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Agriculture

Maunaloa School Garden Blooms

Thursday, June 2nd, 2022

Maunaloa School Garden Blooms

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Since dreaming of a Maunaloa School garden for years and digging their shovels in the ground for the first time in a blessing of the space just over a year ago, the Maunaloa Mala – the school’s garden — is now flourishing. Each class spends time in the garden twice a week, incorporating lessons into hands on learning under the outdoor hale. At a fourth quarter Ho’ike to celebrate their progress in the garden last week, the school community enjoyed lu’au stew made with kalo grown by students, while keiki presented their recent work to ‘ohana and friends.…

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County Recruiting Leadership for New Ag Dept.

Wednesday, April 13th, 2022

Maui County News Release

In November 2020, Maui County voters approved the establishment of a Department of Agriculture. Throughout 2021, an agricultural working group established by Mayor Michael Victorino set forth a draft of the new department’s mission, goals and objectives, and community meetings were held to get feedback on the direction and budget priorities of the new department. 

The Department of Agriculture will open on July 1, 2022. The County is recruiting a Director and Deputy Director of Agriculture.

Prospective candidates should carefully evaluate the roles, responsibilities and qualifications for each position and apply only for the position that best matches their qualifications.…

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Kilohana Native Garden

Thursday, March 31st, 2022

Kilohana Native Garden

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

With fingers caked in dirt, members of Kilohana’s fifth grade class patted native plants into the ground, learning their names, their growing habits and cultural uses. The school now has a native plant garden thanks to their efforts and the support of several local organizations. 

It’s a dream at least 10 years in the making, said fifth grade teacher Tammy Castor. She said the school previously planted a native garden area behind the campus but it fell prey to deer and wild pigs, along with not being cared for over summer vacations. A new garden took shape earlier this month in a courtyard plot at the heart of the school, where it will be sheltered from predators, watered by timed irrigation over the summer, and can be easily accessible and frequently admired by the entire school. …

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Budget for New County Ag Dept.

Wednesday, March 9th, 2022

Maui County News Release

Molokai residents are invited to join a virtual community meeting that will be held at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15 to gather public input on the new Department of Agriculture’s fiscal year 2023 budget.

The County will consider funding requests and priorities suggested by the community for the Department of Agriculture that will open in July.

“We invite our farmers, ranchers and interested residents to get involved in making plans for this new department,” Mayor Michael Victorino said. “The County Department of Agriculture will meet our community’s needs by supporting local farmers and ranchers to help improve food security, build our agricultural workforce and promote new opportunities for economic diversification.…

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Grant for Local Food Distribution

Friday, February 25th, 2022

Sust’ainable Molokai News Release

Sustʻainable Molokai recently received a $34,375 grant from the First Nations Development Institute of Longmont, Colorado. This award will support the efforts of Project Hoʻokuʻikahi Aloha Molokai, which distributes locally produced food to Molokai residents through our island’s 22 food pantries.

This project began as a hui of community organizations that rallied together to provide food for our Molokai residents during the outbreak of the pandemic. The name Hoʻokuʻikahi Aloha Molokai means “uniting in love for our people of Molokai.” These and other efforts are covered in this short video, Island in the Pandemic, created by Quazifilms’ Matt Yamashita, which premiered on Oct 16, 2020.…

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Monsanto Pleads Guilty to Illegal Pesticide Use

Wednesday, December 15th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Last week, Monsanto company agreed to plead guilty for previous charges including illegal pesticide storage on Molokai and using banned pesticides on Maui, along with new charges of knowingly using pesticides inconsistent with its labeling on Oahu, according to the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Court documents filed last Thursday in United States District Court in Honolulu include a deferred prosecution agreement related to a felony count of unlawfully storing an acute hazardous waste at its Molokai facility in 2013-2014. Monsanto will pay more than $22 million in fines. 

Monsanto admitted to spraying a glufosinate product sold under the brand name Forfeit 28 in 2020 in Haleiwa “a manner inconsistent with its labeling,” according to court documents.…

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More Bovine TB Found on Molokai – UPDATED MEETING INFO

Monday, December 6th, 2021

Bovine tuberculosis has again been detected on Molokai after cases were confirmed earlier this year – this time in pigs in West Molokai, according to the Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture (HDOA) on Sunday, Dec. 5.

In June, Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) was found in a herd of cattle in central Molokai in June. The infected cow was originally from a beef cattle herd in Ho`olehua and was temporarily pastured in Mapulehu on the east end because of the ongoing drought, the HDOA previously stated. The herd was depopulated with federal indemnity, which compensates farmers for this type of loss.

Subsequently, bTB was detected in two additional cattle herds in the Ho’olehua area that were adjacent and in close contact with the first infected herd, according to the HDOA.…

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Nonprofit Works to Restore ‘Aina

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021

‘Aina Momona News Release

Aloha Molokai, we are ʻAina Momona, a Native Hawaiian nonprofit organization founded for the purpose of achieving environmental health and sustainability through restoring social justice and Hawaiian sovereignty. Our team of kiaʻi are committed to restoring Molokai ʻAina Momona. 

We are advised by a board of exceptional Native Hawaiians who work in concert with our staff on the ground. Our board members include Dr. Jon Osorio, Dr. Trisha Kehaulani Watson, and Molokai’s own, Dr. Keoni Kauwe, among others. Dr. Kauwe is a graduate of Molokai High and Intermediate (ʻ96) and recently became the eleventh president of Brigham Young University — Hawaii and the first of Native Hawaiian descent.…

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Join the Conservation Planning Committee

Wednesday, October 6th, 2021

County of Maui News Release  

Applications to fill Molokai, Lanai and East Maui seats on the Conservation Planning Committee are being accepted until Oct. 15 at 4:30 p.m., Councilmember Michael J. Molina, chair of the council’s Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee, announced.  

“The Conservation Planning Committee provides recommendations to the mayor, council and county agencies prior to acquiring parcels for land conservation purposes using Open Space, Natural Resources, Cultural Resources and Scenic Views Preservation Funds,” Molina said. “It is important we have representation from community members in our remote locations as lands in those areas are best known by its nearby residents.”…

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$950K for Na’iwa Subdivision

Wednesday, September 8th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Improvements to the Na’iwa Subdivision on Molokai Hawaiian Home Lands are moving forward with the release of an additional $950,000 in capital improvement funds, Sen. Lynn DeCoite announced last week. The funds are allocated for design and engineering services for roadway access, water and electrical service for the subdivision area. 

After years of waiting, the Na’iwa agricultural subdivision in Ho’olehua near the airport, which encompasses 341 acres and 58 lots, is getting infrastructure improvements including access roads, driveways, electrical connections and potable and irrigation water lines. Site inspections and field work for the improvements began in February and March.…

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