Stories in The Kohala Center Leaflet
First Kū ‘Āina Pā Program Trains Island’s School Garden Teachers
July/August 2012
The school gardens of the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HIGSN) are shining examples of how the Island of Hawai‘i is becoming a model of sustainability and self-reliance for the rest of the world. As Hawai‘i strives to be less dependent on the importation of food and other goods from outside the state, HIGSN schools promote the local production of healthy, fresh, and natural foods.
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School Gardens: Where Communities Convene
May/June 2012
In the heart of Waimea, nestled within its rolling hills, a garden flourishes from the love and labor of thousands of hands. Mala‘ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School, like the other 63 school gardens that dot Hawai‘i Island, serves—and is served by—a community as diverse as its bounty.
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Spring Garden Tours
March/April 2012
Come smell the flowers, taste the produce, and hear from students at some of Hawai‘i Island’s School Learning Gardens. This spring, The Kohala Center will host several tours to showcase our school garden programs around the island.
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Kū ‘Āina Pā: Standing Firmly with Knowledge upon the Land
March/April 2012
The Kohala Center has developed a new School Garden Teacher Training and Certification Course for Hawai‘i’s teachers under a USDA “Agriculture in the K–12 Classroom” grant. TKC is now recruiting 20 Hawai‘i Island teachers to join the initial cohort of trainees.
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Learning Opportunities in Hawai‘i’s School Gardens
January/February 2012
The Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network has announced its spring 2012 workshop series. Workshops are geared for school garden teachers in the Network, but home gardeners and interested community members are invited to attend. Participation is free of charge.
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Nurturing the Relationship between Students and the Land
January/February 2012
Sixteen Hawai‘i Island schools have received grants from The Kohala Center to support funding for their garden educators, for curriculum development, and for garden supplies. At the start of the current school year, schools that had a garden or were beginning a garden were invited to apply for HISGN funding.
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School Garden Grantees
January/February 2012
Recipients of The Kohala Center’s 2011–2012 Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN) matching grants are...
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School Garden Profile: West Hawai‘i Explorations Academy
January/February 2012
West Hawai‘i Explorations Academy (WHEA) is a public school serving students in grades 6–12, founded 18 years ago on a vision of innovation and invigoration of public education. WHEA integrates its curriculum into science projects which encourage students to participate in hands-on activities and gain skills that can be used to solve problems in the real world and in their future careers.
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Compassion for Living Things
January/February 2012
At the beginning of each year, West Hawai‘i Explorations Academy (WHEA) High School students attend workshops in which they learn about potential projects they can participate in. These workshops help students develop skills to start independent or group marine, engineering, and gardening projects.
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From Seed to Table Education
November/December 2011
The Kohala Center has received a two-year grant from the USDA to create a certified training program for School Garden Teachers at Hawai‘i-based K–8 schools. This funding will allow The Center to create an innovative professional development curriculum for Hawai‘i’s School Garden Teachers, in order to improve the quality of food and agriculture sciences education in Hawai‘i.
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Garden Teacher Training
November/December 2011
By Nancy Redfeather, Coordinator of the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network
Nutrition is an essential building block for student success in school. Healthy, active, and well-nourished children are more likely to attend school and are more prepared and motivated to learn. Children today are not playing outside as many hours as they used to in previous generations, and physical education in schools has been reduced in many schools to once a week.
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A Gift of Time
September/October 2011
As a new school year begins, several of our Garden Teachers based at schools around the island have contacted us to invite community members to consider volunteering at their sites.
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Planting Hope
July/August 2011
This month school garden and classroom teachers will converge at the oldest school garden in the state, Hoa ‘Aina O Makaha (www.hoa-aina.org), for the 4th annual Summer School Garden Conference, from July 7–9, 2011. The theme of this year’s conference is Planting Hope: Growing the Next Generation.
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Sharing and Preparing Food Together
May/June 2011
The Crop Share program invites community members to come together to share and prepare food—a concept which is deeply embedded in island culture. On Saturday, May 14, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., Mimi Shawe will host a free workshop on brining vegetables at Mala‘ai Culinary Garden of the Waimea Middle School.
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The Discovery Garden
March/April 2011
In September 2010, students at Kohala Elementary School planted the first plants in their school’s new garden. Now, six months later, over 41 different kinds of plants are growing in the garden, including zucchini, several varieties of squash, tomatoes, artichokes, and pineapples.
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Sharing Community
January/February 2011
The Kohala Center extends a warm mahalo to the individuals and families who have been gathering food from their communities and participating every week. A guaranteed supply of fresh fruit and vegetables from Crop Share participants has enabled us to consistently supply the food banks and Mala‘ai Garden students with fresh produce.
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A Garden at Every School
January/February 2011
On Monday, January 17, Martin Luther King Day, Kaiser Permanente in Hawai‘i closed its clinics, and Kaiser doctors, staff, and their families joined the community to help build school gardens. This year, 169 volunteers worked at three School Gardens: Kahakai Elementary School in Kona, the Mala‘ai Culinary Garden of the Waimea Middle School, and the Hilo High School Garden.
