Programs
We provide educational opportunities for students, teachers, and the community to engage with the world around them in a reciprocal and meaningful way.
The Culinary Garden at Waimea Middle School
The Culinary Garden at Waimea Middle School is a one-acre organic outdoor living classroom. Mālaʻai is a model garden in the State, and an important part of our work is growing a community around healthy delicious local food, learning in and from nature, and taking care of ourselves and the land. Our mission is to cultivate the relationship between students and the land through growing and sharing nourishing food in our outdoor living classroom. Our work reaches beyond the boundaries of our garden connecting land stewardship, culture, health and pleasure with lifelong learning.
Hawaiʻi Island School Garden Network
The Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN) is a group of teachers, administrators and educators committed to incorporating outdoor education with Hawaiian culture as a pathway to integrated learning. Our mission is to cultivate the relationship among our children, teachers and the ʻāina, by providing a vibrant network that supports the growth and integration of school learning gardens. We achieve this through offering professional development, advocacy, mentorship, and technical assistance.
2019-2020
Annual Report
HISGN Program
Kū ‘Āina Pā , School Garden Teacher Training
This PDE3 training aligns sustainable agriculture practices with Hawaiʻi and National Education standards, resulting in ʻaina-based lessons with a deepened connection to Hawaiʻi and a strengthened sense of responsibility. The Kū ‘Āina Pā School Garden Teacher Training Program has graduated over 200 K-8 educators who have gone on to become pioneers and champions for garden-based learning in Hawai‘i’s schools.
HISGN Program
The Hawaiʻi School Garden Curriculum Map
Our Hawai‘i School Garden Curriculum Map (HSGCM) was launched in 2016 after four years of development by a working group of 14 Kū ‘Āina Pā master teachers. The HSGCM support elementary- and middle-school teachers in obtaining the knowledge and skills needed to develop integrated lesson plans and assessment tools that connect Common Core, NGSS, Hawai‘i Health Standards, and STEM learning opportunities with school garden activities and classroom extensions.