulture Dr. Norman Arancon is spreading the secrets of worms. Dr Arancon has been a leading vermicompost utilization researcher for 11 years. He says that "it's one of the technologies in sus-tainable agriculture." Arancon says it is important to understand worms since they "not only take care of recycling organic wastes, but also replace petroleum based fertilizers and pesticides." . Arancon gave two lectures about ver-micomposting recently on Hawai‘i island to students at Kahakai Elementary School in Keauhou and HPA Elementary in Waimea. He taught the fundamentals of soil fertility with the aid of worms. Accord-ing to the Tribune Herald, “Students were amazed to hear that earthworms can live 50 years or longer. There are 3,000 types of earthworms around the world, but only six are used for composting." It’s evident that Arancon is inspiring a new generation of

"worm-lovers" here in Hawai‘i! . Arancon also recently led two vermicul-

ture conferences, one in North Carolina

and another in Las Vegas. The North

Carolina State University's 11th Annual

Vermiculture Conference in Las Vegas in

May had over 100 participants from all

over the U.S. and as far away as India and

Turkey. Arancon opened the conference

(Please see “Arancon”, page 5)

Dr. Arancon leads national conferences on vermiculture By Aleysia Kaha

Dr. Norman Arancon teaching students about worms. Photo credit: Norman Arancon.

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I ssue 1

with a talk about the principles of ver-

micomposting, then explained the effects

of vermicompost on plant growth and

disease and pest suppression, and finally

discussed the effects of "worm tea". Trav-

eling far, he has shared his knowledge

with hundreds. His next talk will be at the

North Hawai‘i Education and Research

Center in Honoka‘a on November 22

from 6 to 8 pm as part of the “Practical

Agriculture for Hāmakua” program. The

program, coordinated by Donna Mitts, is a

series of classes and local farm tours about

sustainable agriculture.

(Continued from page 4)

If you can’t afford to pay house rent or you don't want to, what would you do? Some students in the College of Agricul-ture exchange their agricultural knowledge, instead of cash, to pay rent. Yuri Zhuraw, who is specializing in agroecology, has a work-trade arrangement with Kalapana Organics in Hāmakua, a diversified organic farm that focuses on farming traditional Polynesian crops using Korean Natural Farming methods. They grow taro, sweet potatoes, breadfruit, turmeric, ginger, cas-sava, papaya, and many more fruits and vegetables, but their main specialty is sugar cane. They press the cane and combine it with different ingredients like lime and coconut to make juices. The first time I saw Yuri was at the Market Day fair where he was selling these sugar cane juice prod-ucts. They tasted deliciously sweet and natural. The juice is available for sale at campus Market Day events and is also sold at Abundant Life and Sweet Cane Café, both in Downtown Hilo.

Zhuraw grew up in Philadelphia, where he became the first greenhouse caretaker for his high school’s Environmental Club, and kept gardening after graduating high school. After moving around to various

farms on the East and West coasts, he found a thriving community of farmers on the Big Island's Hāmakua coast.

Zhuraw is interested in compost as an inexpensive alternative to chemical ferti-lizers. He is conducting an experiment in Dr. Arancon’s Plant Physiology class to compare the growth and development of crops treated with vermicompost tea. He is making a special type of aerated com-post tea in a “Vortex Tea Brewer” that he built with friend Bobby Grimes. He will be selling these brewers soon, and wishes to do further investigatation to prove its abilities. Zhuraw did an internship in compost-making a few years ago with Grimes and his wife, who run Living Soils Organics, a company that specializes in making compost. The idea behind com-post tea that interested him the most was the ability to extend such a limited and precious resource as compost to large areas.

After graduating, Zhuraw wants to be a teacher in the Waldorf school system, which includes eight schools with educa-tional programs that partner with organic or biodynamic farms. He would like to teach gardening, art, and other subjects.

SAF convention

tion where they were presented with net-working opportunities.

