Spring Garden Update
The students have done an amazing job (in spite of the pandemic) cultivating, harvesting and applying classroom lessons in the garden. Our amazing garden leader Holly and her assistant Gabriel have watched the students re-emerge into their happy social selves.
Updates!
We are excited to share that we now have 2 after school programs. Students made it clear that they wanted to be in the garden more. We heard them loud and clear! So we added a Monday after school culinary garden class and a Wednesday art in the garden class.
340 pounds of crops were grown and harvested by the students this past quarter. All of these crops were used in garden tastings or offered to students, teachers and the community meal.
8 community volunteers assisted us with classes, one of our volunteers was a summer intern at Mala’ai and is a Waimea Middle School alumni.We appreciate our volunteers more than words can express.
Some of the delicious garden tastings prepared by our after school students include Mala’ai cabbage and kalua pig, kale salad with balsamic vinaigrette, valentines heart shaped pancakes with garden mulberries and homemade tortillas with with garden grown avocado guacamole and tomato salsa!
Mala’ai continues to serve all 205 students, in the garden on a weekly basis, with teacher involvement, while applying classroom curriculum.
Mala’ai was asked by Hayden, an 8th grade student from Hawaii Preparatory Academy, to partner in his capstone project. He was collecting local produce from around the Waimea-Kamuela area for the the community meal. We were able to contribute almost 40 pounds of produce for the community meal. We are always happy to partner with our local school gardens.
Student Quotes!
“I wish I could be in the garden everyday, I love playing outside”- 7th grader
“These small plants we are planting are like precious children”-7th grader
“The kalo has grown a lot, it has a lot of leaves, I helped to plant it !” -6 grader
Photo Gallery Below
Holly, Ms. Onaka and students digging up the base of Yacon, a plant related to sunflower. But it produces tubers like potatoes underground that are sweet and delicious!
Our students always love to pick mulberries! This tree is so incredibly abundant and generous that there is always fruit ready to be harvested.
Making salsa with the 6th graders. Using fresh local tomatoes gifted to us by one of our WMS teachers!
Making Mala`ai Kalua Pig and Cabbage with afterschool students. The students helped to grow the purple cabbage!