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Holiday Reception at Kawanui Farm
November/December 2010
Friends and supporters of the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN) and their families are invited to a Holiday Reception and Farm Tour at Nancy Redfeather’s and Gerry Herbert's Kawanui Farm in Hōnalo. "Giving Back to the Earth" will be held on Saturday, December 11, 2010, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
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From Beekeeping to Grant Writing
October 2010
The Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN) invites garden teachers, volunteers, and interested community members to a series of educational workshops at sites around the island this fall. HISGN garden teachers were surveyed last fall to determine what kinds of professional development opportunities they wanted to participate in—and here’s some of what they requested...
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Smart by Nature
September 2010
By Nancy Redfeather, Director Hawaiʻi Island School Garden Network
Thanks to the generous support of the Center for Ecoliteracy, Ulupono/Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, and Hauֹ‘oli Mau Loa, 65 teachers from across the state convened at Malaʻai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School from July 16–18 for the statewide Summer Garden Teacher Conference.
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Comments from the Garden Teachers
September 2010
These are just a few of the comments we received from the 65 teachers who attended the statewide Summer Garden Teacher Conference at Mala‘ai Garden in July.
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Laulima: Working Together
May 2010
Seven members of the Honoka‘a High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) Club journeyed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on Mana Road for a weekend service learning project in March. Students worked with horticulturist Baron Horiuchi in the refuge’s greenhouse, maintaining and planting native plants.
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Firsthand Knowledge
May 2010
Honoka‘a High School Agriculture Teacher Manuel Jadulang has been the FFA Club Advisor at the school for the past three years. Club members meet during lunch and after school hours.
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Art in the Garden
April 2010
On Saturday, April 24, from 1 to 5 p.m., the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN) will host its first ever “Art, Literature, and Music in the School Garden” workshop at the Hawai‘i Academy of Arts & Science Public Charter School (HAAS) in Pāhoa.
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The Beauty of This Garden is You!
April 2010
By Patti Cook and Pedro Tama
Mala‘ai formally celebrated its 5th anniversary on March 3, 2010, by accepting a prestigious Cooke Foundation Beautification Award for its ¾-acre organic garden, which was once a Parker Ranch pasture. “The real beauty of this garden is each of you,” said WMS Principal John Colson, referring to the large gathering of students and friends of Mala‘ai, as he accepted the Beautification Award from Cooke Foundation board member Thane Pratt.
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Better Food
March 2010
The Hawai‘i Academy of Arts & Science Public Charter School (HAAS) in Pahoa was founded in 2001 and currently serves roughly 400 students in grades K–12. The students wanted “better” food than the usual cafeteria fare, and it was their desire to grow food that could be prepared and eaten at school that provided the momentum to launch the garden project.
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The Garden at HAAS
March 2010
By Chioke Mims, Garden Teacher
The vision of HAAS is to foster a community of learners. School families joined together to donate plants and composting materials to establish the garden. A Hawaiian Nutrition Education Network grant opportunity helps to fund my position as a part-time garden coordinator
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A Day of Service
February 2010
On January 18, in honor of Martin Luther King (MLK), Jr., and his commitment to community service, doctors and staff from Kaiser Permanente joined hands with students, teachers, and volunteers to work in three school gardens around Hawai‘i Island.
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1,000 Pairs of Hands
February 2010
Story and Photos by Patti Cook
Just five years ago, Mala‘ai school garden was covered with kikuyu grass, with no irrigation, no shelter, and nothing good to eat. Today, the work of over 1,000 people contributing thousands of hours of hard work have transformed Mala‘ai into a productive and beautiful sanctuary on the campus of Waimea Middle School.
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The Big Picture
January 2010
By Roberta Fujimoto Chu, President of the Board of Directors
Eight years ago, The Kohala Center was founded with a mandate to create greater employment and educational opportunities by caring for and celebrating Hawai‘i Island’s spectacular natural and cultural landscape. Our staff has had the courage and the wisdom to listen to island residents and to truly address their needs with creative solutions.
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Spotlight on School Gardens: Honoka‘a High School Agriculture Program
January 2010
Students at Honoka‘a High School have a broad spectrum of agriculture-related courses to choose from during their high school careers, including Natural Resources, Agricultural Technology, Horticulture, Agricultural Science, Aquaculture, and Plants and Animals of Hawai‘i.
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Knowledge They Can Use
January 2010
I think the Agriculture Program is great because this is the only class that I know that lets me go outside. I love to work with my hands and get dirty. –James Maikui, junior at Honoka‘a High School in his first year in the Agriculture Program Honoka‘a High School Agriculture Teacher Manuel Jadulang graduated from Kohala High School, where he recalls taking agriculture classes and being a member of the Future Farmers of America.
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A Year End-Message from Matt
November/December 2009
After eight years of hard work and tremendous community support, I can say that The Kohala Center is accomplishing what it set out to do. The Kohala Center was established in direct response to the request of island residents to create greater employment and educational opportunities by caring for—and celebrating—Hawai‘i Island’s spectacular natural and cultural landscape.
