May 5, 2014 (Hawai‘i Public Radio)—An organic certification is a way for customers to make sure the food they’re buying fits certain standards. But that can be challenging for many farmers here in Hawaii, especially since the state has no locally-based certifier. HPR’s Molly Solomon reports on a recent study that takes a closer look at some of the issues and challenges faced by Hawaii’s organic food industry.
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KAMUELA, Hawai‘i—April 10, 2014—Online registration is now available for a weeklong series of educational events for school garden educators, teachers, and others passionate about improving student wellness, cognitive development, and engaging deeper learning. Taking place June 7–12 in Waimea on Hawai‘i Island, the four professional development events focus on the effectiveness of school gardens as an instructional strategy for both nutritional education and hands-on learning in core subject areas.
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April 9, 2014 (West Hawaii Today)—Thanks to the hard work of teachers, families and friends, students at Waimea Middle School now have an outdoor garden classroom. As part of local efforts to connect Hawaii’s children with fresh and nutritious food, the volunteers helped build the new Malama Keiki Edible Garden, where students can pick fresh produce and learn how to prepare flavorful, healthy dishes in the school’s weekly health classes.
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A new anthology grapples with the big questions.
April 1, 2014 (Honolulu Magazine)—When Randall W. Roth’s The Price of Paradise came out in the early ‘90s, it was one of the first books to really focus on the harsh realities of life in Hawai‘i. Essays about the smoke and mirrors of Hawai‘i’s government spending, the ballooning population, the high cost of living, the claims of native Hawaiians and the challenges of rapid transit all put a new twist on the phrase, “Lucky we live Hawai‘i.” And, although they’re now more than 20 years old, many essays read as if written today.
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March 25, 2014 (West Hawaii Today)—As a boy, Max Bowman didn’t have a burning desire to become a farmer. After graduating from Honokaa High School in 2004, Bowman attended the University of Redlands in California, where he earned an English degree. He discovered a passion for agriculture during his senior year there, after taking some classes and reading some books on the subject.
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March 5, 2014 (Big Island Weekly)—A growth spurt of school gardens on the Big Island may seem like a recent trend, but it’s a resurgence of something that was once a no brainer in Hawaii’s schools. Outdoor classrooms in the form of school gardens were commonplace in Hawaii’s schools until the late 1960s, yet somehow student gardens became far and few between for decades.
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March/April 2014 (AAA Hawai‘i Magazine)—I sucked in a big breath and dived down to get closer to the industrious little blue, magenta, and yellow fish darting around the coral head, nipping at the larger reef fish that kept approaching it. Why did the bigger fish keep coming back only to get nipped again? They weren’t masochists, nor was the smaller fish being a meanie. The little guy was a cleaner wrasse that feeds on parasites found on the skin of other reef fish. For the bigger fish, this practice is like going to the spa for an exfoliation. They look for places where the cleaner wrasses hang out—what marine biologists call “cleaning stations.”
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February 19, 2014 (Big Island Now)—Several non-profit groups and government agencies are looking for volunteers to help educate visitors at two South Kohala beaches about reef etiquette. “Volunteers are needed to help save the reefs in the Puako area by educating visitors, swimmers, snorkelers, and divers on how to protect the delicate corals at these beaches and beyond,” said Liam Kernell, spokesperson for The Kohala Center. “Healthy reefs are essential to the vitality and abundance of our marine life.”
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February 13, 2014 (Hawai‘i Public Radio)—Nancy Redfeather runs the Hawaii Island School Garden Network, which supports 63 school and community gardens.
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February 2, 2014 (West Hawaii Today)—Organic farmers could see more green, and not just in their fields. Puna makai Councilman Greggor Ilagan has introduced a bill that would give certified organic farms a break on their property taxes. The legislation, which the County Council’s Finance Committee will consider Tuesday, would lower the tax assessment for the farms from as much as $4,000 per acre to $420 per acre for nondedicated agriculture land.
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