Keiki Discovering Ag Field, Careers

Students at last year’s ag day learned the importance of local farming. Photo courtesy of the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Urban Garden Center in Pearl City will host nearly 700 students from nine elementary schools next week to generate awareness in the field of agriculture and introduce students to career opportunities in environmental studies and agriculture.

Students and teachers will attend Oahu Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Day from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 13 at the garden center, and the public is invited the following day from 9 a.m. to noon.

Participating schools include Aliamanu, Mokulele, Nimitz, Pearl Harbor Kai, Pearl Harbor, Horace Meek Hickam, Moanalua, Red Hill and Shafter elementary schools.

An exhibit on cacao will explain how the crop can be a promising new item for the state, and the UH Honeybee Project will demonstrate how honey is taken from the comb.

In addition, U.S. Customs and Border Control will be there with their ag-sniffing beagles. Other exhibitors include Hawaii Cattlemen’s Association, Master Gardeners, the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources’ (CTAHR) Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE) department and more.

Many of the same exhibitors will be in attendance Feb. 14, giving the public the added benefit of attending a “Building Healthy Garden Soil” workshop and a plant sale, which will feature potted roses just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The 2015 Oahu Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Day is hosted by CTAHR, Oahu Cooperative Extension Office and UH Office of Academic and Student Affairs.

The Urban Garden Center is located at 955 Kamehameha Hwy. For more information on garden programs, call 453-6050.