Sustaining Kukai‘au Ranch
Excerpted from the MSU Preliminary Design Plan
Photo: Group photo of participants in the discussion of the MSU Preliminary Design Plan, taken at Umikoa Village Hall at Kukai‘au Ranch. (From left to right) Dougy and Ku Cox, Matt Hamabata, John Brittingham, Carol de Luz, Meaghan Evans, Matthew Breest, Jeffrey Earnst, Stephanie Schroeder, Peter Costanti, Betsy Cole, Blake Anthony Preszler, Sharon and Steven Alfonso, Myleen Leary, Nancy Redfeather, Josephine de Luz, Paulo Dequept, Gerry Herbert, David de Luz Sr., and Linda Yadao.
The vision embodied in the MSU (Montana State University) plan is that “Kukai‘au Ranch will be a self-sustaining ranch and education center to support the community and protect the land in perpetuity.” The framework for realizing this vision rests on four pillars: (1) Ahupua‘a: Gathering of collective activities and resources; (2) Passion for Ranching: Preserving the paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) ranching culture; (3) Protect the Land: Restoring and protecting agricultural and ecological lands; and (4) Sustainability and Self-Reliance: Diversified and balanced operations.
To address the need for energy and water resources, the plan recommends the installation of two 50-kW wind turbines and an extensive water catchment system infrastructure:
“Within 10 years of installation wind turbines will be paid off. At year 20 we propose to install additional turbines to handle the energy demands of new construction and renovations. Water collection systems will be efficient enough to sustain the ranch within 3 years. As water demands increase, so will the ranch water infrastructure. These systems will save the ranch thousands of dollars for pumping water each year, and allow other sectors to be efficiently operated.”
Photo: The MSU design team present their plans for Kukai‘au Ranch: (From left to right) Meaghan Evans, Peter Costanti, John Brittingham, Stephanie Schroeder, Blake Anthony Preszler, Jeffrey Earnst and Matthew Breest.
The forest and watershed management plan for the ranch focuses on rebuilding the stock of native species, including a koa reforestation project; the use of selective tree harvesting; and the establishment of an on-site timber mill:
“Rebuilding the stock of native species will reset the traditional ecological systems of the Kukai‘au Ranch. Sustainable timber practices will allow for the integrity of the forest to continue for generations to come. Initial revenue will be created during the harvest of ohi‘a in the first fifteen years. The profit from koa crops will be seen as early as 2030 with a consistent annual stream of income by 2045 of 7-10 million dollars.”
To enhance the existing cattle operation, the MSU plan recommends building a genetically consistent herd of Black Angus/Charolais cattle; the implementation of a rotational grazing program; and the use of diversified and environmentally sensitive land management practices:
“Kukai‘au Ranch will be able to create a viable local grass fed beef market within seven years. Implementation of diverse land management, rotational grazing, and creating a genetically uniform herd will eliminate the dependency on global beef markets and provide Hawai‘i with a source of locally grown beef and agricultural products. Perpetual management of resources will enhance local market stability and further reinforce self-sustainability on the Hawaiian Islands.”
Photo: Meaghan Evans of the MSU design team presents the educational institute concept, which is intended to provide the framework that connects all of the other proposed strategies.
To revitalize the existing community of Umikoa Village, the plan proposes to establish an educational institute, including a lodge/cottage retreat center; to establish employee housing for ranch workers; to create a sustainable community garden to feed residents and guests; and to restore the existing historic structures in the Village. At the Kukai‘au Institute, visiting professors and students will use the ranch as a real-time field laboratory to study topics such as ecology, architecture and environmental design, historic preservation, and cattle ranching and agriculture.
“The goal of the proposed Kukai‘au Institute at Umikoa Village is to revive community energy, solidify a sense of place, and bring intellectual capital to the ranch. Umikoa Village, the heart of Kukai‘au Ranch, will be the energized core of the educational institute. Knowledge gathered by researchers and students will be offered back to the community by way of teaching community members about potential ways the Hawaiian land can sustain its people.”
