Students in the UH Hilo ag class demonstrated a few very important basic concepts and skills in plant production.
By Aaron Shipman, Student, College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management, UH Hilo.
As the semester rapidly draws to a close, the students of the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management (CAFNRM) at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, showcased their skills through community outreach. This year, the Introduction to Horticulture (Hort 262) class instructed by Norman Arancon, associate professor of horticulture, visited the students of Hilo High School supervised by their instructor Christian Atalig.
On May 3, the class demonstrated a few very important basic concepts and skills in plant production. They led these agricultural minds through a series of horticultural practices beginning with nutrient cycling and composting, through seed viability and storage, all the way to transplanting seedlings and clonal production through various layering techniques.
This was a great learning experience for the both teacher and students, as we all brought something beneficial away at the end of the day whether it be our ability to impart knowledge or the possibility of motivating younger generations to place more interests in agriculture as an option for a major in college after high school.
The collaboration between CAFNRM and Hilo School dates back in April 6, 2014 when Dr. Arancon agreed to help out the Mr. Atalig’s Hilo High School ag program by regular consultation and holding seminars and workshops. Both parties agreed that there is so much potential to revitalize the ag program that has long lacked attention at Hilo High School and at the same time involve the students in rebuilding the once lush vegetation of fruits trees and vegetables along the hillsides of the campus.
–May-June issue of the CAFNRM Newsletter.