Study calls for more rideshares, better bus schedules

/in , /by

July 13, 2014 (West Hawaii Today)—Hawaii Island could do more to improve mass transit and bolster rideshare programs. That’s according to a new study prepared for the Kohala Center by the Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, which called for increased carpooling and clearer county bus schedules. With long travel distances and commutes, more than half of the island’s energy demand goes to transportation, states the study, titled “Expanding Transportation Opportunities on Hawaii Island.”
» Read more

Hawaii’s Big Island could improve public transit with technology, study says

/in , /by

July 11, 2014 (Pacific Business News)—Hawaii’s Big Island could improve residents’ access to public transportation by using Google and other technology to attract more riders, according to a study by the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources. The Kohala Center on the Big Island commissioned the study to find out of the island can reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
» Read more

Saving Seeds For Our Future

/in , , , /by

June 23, 2014 (Edible Hawaiian Islands)—Perhaps you have a few acres in Pāhoa, or maybe just some papaya trees and a couple of small planting beds in your cramped Honolulu backyard. You can still take steps toward more sustainable living by learning how to save your own seeds.
» Read more

Symposium showcases school garden benefits

/in , /by

June 9, 2014 (West Hawaii Today)—The hands teach the brain. This simple but often unrecognized fact was the centerpiece of discussions in Waimea on Saturday about how the island’s school gardens are helping students learn —  along with providing healthy fuel for the body and brain. “The hand is our greatest tool. You get that hand in the dirt and kids are going to start learning like crazy,” said Carla Hannaford, an internationally recognized expert in cognitive development.
» Read more

Something Good Is Sprouting Up In The School Yard

/in , , /by

June 2, 2014 (Edible Hawaiian Islands)—A resurgence of school gardens in Hawai‘i isn’t just connecting students with the joy of getting dirty. The growing renaissance of outdoor learning is bringing a holistic awareness of health and nutrition to students and their families. What the kids learn at school translates into the home, where long-term changes can happen.
» Read more

Let’s get our keiki into the garden

/in , /by

June 1, 2014 (West Hawaii Today)—You may remember when most of our vegetables and fruit came in cans with colorful labels or were frozen into boxes available in the freezer section of the grocery store. As youngsters, we may have imagined that vegetables came from cans or boxes rather than out of the ground from a garden or farm. The decreasing contact with farms or gardens today promotes an increasing disconnect from the actual source of food for our keiki.
» Read more

Agriculture Internships Offered This Summer

/in , /by

May 27, 2014 (West Hawaii Today)—The Kohala Center is seeking Hawaii Island high school students and recent graduates who want to get their hands dirty this summer as paid interns with its Beginning Farmer-Rancher Development Program.
» Read more

Hawaii Island Schools May Get More Local Produce

/in , , /by

May 8, 2014 (Hawai‘i Public Radio)—The Hawaii Island School Garden Network has a goal of exposing students around the island to the benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables. Generally that means the kids grow food in the school garden. But the Garden Network is looking at bringing in local fruits and vegetables another way, too. From Hawaii Island, Sherry Bracken has the story.
» Read more/Listen

Konawaena Brings School Garden Harvest to the Cafeteria

/in , /by

May 7, 2014 (Big Island Weekly)—Konawaena High School’s Rebecca Crabtree chose a senior project that will keep giving long after she has graduated. Inspired by her mother’s recollection of her high school salad bar, Crabtree and a crew of peers and teachers revamped a garden plot left behind from a student who graduated last year. In April students were treated to their first salad bar.
» Read more

USDA program brings local produce to local schools

/in , , /by

May 6, 2014 (West Hawaii Today)—On the mainland, big farms can find ways to sell their produce to small school districts, but with the situation reversed in Hawaii, local farmers sometimes find it difficult to get their products to the state’s large public district, says Nancy Redfeather, program director of Hawaii Island School Garden Network.

That’s where the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program comes in. The program provides funding to eligible schools — those serving students in kindergarten to sixth grade with at least half of the student population qualifying for free or reduced lunch — to purchase locally grown produce for morning and afternoon snacks.
» Read more