Photo: Matthew Breest of the MSU design team presents information on the ecology component of the plan, including specific proposals for harvesting timber, a wind study, and the proposed watershed conservation plan.
To conserve the watershed and the quality of the soil and grasses, and to promote the recovery of threatened or endangered species, the MSU plan advocates for several different conservation programs or easements. The plan also recommends listing Umikoa Village, a historic paniolo settlement, on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Conservation programs apply added incentives and dollar inputs to match or enhance the landowner’s input. These conservation programs will subsidize associated diversified improvements for beef, agriculture, and timber. These programs include the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), the Forest Stewardship Program (FSP), Native Forest Dedication, Agricultural Conservation Easements, and the Forest Legacy Program.”
Taken in concert these strategies will revitalize the Kukai‘au Ranch ahupua‘a. Over a 50-year timeframe, economic and natural resources will be stacked in such way that they increase the independence of the Kukai‘au community from global food, water, and energy shortages. 
“The contemporary ahupua‘a conserves and renews the democratic distribution of economic and natural resources so that each ahupua‘a is self-sustaining. Kukai‘au Ranch’s operations will be diversified across cattle, timber, agriculture, energy, and education, and designed to be viable in both the short and long-terms.”
Photo: Members of the Kukai‘au Ranch community Dougy and Ku Cox and Steven Alfonso look over the design plan posters with the MSU design team.
To learn more about the Kukai‘au Ranch-MSU-Kohala Center collaboration, contact Samantha Birch at sbirch@kohalacenter.org.
Water Comes from Forests
By Melora Purell, Kohala Watershed Partnership Coordinator
Photo: Cathy Sinclair and Michael Boger planting native manono trees in the Koai‘a Corridor. Manono (Kadua affinis) is a fast-growing, variable native plant that can survive a wide variety of climate conditions.
It made me feel good to do something to better the place that I was born and raised in. Our daily lives depend on a pristine environment. We need to think about where our water comes from. It's not just about having enough rainfall, it's about keeping the forest healthy.
—KWP volunteer Jennifer Nutt after a recent planting trip
Where endless green pastures now extend to the horizon, the mauka slopes of leeward Kohala Mountain were once a great expanse of forest, interrupted only by steep-sided, flowing perennial streams. In our current climate of environmental consciousness, we view the land-use decisions of the past that so dramatically changed this landscape as short-sighted or even criminal. But in their day, the industrious immigrants who came to Hawai‘i more than a century ago to till the soil and raise livestock were lauded for their ability to transform otherwise “useless” forests into productive farms and ranches.
The early landowners who cut down ancient trees and chased cattle in the forest now have descendants who are leaders in watershed conservation on Hawai‘i Island, helping to control invasive weeds and feral animals, protecting rare native species, and working to restore the native forest along some leeward stream corridors.
Photo: Controlling invasive species in the gulches, which helps the native trees to survive.
But this should not be surprising. Farmers and ranchers understand the fundamental fact that water to grow crops and raise calves comes not from faucets, but from forests. Even more than “tree-hugger” environmentalists, the ranchers I work with value the forest as our sole source of water. Long before it was politically correct or financially beneficial, this group of ranchers worked together to conserve and protect the forested watershed of Kohala Mountain. The Kohala Watershed Partnership, a voluntary coalition of landowners that formed in 2003, was born out of this historic cooperation. The partnership recently completed a final environmental assessment for their 20-year management plan for this 65,000-acre watershed. KWP has received approval from the State of Hawai‘i DLNR to create about a dozen fenced preserves, varying in size from 10 to 2,000 acres, to protect native biodiversity as well as prime areas of groundwater recharge. Designation of these fenced areas took into account the quality of the native forest and the amount of rainfall, in conjunction with input from current users of the land: ranchers, pig hunters, hikers, scientists, and others.
Photo: Community volunteers at a recent KWP work day.
