(Hawai‘i Community College Agriculture Instructor Chris Jacobsen (far right) works on a landscaping project with Hawai‘i CC students. Jacobsen will teach a series of non-credit agriculture classes this summer.)
By Staff Reports
(Hilo)- Hawai‘i Community College (Hawai‘i CC) is offering a series of non-credit agriculture classes this summer that cover topics like sustainable farming practices, pest and disease control, nursery management, irrigation, how to manage a farm business, and more.
The classes will be held at the Hawai‘i CC campus in Hilo, in Captain Cook, and at the University of Hawai‘i experimental agriculture farm in Pana‘ewa. Hawai‘i CC Agriculture instructor Chris Jacobsen will teach the courses.
The following are the class subjects, times and fees:
- Sustainable Production Practices, Thursday, 6-8 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., May 21-June 6. Cost: $59
- Home and Community Food Security, Friday, June 5 and Friday, July 24. Cost for each one-day class is $59.
- Farm Management, Thursday, 6-8 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., June 11-27. Cost: $59.
- Integrated Pest Management, Tuesday, 6-8 p.m. and Thursday, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., June 30–July 16. Cost: $59.
- Irrigation Repair and Theory, Thursday, 6-8 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., July 23-Aug.8. Cost: $59.
- Horticultural Operations (HOP), Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., July 27–Aug. 13. Cost: $67.
The classes are part of the C3T-1 program that Hawai‘i CC and other University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges are participating in.
C3T Hawai‘i is a $24.6 million grant awarded to the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges through the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. The grant will fuel the development of education and training curriculum and student academic/career coaching, which targets certificate and degree programs specific to the needs of agriculture, energy and health industries. These industry-focused, employer-driven programs are designed to increase college completion rates and provide job opportunities to the C3T participants.
The non-credit courses funded by the grant aim to provide training leading to jobs in agriculture for the unemployed, professional improvement for those already employed in agriculture, and instruction for those who want to work in the agriculture field.
For more information on how to register for these classes and about the course contents, call Linda Burnham Larish, C3T-1 Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator at Hawai`i CC, 934-2687 or email llarish@hawaii.edu. Or you can also contact Jan, at the Workforce Development Division Office, 981-2860 ext. 226.