G3 and GSC launch first-ever Guam Grower’s Calendar to kick-off 2023
The University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability (CIS), Sea Grant, Guam Green Growth (G3) initiative, and the National Science Foundation EPSCoR program officially launched two community calendars for 2023 at the G3 Circular Economy Makerspace and Innovation Hub.
More than just a tool for organizing and tracking important dates, Austin Shelton, Ph.D., director of Sea Grant and Center for Island Sustainability, said the new calendars highlight information that promotes a land and sea approach to food sustainability.
“We import over 90 percent of all the food and goods we consume, and we want to reduce that number. The tide chart calendar shows how to catch more local fish and use our abundant local resources in our pelagic areas and the deep ocean. And with the grower’s calendar, we are showing how we can cultivate our land — starting with our own backyard — help community gardens, and bring more local food to families,” Shelton said.
The Guam Grower’s Calendar (Fanha’aniyan Manåmon Guåhan) features photos of fresh local produce. It also includes the CHamoru lunar seasons, growing tips, and pest and disease management guides. The UOG team partnered with Guåhan Sustainable Culture (GSC) for the publication.
The Tide Chart Calendar features photos of some of Guam’s best rod and reel catches, which were selected from locally submitted entries from a photo call-out in August. In addition, the calendar includes information about moon phases and sustainable fishing tips. It also features local tide charts provided by the UOG Marine Laboratory.
“Our publications team and our partners have worked hard to bring amazing information to our children and our community. This is something that we have talked about — a lot of folks are looking at ways to help people grow and catch their own food. So, both calendars are definitely going to help in those areas,” said Kyle Mandapat, assistant director for communications at Sea Grant and Center for Island Sustainability.
The two calendars are the first two deliverables from a UOG Sea Grant and Center for Island Sustainability project that focuses on developing and delivering place-based educational resources in marine, environmental, and sustainability sciences. The project received funding from the Governor’s Education Assistance and Youth Empowerment Grant program.
“We are excited and appreciative about all the work that has been put into this project to be able to give locally produced materials to our students,” Sylvia Calvo, GDOE school program consultant, said at the launching.
The community can get copies of the calendars at the UOG Sea Grant office or the G3 Makerspace and Innovation Hub at the CHamoru Village. A digital version of the calendars can also be downloaded at uog.edu/seagrant.