This past weekend we went to Hilo, and survived three solid days of rain, which I have not seen the likes of in a long time--------it was our annual farm trip that we take some of our staff on to visit the farms, meet the farmers, see the conditions in which they grow their produce, and also spend the weekend to bond with each other. For the second year in a row, we were able to present three one thousand dollar scholarships to three very deserving students to pursue their college educations at UH-Hilo. They all take Dr. Lorna's class, which focuses on the keeping and caring of the beehives. The Adopt-A-Beehive program is doing well, thanks to all of you that support it by adopting a beehive. This year we also placed a beehive on a real farm, Wailea Agriculture Group. They have a lot of citrus on their farm, and production was lower than previous years, so the hive is doing really well to help with that, and the citrus crop looks great.
The win-win-win is that when a school like UH Hilo takes on a global issue (the plight of the bees disappearing), gets the community involved, and partners with local businesses, it brings about education and awareness, and most importantly, it helps students to continue learning in school-----we are taking care of the next generation---this is our definition of sustainability-----and that’s why we do it-----and it is so gratifying.
This would not be possible if it were not for all of you, the donors, and Dr. Lorna Tsutsumi, her class, her helpers, Chancelor Straney of UH Hilo for supporting it and Lorna, and Leigh and staff from our side bringing it all together------thank you to you all, wonderful work!