Agroforestry and Forest Ecosystem Managment

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

This project is developing, implementing, and disseminating an enhanced two-year curriculum leading to a Certificate in Agroforestry and Forest Ecosystem Management Technician (A.S.) at Hawaii Community College. A need exists in Hawaii for workers with a two-year Technician Certificate in agroforestry and forest ecosystem management. These include jobs with government agencies, private industry and small mixed forestry and agricultural operations. The curriculum is focusing on Hawaii, but is transferable to other areas in the tropical Pacific. Products include publishable course materials that are being disseminated statewide and nationally. A significant part of the Certificate program is internships with partners in government agencies and the private industry. Women, Hawaiians and other minority students make up a significant proportion of the enrollment, and specific efforts are being made to attract these students into the program through high school recruitment and publicity aimed at the target population. The program collaborates with the State of Hawaii's Forestry and Communities Initiative, the Workforce Development Council of the State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Hawaii School-to-Work Program, University of Hawaii Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, the University of Hawaii Hilo Ecology and Evolution program, and University of Hawaii College of Agriculture and Human Resources at the Manoa campus in Honolulu. The project is working in synergy with the Northwest Center for Sustainable Resources to collaborate on materials, share information and disseminate results nationally.