For the seventh year, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) will be hosting the Hawaiʻi AgDiscovery Program, July 9–22, for students ages 14–17. This unique, free summer program gives teen participants a first-hand look at the many career paths open to them in agriculture and natural resource management, including plant and animal sciences, wildlife management and agribusiness.
The program allows students to live on a college campus and learn about agriculture and related fields from professors, scientists and professionals. CTAHR’s educators and researchers open their labs and experiment stations to the students, and the United States Department of Agriculture sends professionals from its plant protection and quarantine, veterinary services, biotechnology regulatory services and wildlife services branches.
Every summer, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service partners with selected universities and colleges, including CTAHR, to deliver the AgDiscovery programs at different locations throughout the country.
Other government agencies represented include the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and Honolulu Zoo. From the private sector come professionals from Kualoa Ranch, Mari’s Garden, Pioneer and more.
Go the AgDiscovery Program website or call Ania Wieczorek at (808) 956-6997 for more information.
Hawaiʻi AgDiscovery Program hightlights
Students chosen to participate in Hawaiʻi AgDiscovery Program will gain life-changing experiences through hands-on laboratories, workshops, field trips and character- and team-building activities. Students in past years have learned to perform water-quality analysis, use GPS devices, identify microorganisms under the microscope, extract DNA, color fabric using natural dyes, and tend taro in loʻi.
In addition to learning by doing, participants network with professionals across the agricultural spectrum and observe careers in agriculture and natural resource management.
Photos from last year’s AgDiscovery class can be viewed at the College of Tropical Agriculture’s Flickr site.
