Some 500 elementary students and their teachers will visit the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s 128-acre Waimanalo Research Station on Friday, March 4, when the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources’ (CTAHR) Oʻahu Cooperative Extension Office and Office of Academic and Student Affairs host the 2016 Oʻahu Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Day. The general public is invited for a field day featuring many of the same activities on Saturday, March 5, 9–noon.
The sweet side of ag
The crowd pleasing ag- and environment-themed interactive exhibits available on both days will include free harvest-your-own sweet corn and information about the beginning farmer program GoFarm. There will be exhibits on cacao, the tree used to make chocolate, and on kalo, or taro. The UH Honeybee Project will show how honey is extracted from the comb and provide information on pollinators and CTAHR groups and departments will offer educational and fun exhibits. The Oʻahu 4-H youth group will also be accepting new members.
Malama ʻāina
State agencies and community partners include the always popular Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection with their ag-sniffing beagles and the volunteer organization Hui o Koʻolaupoko, which focuses on ocean health. There will also be the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture’s Plant Quarantine Branch, Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee and much more.
The Awareness Day serves a double purpose: to create a greater awareness and understanding of agriculture and the environment in the community and to introduce students to career opportunities in agriculture and environmental studies on Oʻahu and throughout the state.
Something for everyone
Students and teachers from 9 schools—Enchanted Lake Elementary, Kaelepulu Elementary, Keolu Elementary, Blanche Pope Elementary, Waimanalo Elementary and Intermediate, Aikahi Elementary, Kailua Elementary, Kainalu Elementary and Mokapu Elementary—will attend this annual event on Friday. The following day, Saturday, March 5, will feature the same attractions and educational activities for the general public. Students who return from the previous day with their parents will receive a prize.
The Waimanalo Research Station is located at 41698 Ahiki Street in Waimanalo.
View photos from the 2015 event, which took place at the Oʻahu Urban Garden in Pearl City.
—By Frederkia Bain
