We have enjoyed collaborating on projects strengthening agriculture, including working with students in high school natural resources academies and supporting outreach efforts related to the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle. We are now working on a new project on invasive agricultural snails, thanks to a new partnership with the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum’s Malacology Lab, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service). Hawaiʻi has more established agricultural and horticultural land snail (including slugs) pests than any other island or archipelago in the Pacific. Invasive beetles and snails may be unlikely topics but their impact on the health of our islands cannot be understated. The crew of high school Agricultural Snail Survey Interns have undergone more than 40 hours of intensive training by snail experts so that they can teach people at their schools and in their communities.
These logos below were created by our interns: Max Meister (left) and Sydney Rezentes (right).