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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Learning Tech Together

Wednesday, September 17th, 2014

Learning Tech Together

Huddled outside in the hot sun, Kaunakakai Elementary sixth grade students raced solar-powered toy cars that they built in the classroom as part of the two-week Tech Together: Ka Ulu Ana Program.

Tech Together is a 10-day in-class program that delivers science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, to sixth grade students statewide through stimulation and interactive activities. Three Molokai schools, Kaunakakai, Kualapu`u and Kilohana, participated in the program this year with a curriculum focused on renewable and non-renewable energy technology, sustainability and the correlation between Hawaii culture and energy needs, said Vaito`i Tuala, Trainer Two, or lead classroom instructor, when she visited Molokai two weeks ago.…

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Soil and Groundwater Testing for Petroleum

Wednesday, September 17th, 2014

Proposed environmental soil and groundwater testing near the wharf in Kaunakakai will take place next year to assess levels of petroleum from historic leaks. The routine testing will be performed by Chevron Environmental Management Company (CEMC) and includes evaluating the facility currently owned by Island Petroleum, Inc., and the surrounding area where their terminal is located.

“Over the years, releases of petroleum have occurred which is not uncommon in industrial areas,” said CEMC Project Manager Karl Bewley.

According to Bewley, the work CEMC will perform is a standard approach to determine if there are environmental impacts resulting from past and current petroleum terminal operations. …

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Cultivating a Food Network

Thursday, September 11th, 2014

Like much of the state, Molokai imports most of the food found in its grocery stores, restaurants and schools — about 98 percent. Many Molokai residents are ready for a change and want more locally-grown foods available. That was the message received Wednesday night at Sust`aina ble Molokai’s Food Hub meeting.

Based on the Agricultural Needs Assessment survey conducted by Sust`aina ble Molokai in 2012, 90 percent of residents surveyed said they prefer to buy Molokai-grown food products, and 98 percent answered, “Yes, I would eat more local food if it was available.”

There’s a solution to that demand, said Sust`ainable Molokai Food Hub Coordinator Harmonee Williams.…

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Chinese Rose Beetles: A Life in the Dark

Thursday, September 11th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, Extension Agent, UH CTAHR

The Chinese Rose Beetle, Odoretus sinicus, is one of the most insidious and troublesome garden and yard pests due its wide host range. It can feed on over 250 species of plants, including taro, beans, corn, eggplant, okra, banana, cacao, ohia lehua, heliconia, and roses. First reported in Hawaii in 1891, the Chinese Rose Beetle is found throughout Asia and the Pacific.

Due to our strange weather this summer, we’ve been having more than our share of Chinese Rose Beetles. Its signature holes in leaves looks like someone took a buckshot to your plants, and its damage can stunt and even kill plants.…

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Molokai Flood Zone Changes Presented on Monday

Friday, September 5th, 2014

County of Maui News Release

Important information on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) new digital flood insurance rate maps (DFIRMs) will be highlighted at public meetings being held on Molokai Monday, Sept. 8. The meeting is from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Dept. of Hawaiian Homelands, with a presentation at 3 p.m.

For Molokai, the revised DFIRMs reflect the integration of the 2008 statewide hurricane study, which affects properties on the south shore of Molokai, as well as the decertification of the Kaunakakai levee system.

Personnel from FEMA, the County of Maui and the State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will provide a short presentation and take questions on the new flood maps and insurance ramifications.…

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Molokai Represented Among Omidyar Fellows

Friday, September 5th, 2014

Molokai Represented Among Omidyar Fellows

Omidyar Fellows News Release

Molokai’s Emillia Noordhoek is among 14 exemplary emerging leaders selected for the 2014-2015 Omidyar Fellows program.  The individuals were chosen to participate in the third cohort of Omidyar Fellows, a leadership development program that cultivates, trains, and educates local leadership for Hawaii.

“We are pleased to welcome this diverse and inspiring set of emerging leaders to the Omidyar Fellows program,” said Kalei Stern, director of external relations, Omidyar Fellows. “As they embark on this new professional and personal development journey together, we look forward to the Omidyar Fellows becoming a close, collaborative team of leaders who will improve our state — and the world — together.”…

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Biochar Production Workshop

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014

Biochar Production Workshop

UH CTAHR News release

Molokai residents can learn how to transform scrap lumber into a powerful soil amendment at a Biochar Production Workshop on Friday, Sept. 5. The workshop will be led by guest speaker Josiah Hunt of Hawaii Biochar Products. Biochar improves soil by providing habitat for microbial life. It also retains water and sequesters carbon, making it a cool for climate mitigation.

Come to the event at the UH Maui, Molokai Farm in the Molokai Agricultural Park Sept. 5 from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information, contact the Extension Office at 567-6929. This workshop is sponsored by Makakuoha Cooperative, The Kohala Center, University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH CTAHR) and UH Maui College.…

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Life-Saving Flights

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014

Life-Saving Flights

It usually signals unfortunate circumstances when Hawaii Life Flight (HLF) — an air ambulance service — arrives, but last week it was a celebration. The company has been offering emergency air medical transport on Molokai since 2006, and this year, made the island one of its bases. That means faster service for Molokai residents in need – and a better chance to save more lives, according to HLF staff.

“For all time-sensitive patients, like stroke, cardiac and trauma, every second counts… It can be life or death,” said flight nurse and Molokai base manager Josh Schroeder.

With the nearest bases on Oahu and Maui, the response time for HLF crew to arrive on Molokai for a call used to be between 45 minutes and an hour and a half, said Schroeder.…

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The Western Yellow Jacket

Friday, August 29th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Glenn Teves, Extension Agent, UH CTAHR

Over 25 years ago, we encountered a swarm of some vicious Yellow Jackets at Forest Camp. Later, as we ate lunch of venison and rice, they started landing and feeding on the venison. I knew this wasn’t just any old Yellow Jacket; this was the notorious Western Yellow Jacket. Yellow Jackets are wasps, and have a predatory and also a scavenging habit and will feed on many insects, including plant-eating insects and nuisance flies around house and garden. However, they become a major threat when they attack humans, good insects and animals, including Hawaii’s native species.…

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Kawela Bridge Project Completion

Friday, August 29th, 2014

Kawela Bridge Project Completion

There’s good news for drivers who live on the east end as well as residents of the Kawela area: construction on the Kawela Bridge is finally complete.

The former, 70-year-old bridge was deteriorating, and a $6 million construction project began back in 2012 to remove the original bridge and replace it with what you see today.

The old bridge, constructed around 1940, was clogged with stream deposits which impeded the flow of water below the deck, resulting in flooding in neighboring properties, said Project Engineer at Goodfellow Bros., Inc., Clayton Morrell.

Goodfellow Bros., Inc was contracted to remove the old bridge and build a new one in its place with a capacity to handle high volumes of water to pass beneath the roadway and remove stream deposit buildup that migrates down, Morrell said.…

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