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Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike (In Working, One Learns)
November/December 2009
On October 16, 2009, guests boarded the Golden Princess cruise ship in Hilo Harbor for the Seeds of Hope luncheon sponsored by Princess Cruise Lines. Guests received royal treatment from cruise staff including refreshments, a three-course sit-down lunch, and a tour of the recently refurbished cruise ship.
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Spotlight on School Gardens: Wonder Gardens at Innovations Public Charter School
October 2009
Wonder Gardens at Innovations Public Charter School (IPCS) broke ground in 2007–08. The idea to start a school garden originated with local school board and community members who wanted healthier lunches for students. Inspired by the model of Mala‘ai: The Culinary Gardens of Waimea Middle School, local school board members proposed the idea of a garden to Barbara Woerner, IPCS Executive Director, and to the IPCS teaching team.
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Wonder Gardens
October 2009
Krista Donaldson settled in West Hawai‘i about nine years ago, where she and her family started an organic landscaping business. A few years later Innovations Public Charter School started up operations in Kailua-Kona. Krista heard good things about IPCS and, as a neighbor of the school and a future school parent, she volunteered to serve on the IPCS local school board as a community volunteer.
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Seeds of Hope
September 2009
Everyone is invited to lunch on board the Golden Princess cruise ship when it docks in Hilo on Friday, October 16. In honor of World Food Day, The Kohala Center will host this special luncheon to underscore the importance of food self-reliance and to raise funds for the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN), an alliance of 45 school gardens around the island.
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A Garden Revolution
July/August 2009
“It takes a village to raise a garden program,” claims Nancy Redfeather, Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN) Program Director. On June 26–28, fourty-five garden teachers and supporters from four islands converged at Kawanui Farm in Honalo for the second annual HISGN Summer Garden Teacher Conference. For three days, thirty of the participants camped on the grounds of the farm, their tents spread through the orchards and gardens like a lei.
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Building Skills, Extending Knowledge, Sharing Successes
Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN) Summer Teacher’s Conference
July/August 2009
By Nancy Redfeather, HISGN Program Director
Our keynote speaker Dr. Norman Q. Arancon, professor at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) Hilo, assisted by his two graduate students Joe Santiago and Paul Flessner, presented the “Vermiculture 101” course on Saturday morning. Dr. Arancon patiently and with good humor took us step-by-step along the soil fertility road leading up to the vermiculture systems of building soil microorganisms (MO).
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All About Education
May 2009
Near the end of the road in Kohala, in Niuli‘i near Pololū Valley, a unique agriculture project is underway. Dash and Erika Kuhr, and partner Tom Baldwin of Uluwehi Farm and Nursery in Hawi, are building an educational and market-oriented youth agricultural program.
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Local Heroes
May 2009
Nancy Redfeather and The Kohala Center were selected as Local Heroes in the nonprofit category by Edible Hawaiian Islands magazine, in recognition for their contributions to the local foods movement in the Hawaiian Islands. Edible Hawaiian Islands is part of a growing network of Edible Communities magazines. With publications in 52 cities and regions, Edible Communities magazines explore the foods farmed, raised, fished, and produced in each of their local communities.
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In Celebration of Food
April 2009
The Kohala Center (TKC) recognizes that increasing our local food supply and creating effective food distribution systems is an essential part of the transition to greater island self-reliance and sustained economic security. Our work in the food sector includes an update to the County’s Agriculture Development Plan; oversight of the Hawai‘i Island Food Systems Project to increase the local market share for island-grown food; and coordination of the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network to identify and expand exemplary garden projects in communities around the island.
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Honoring Future Farmers
April 2009
Congratulations to Honoka‘a High School students Kristy Acia, who won first place, and Kaimana Lutey, who won second place, in the statewide Future Farmers of America Agriculture Science Fair Competition in March. Kristy and Kaimana joined fellow members of the Honoka‘a High and Intermediate School Agriculture/Future Farmers of America Program, who attended the annual Career Technical Education Student Organization Conference held on O‘ahu from March 11–13.
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Letting Students Lead the Way
March 2009
In fall 2008 Parker School teacher Shelly Kaiyala was awarded a grant of $12,000 from The Kohala Center to support a new sustainability program at the school. Kaiyala is the coordinator of the Parker After-School University (PAU), the elementary school’s afternoon education program. She and the afterschool students started the school’s organic garden in fall 2007, in the field behind the elementary school. Elementary school students and teachers soon joined in the project, planting, caring for, and harvesting a variety of items ranging from native Hawaiian plants to flowers to garden vegetables.
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For the Generations to Come
March 2009
By Linda Copman
Outdoor Education Coordinator Shelly Kaiyala first visited the Hawaiian Islands at the age of 22, when she attended an intensive permaculture design class on Kaua‘i. “This experience opened me up to what I needed to learn,” says Kaiyala, a native of western Washington. Kaiyala’s journey took her to Alaska, where she worked in a fish hatchery, a fish cannery, and for the U.S. Forest Service doing fisheries biology.
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