{"id":216215,"date":"2025-05-19T13:50:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T23:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=216215"},"modified":"2025-05-21T15:44:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T01:44:44","slug":"federal-grant-termination-uproots-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/19\/federal-grant-termination-uproots-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal grant termination uproots CTAHR<\/abbr>\u2019s \u02bbulu education program"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"People
Teachers are led through an ʻulu tree immersive experience by CTAHR<\/abbr> professor Noa Lincoln<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An innovative outreach program that helped thousands of Hawaiʻi<\/span> public school students and teachers connect with Hawaiian culture and sustainable farming was cut short after an unexpected termination to its federal grant.<\/p>\n

\"Ulu
ʻUlu trees prepped for distribution at schools on five islands<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"Teachers
Teachers gained hands-on experience planting and caring for ʻulu<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

SPROUTS, short for “Students Propagating ʻUlu Trees for Schools on Oʻahu<\/span>,” was run by the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience<\/a> (CTAHR<\/abbr>). It aimed to plant ʻulu (breadfruit) trees at public schools while teaching students about sustainability and cultural identity.<\/p>\n

For many, SPROUTS was more than planting trees—it was about planting purpose.<\/p>\n

In the past two years, the program worked with 84 teachers from 31 schools and reached more than 2,600 students across the state. At Kaimuk\u012b Middle School alone, students cared for 65 ʻulu trees, which were planted at 18 schools and four farms on Oʻahu<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The SPROUTS program initiative was supported by a $48,825 federal grant through the Hawaiʻi<\/span> Department of Land and Natural Resources.<\/p>\n

In February, the funding stopped without warning.<\/p>\n

“I had to draw from other sources to continue purchasing supplies for the ongoing care of the trees,” said Lydi Morgan Bernal, a junior extension agent at CTAHR<\/abbr> who has helped spearhead SPROUTS at Hawaiʻi<\/span> schools.<\/p>\n

Future opportunities clipped<\/h2>\n
\"Group
Teachers from K–12 learned how to integrate \u2018ulu into their lessons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cut shelved a third professional development course and according to Bernal, has denied more than 1,000 students the chance to engage in ʻulu-based learning this year.<\/p>\n

Throughout the years, public school teachers have praised the program\u2019s impact on their students and themselves.<\/p>\n

“I feel blessed to have been part of this ʻulu-focused course,” a teacher commented in an evaluation. “I’m eagerly anticipating the opportunity to share my knowledge and passion with others. I entered with hesitation but emerged with a deep appreciation for ʻulu trees, a range of practical skills, and innovative ways to engage my students.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SPROUTS, a CTAHR<\/abbr>-led program, taught students about sustainability and cultural identity through planting ʻulu trees at public schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[222,212,1674,1698,33,1314,73,9],"class_list":["post-216215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-agriculture","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-executive-orders","tag-grant-termination","tag-hawaiian","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t