The two units operate under UOG’s College of Natural & Applied Sciences to produce research and education that can be utilized by all citizens of the island. 

Jessica Nangauta, manager and research associate at the Triton Farm under the Western Pacific Tropical Research Center, spoke with participants about the needs and care of baby chicks.

Extension Agent Mark Acosta presented information on how to use chicken manure as a fertilizer through composting.

And Bob Barber, a professor of sustainable agriculture and an extension specialist, taught participants how to use chicken tractors for garden site preparation and how to raise chickens on dry litter, like shredded paper or leaves and grass clippings, for sustainable waste management and odor-free production.

The workshop experience culminated with the arrival and distribution of baby chicks to the participants who ordered them. The chicks were acquired from certified hatcheries in Hawaii that assure the health of the chick stock.

Guåhan Sustainable Culture is a nonprofit that launched in March last year to help Guam residents become proficient in cultivating and sustaining their own sources of food. The group holds regular workshops teaching aquaponics, hydroponics, how to grow microgreens, and backyard chicken farming.

“UOG, and especially CNAS, has been very helpful from the beginning of envisioning and setting up GSC,” said Michelle Crisostomo, president and co-founder of Guåhan Sustainable Culture. “I have also had support from the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant. I am very grateful to have UOG as a resource and a partner.”

For more information on research and extension activities at UOG, please visit www.uog.edu/wptrc and www.uog.edu/extension. For more information on the work of Guahan Sustainable Culture, please visit https://gusustainable.org/.

See photos below: 
Photos courtesy of Guåhan Sustainable Culture