The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s agricultural farm laboratory in Panaʻewa hosted Bee-coming Sustainable, an opportunity for community members who have adopted beehives to meet with beekeeping students and witness the beehive they support on UH Hilo’s farm. The special event on April 13 honored students, community donors, local farmers, island chefs, and others involved in the university’s collaborative bee program.
The event took place approximately 50 yards from the farm’s apiary, where sponsored beehives are housed.
“It was a wonderful gathering of like minded people who support the bees, sustainability, and the education of future beekeepers,” said Lorna Tsutsumi, an entomology professor from UH Hilo’s College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management, who coordinates the apiary program at the farm.
Buzz-worthy solutions
At the heart of the event is a community-based partnership between Tsutsumi and renowned master Chef Alan Wong. They co-founded the university’s “Adopt-A-Beehive with Alan Wong” program to bring attention to the honey bee industry in Hawaiʻi and to provide local solutions for sustaining it. The program helps fund the education of student beekeepers and promotes research into healthy beehive practices.
At the event, Chef Wong and UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin distributed scholarships to UH Hilo students Beija Ramos-Phair-Langi and Macy Iliahi Park who each received $1,000 scholarships to support their studies. Valerie Zbezinski was awarded a beekeeping certificate.
Adopt-a-hive
For those interested in adopting a beehive at the UH Hilo apiary, the program offers more than just a sponsorship. Adopters receive periodic updates and photos from the UH Hilo students caring for their hives, along with a personal supply of honey and honey-related products. They are also invited to join Chef Wong at special bee and agriculture-related events on campus or at the farm laboratory.
For more go to UH Hilo Stories.
—By Susan Enright.
