Program Update
Garden Classes
Teachers come to garden classes and work with their students for the
70 minute long class. This is crucial for integrating what happens in the
garden with classroom curriculum.
- We have had over 2500 student hours in the garden this year.
- We are currently seeing over 210 students in an ongoing bases. Most
come every other week.
- We average 70 garden classes a quarter.
- We are working primarily with 6th and 7th grade students.
- All 6th grade students worked in the garden first quarter with their
social studies classes.
- We are working with students from Math, Science, Language Arts, Social
studies, and visual arts classes.
- One 8th grade Exploratory class comes to the garden. They have just
completed the building of our tool shed. (We will be moving in next
week!)
- We currently have 5 volunteers who come to work with classes each
week.
Sample Garden Activities - bed digging, bed prepping, transplanting,
sheet mulching, build temporary meeting shelter out of straw bales, sow
clover, sunflower seeds, sun hemp, broom corn, winter wheat, turn compost,
build compost, seed saving, Chanting Hiki Mai (a Hawaiian sun chant), clear
planter box on campus and plant Kalo (taro), harvesting, preparing, serving
and eating salad, mapping the garden using rangefinder for measurements
Final circle subjects and questions (sample)
- One thing you’re proud of
- One thing you do well
- One thing you’re grateful for
- Compliment a classmate
- One person who taught you something important
- Favorite food
- Invention of Sumerians or Mesopotamians you use in garden
- Hawaiian wisdom words (a weekly school-wide theme) Malama Ka aina,
take care of the land. How do we take care of the land?
Some Curricular tie ins:
- 6th graders are studying ancient civilizations, including the
Mesopotamians and are planting wheat and discussing irrigation in garden
class. Continue discussion of agriculture and the rise of civilizations.
- 6th grade math class mapping garden practicing measuring skills,
calculating averages and learning appropriate use of technology.
- Ms Robertson and Ms Gusman’s three 7th grade classes come once a week
and are focusing the rest of the year on SUSTAINABILITY. Their classes
will be integrating the work done in the garden fully into their
curriculum, including a farm fieldtrip. As part of the school’s Ike
Hawaii (Hawaiian knowledge) program, their classes have learned a sun
chant and a permission chant, and each class sings the chants to be
granted entrance to the garden. 7th grade is planning a Sustainable
Feast for the end of the year.
- All 7th grade health classes do a greens tasting based around health
and sustainability. They compare local organic greens with Costco’s
organic greens. They compare taste, as well as explore the following:
How old are the greens when you get them?
How many people were involved in getting them to you?
How many forms of transportation did they take?
How much pollution was produced?
Who made the money from these green?
Some things we’re growing in the garden
Lemongrass, dryland taro, sweet potato, sunflowers, lettuce, Osaka Mustard,
green onions, garlic chives, cherry tomatoes, Red Russian kale, Italian
Lettuce Leaf basil, Thai basil, turmeric, parsley, spinach, amaranth,
quinoa, winter wheat, broom corn, clover, bamboo, Koa trees, hibiscus,
Mamane tree, Ohi'a tree, Sandalwood trees.
Other Mala’ai activities
- Participation Community Food Security Roundtable
- Volunteer work days on the weekend
- Presentation to Permaculture workshop
- Honorary tree planting for student Alex Derago
- Natural Dying workshop for 7th graders using Olena (turmeric)
- Great Snacks for after-school Tutoring Program
- Breakfast snacks for all students during standardized testing.