Hualalai Academy ’s Garden Program — Hualalai Academy began its garden program 10 years ago when it moved to the Kealakaa campus. The garden originally began as a “club” for interested students with Dan Sabo, 3rd grade teacher. Since that time the garden program has grown and changed. There are multiple gardens on the campus of Hualalai Academy that have different purposes and plants. Each grade has had the opportunity to experience the wonders of growing and caring for plants and the environment.
The overall mission for our garden program is to involve students in experiential learning that integrates different curriculum, such as science, math, humanities, art, physical activity, and ultimately, to put students back in touch with nature. Along with these core studies, students also learn about human health, cultural awareness, and environmental sustainability in our outdoor classrooms. Approaching learning in the garden with hands-on activities helps to give immediate value through practical application.

Discovery Gardens 
The Discovery Gardens have been in development over the past 10 years. In areas with enough soil (most of it trucked in), students have created a Hawaiian Cultural Garden flush with gourds that they will later dry and craft into traditional Hawaiian drums. Other gardens create a maze, celebrate the pueo (our school mascot), provide fruit and vegetables, and beautify the campus. Students want to extend the gardens and create more specialized gardens (i.e., a sunflower garden, a worm farm, a cross-breed garden, etc.).

The Hualalai Academy Garden is currently in the process of infrastructure building, planting, and harvesting. Children have regularly been invited into the garden on Tuesdays and Thursdays after lunch. They are not assigned, rather they choose to participate. This has been an introduction (for most of the children) to the garden and all of its possibilities. Many teachers are working on integrating the garden into regular curriculum and have been coordinating with the Garden Resource Teacher in order to do this. Many teachers have invited the GRT to teach short introductory modules to their classes to introduce the garden as a new educational area. This has been very successful and created more interest in the garden. In the next two years we hope to accomplish many goals. These goals include integrating the garden into the curriculum regularly for all grade levels, creating a long term plan for the garden that includes funding and a permanent coordinator position, as well as growing enough food to be considered excess and utilizing it to support the garden directly.

For more information, contact Dan Sabo.