Student/First Time Attendee Welcome: Conference Overview Session This session will provide the essential information for how to get the most out of your attendance at the ASHS Annual Conference. Specific events, sessions, and competitions will be explained. ASHS staff and volunteers will be on hand to make sure that you are aware of all that ASHS and specifically the ASHS Conference has to offer.
"Native Hawaiian Plants for Landscaping, Xeriscaping and Conservation" Presented by Horticulturist and Arborist, Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst
Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst is a Horticulturist and Certified Arborist specializing in native Hawaiian plants, Horticulture, Xeriscaping and Restoration of native habitats. Heidi has an M.S. in Horticulture and a Certificate in Public Administration. She is a speaker and garden writer. She has worked in Leadership positions in public gardens, including the Hale Koa Hotel, Honolulu Botanical Gardens, (Foster, Wahiawa, Liliuokalani, Koko Crater, and Ho`omaluhia), and as Horticulturist at the Honolulu Zoo. She has also worked at the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kaua`i, Lyon Arboretum, U.H. Manoa and Kupuna for Hawaiian Studies, DOE. She is a landscape design and maintenance Consultant, with her company Pruning for Productivity, helping people grow their Dream Gardens (and be practical and scientific too), and as an Arborist, providing right sizing and professional pruning of valuable fruit trees. She is the O`ahu Coordinator for the Breadfruit Institute helping with `Ulu tree distribution, Horticulture, proper tree trimming, and long-term care and maintenance. Heidi was a founding partner of the Mangoes at the Moana Hotel annual festival, where she spoke about caring for and proper pruning and planting of mango trees, a judge in the Best Mango tasting contest and Mango recipe contest. Our goal: A Fruit tree in every Hawaii Garden! She got her start as a Volunteer at Foster Garden, and as an Apprentice Gardener at the National Tropical Botanical Garden. She holds a B.S. and M.S. from U.H. Manoa. She was an apprentice gardener at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, and at the RHS Wisley Botanic Garden in England. She authored the book: Growing Native Hawaiian Plants and wrote the Hawai`i Gardens column for the Honolulu Star Advertise for 30 years. She was the Garden expert on ‘the Morning Garden’ early morning KITV. She is a noted public speaker, expert tour guide, and Hike leader.
Speaker: Dr. Carol Miles, Washington State University
Extension Outreach in a Digital World
Presentation description: As Extension specialists we carry out applied research and develop new research-based information and deliver it to our clientele in easy-to-understand publications. Today we must deliver our information on-line and though social media, and we track numbers of hits and downloads. How have Extension publication trends changed over the past 20-30 years, including print/online, sales/revenue, promotion/advertising, and what do we see as the future for extension publications. Forming partnerships with extension communication specialists can enable us to focus on information development, where most extension specialists do best, while achieving impacts through information access, which is how we are evaluated.
Speaker: Dr. Wagner Vendrame, Interim Chair & Professor, Ornamental Horticulture and Biotechnology. University of Florida International Strategies in Horticulture Internationalization of the curriculum and research programs in horticulture has become increasingly important to us in higher education. For students, exposing them to different cultures brings a better understanding of horticultural markets and activities, unique cultural experiences, and a broader view of global issues related to agriculture. For researchers, adding an international component to your program is essential for promotion, while also bringing opportunities for collaboration and increased funding. In this presentation, I will share my international experience and discuss different strategies for internationalization of research and academic programs.
Dr. Vendrame leads a broad research program focusing on production and conservation of ornamental plants using plant tissue culture and cryopreservation techniques, including orchids, ornamental trees, foliage plants, palms, and other ornamental plants. In 2007, he partnered with NASA on an innovative research project to evaluate the growth, development and differential gene expression in plant cells of jatropha (Jatropha curcas), a biofuel species, as affected by microgravity, with five spaceflight studies on board of the space shuttles Atlantis, Endeavour and Discovery, and the International Space Station National Laboratory. More recently, studies have focused on cryopreservation of orchid seeds, protocorms and pollen, palm seeds, and banana in vitro shoots; and large scale propagation of plants using temporary immersion bioreactor technology, including micropropagation of orchids, bromeliads, sugarcane, banana, papaya, palms, and caçari (a tree native to the Amazon rich in vitamin C).
"Vertical Farming in Hawaiʻi: Design Considerations for our Unique Environment"
Kerry Kakazu, PhD is the President of MetroGrow Hawaii, the first vertical farm in the state. He has a masters and PhD in Plant Physiology from the University of California at Davis. After a career in academia doing research, teaching and administration he combined his interests in plant science, technology and the local food scene to create MetroGrow Hawaii in 2014. The farm has been providing premium leafy greens to local restaurants and gourmet markets since its founding and is now exploring ways to expand vertical farming to significantly increase food self-sufficiency and security in Hawaiʻi.