The conference kicked off with a presen-tation by Nainoa Thompson, Chairman of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, about the use of Pacific Northwest timber in constructing the famous Hōkūle‘a sailing canoe. U.S. Forest Service Chief Thomas L. Tidwell followed with a keynote ad-dress. The program continued with over 250 sessions on topics ranging from car-bon credits to traditional agroforestry systems and offered four technical tours of forestry projects on Kaua‘i, Oahu, and the Big Island. Additionally, students from all over the country presented their re-search in a poster symposium. Even Gov-ernor Neil Abercrombie made an appear-ance, giving a talk on the importance of forestry to Hawaii. The 2012 convention will be held in Spokane, WA.

(Continued from page 1)

Student spotlight: Yuri Zhuraw By Seeseei Toa

Arancon

Student Yuri Zhuraw has worked at many farms, including Kalapana Organics. Photo

credit: Yuri Zhuraw.

Day. Special thanks to the College of Ag-

riculture professors for donating produce,

and the Ag Club officers and volunteers

for manning the booth. Market Days are

held on the first and third Monday of eve-

ry month at the Campus Center Plaza

from 10 am to 2 pm.

(Continued from page 1)

Market Day

really good at roping!" Unfortunately, logistical issues have resulted in the elimi-nation of the lab component of this class. . When asked if arranging all of these field trips is time consuming, Dr. Cleveland agrees. "It can be difficult to coordinate," he said. He has to work around the sched-ules of the UH Farm and the operations he wants to bring students to. And since lab periods are under three hours long, visiting places further away is out of the question. In the end, it is worth the effort because "students get to see different ways of raising animals and also get some hands-on experience," says Cleveland. The field trips are organized using per-sonal contacts, one of which is Buddy Perry of the USDA NRCS. Perry has con-nected Cleveland with several operations. "I [also] get calls from people with ques-tions about their livestock," said Cleve-land, and sometimes those calls develop into new excursions for his students. Cleveland teaches three classes every se-mester, and constantly works to update and improve them. He also has a research project in the works studying local per-ception of animal products.

Island Dairy in O'okala, the largest dairy operation in the State, and Kulana Foods in Hilo. At the dairy, students got to see how milk is produced, including how calves are raised, cows are milked, and milk is stored. Kulana Foods similarly opened its doors to students. Students watched as cattle were stunned, to mini-mize pain, then harvested, and a butcher demonstrated how a beef carcass is bro-ken down into different cuts. Students were also shown how the carcasses are aged, and how the final products are packaged. "Reconnecting with the food supply [at Kulana] was a highlight of the class," said student Robert Hamnett, "It was cool to trace where the meat I buy at the store comes from." The class also provided students with hands-on experi-ence at the UH Farm, including exposure to working with piglets, cattle, and horses. "I liked working with the pigs and cattle," said student Brenda Ramirez, "My favor-ite parts of the lab were ear clipping and administering medication to the pigs, and saddling and roping the horses. I was

(Continued from page 3)

Cleveland

AGClub meets every first and third Thurs-

day of the month at 4 pm at the CAB

Breezeway. AGClub events denoted with an

asterisk (*).

11/22: Thanksgiving ‘imu*

Vermicomposting with Dr.

Norman Arancon ¹

11/29: Natural Beekeeping with

Jenny Bach ¹

12/1: Garden Writers Association

scholarship deadline

12/10: “Natural Farming” 2-day

seminar in Kohala

12/15: Annie’s Homegrown

scholarship deadline

12/17: Seniors Awards Night*

1/14: Deadline to submit writing

for publication in Hohonu

¹ These events are part of the Practical

Agriculture for Hāmakua program. For

information on future workshops and free

farm tours, download a flyer.

Calendar of events:

This newsletter is to provide the UH Hilo College of Agriculture,

Forestry, and Natural Resource Management with a cohesive

awareness of news, events, ideas, and opportunities”

200 W. Kawili Street

Hilo, HI 96720

Phone: 808-933-0852

E-mail: normanq@hawaii.edu

CAFNRM/AgriCULTURE Club Newsletter

Governor Neil Abercrombie addressing professionals at the Society of American Forester’s

91st annual convention in Honolulu in November. Photo credit: Kim Kido.

Thanksgiving ‘imu 2010. Photo credit:

Norman Arancon.