February 21, 2015—NOTE: This event is open to members of The Kohala Center’s Circle of Friends only. To become a member or to renew your membership, click here or contact Cortney Okumura at The Kohala Center at cokumura@kohalacenter.org or 808-887-6411.
February 27, 2015—The 2015 Nāhelehele Dry Forest Symposium will highlight dryland forest ecology and restoration efforts in Hawai‘i. There will be two associated field trips: the first will visit the Waikoloa Dryland Forest Preserve on Thursday, February 26, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The second will be to the Koai‘a Tree Sanctuary from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 28. For more information and to register, visit nahelehele15.eventbrite.com.
March 7, 2015—In the 11 miles from Kawaihae to the summit of Kohala Mountain at Kaumu o Kaleiho‘ohie, the annual rainfall varies from a couple inches to over 150 inches. Wow! KWP is blessed to work across this gradient, and for the first time, we are going to hit three different climate zones in one volunteer work day.
March 7, 2015—Facilitated by Dr. Koh Ming Wei. Open to all K-8 teachers. Participants will learn and practice “systems thinking” skills and acquire tools that will be applied to learning gardens and other curriculum designs. We will practice making the implicit connections within and between systems in the garden explicit, for authentic assessment and exciting learner outcomes.
March 8, 2015—The Spring 2015 Honoka‘a Seed Exchange and Potluck will be held on March 8 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Honoka‘a People's Theatre. All community members are invited to share and take home seeds from neighbors and practiced seed-savers of the area. There will be free seeds and catalogs from suppliers such as Baker's Creek, Johnny's Seeds, Territorial Seed, and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Local seed expert Lyn Howe will give a presentation on seed-saving and answer questions from the community about seeds and gardening. This is a potluck event so attendees are asked to bring a bowl and utensils.
March 12, 2015—Join us at the small pavilion at Kahalu‘u Bay for an informational talk story about honu (turtles)! Learn all about:
A $10 donation is requested. You’ll receive a FREE turtle card!
Call 808-887-6411 or email kahaluubay@kohalacenter.org for more information.
March 28, 2015—Facilitated by Debbie Follett. Open to all K-12 teachers. Learn how to design and develop a school garden to not only grow healthy veggies, but also engage students with math, language arts, science, nutrition, and general learner outcomes. By showing children how to grow their own vegetables they will develop an awareness and appreciation of place—a place where they can create, nurture and expand. The workshop will include a tour of the Hilo Union Elementary School garden, a hydroponics demonstration and a discussion that will focus on sourcing funds and sponsors for your school garden program. Each participant will receive a free hydroponic kit.
March 28, 2015—Facilitated by Krista Donaldson & Megan Dehning Learned. Open to all K-12 teachers. This workshop will provide teachers with three simple, hands-on, soil studies that can be replicated in their classrooms. We will learn to model successful science and garden teacher collaboration, demonstrate scientific investigations in the garden, and engage and interest teachers in composting and soil science.
View or download the Teachers Teaching Teachers Workshops poster (PDF).
For more information and to register, contact Donna Mitts at dmitts@kohalacenter.org or 808-936-2117.
April 9, 2015—The West Hawai‘i Marine Mammal Response Network (WHMMRN) is encouraging community members to sign up to become volunteers. A free training session for new volunteers, will be offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 9, in Kailua-Kona.
April 11, 2015—Our work for this day will be varied. In the morning, we will be installing the new steps along the entrance to the Sanctuary, removing invasive fountain grass, and collecting native seeds. After lunch, we will enjoy the abundant native flowers that are in bloom, and enjoy a talk story and sketching time with our resident volunteer artist, Susan Mitnik. She suggests you bring along a sketch book, pens, pencils and watercolor pencils. If you aren’t the artistic type, no problem! We will have enough work to keep us busy all day.