Compared to some other communities in Hawai‘i that are rapidly urbanizing and becoming disconnected from their local environment, the people of Waimea and Kohala are passionate about this mountain. I have seen this in my work with local communities during my two years as the KWP Coordinator. Kohala residents care deeply about the forest as a watershed, as a source of meat, or as a place for themselves and their children to stay connected to the ‘āina (land). This community commitment to the land has become apparent in the overwhelming response to the Watershed Partnership's call for volunteers to assist with conservation work. School groups and retirees work alongside hunters and ranchers to control invasive weeds, collect native seeds, and plant endemic Hawaiian species.
A current project of KWP is the restoration of a corridor of pasture land bounded by Luahine Stream and Waiakamali Stream, mauka of Kohala Mountain Road. This 300-acre parcel contains intact remnants of native forest in the gulches and the potential to return water to these streams by repairing the landscape that feeds them. The State DLNR Natural Area Reserve team is leading this effort, with the support of 
Queen Emma Land Company, Parker Ranch (both of which are KWP partners), as well as the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. A boundary fence is being constructed to keep cattle from eating the new plants, and volunteers have been working for more than a year on clearing invasive alien plants from these forest remnants and collecting seeds of native species.
I am eagerly awaiting that day in the future when I can reminisce with these kids, all grown up with kids of their own, that this is where we grew a forest out of a pasture.
Photo: KWP Coordinator, Melora Purell.
To volunteer, contact Melora at 333-0976 or via e-mail at coordinator@kohalawatershed.org
A Brighter Future
By Kamanamaikalani Beamer, Ph.D., Mellon Hawai‘i Doctoral Fellow
Photo: Kamana 
Beamer with his tūtū (grandmother), Nona Beamer.
My grandmothergrew up in a time when Anglo-Americans educators referred to her as a ‘half-caste,’ when many in her generation experienced the internal effects of the American occupation of Hawai‘i and were made to ‘feel shame,’ battling with a psychologically imposed inferiority complex about their Hawaiian-ness. She took those adversities and changed the realities of her time into a better and brighter future for those of my generation. It was realizations such as these that made me want to work harder and to give more to bring brighter days to Hawai‘i's future. I knew one of the ways that I could do this was through furthering my education.
—Kamana Beamer, 2008–2009 Mellon-Hawai‘i Postdoctoral Fellow; grandson of Nona Beamer
I graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1996. I did not attend Kamehameha until my junior year in high school and attended public schools on Kaua‘i, including Kapa‘a and Kala‘heo Elementary and Kaua‘i High and Intermediate, prior to being accepted at Kamehameha. I fondly remember Mrs. Kaohi at Kaua‘i High Intermediate, she taught 7th grade social studies and all of her students left her class with a new appreciation for the world and ourselves. She had plenty aloha for each of us.
I remember having good teachers at each of the schools that I attended, but in truth I was not the best student in my younger years and did not really engage myself in academics until I enrolled in college.
I knew both of my great-grandparents who were native speakers of the Hawaiian language; however, I understood very little of the language that they spoke at the time I was a child. At Kamehameha I was able to enroll in Hawaiian language classes which provided me with a basic foundation in elementary Hawaiian. As a senior at Kamehameha I recall being enrolled in Kumu (teacher) Holoua Stender's ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i course. I remember him sensing that I was not really applying myself and challenging me to work to learn our native tongue. He was an excellent teacher.
Photo: Kamana as a keiki (child) with his tūtū at Kahala Beach Park.
At the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa some of my Hawaiian language kumu were Kapā Olivera, Kealohamakua Wengeler, Kaleikoa Ka‘eo, Kekeka Solis, Noenoe Sliva, Puakea Nogelmeier, Laiana Wong, and Kalani Makekau-Whittaker. Each of these kumu were excellent teachers and they inspired me to continue in my language learning.
I was very lucky to meet Anakala Eddie Ka‘anana on a Hawaiian language immersion trip where we made a connection. I used to be a limahana (volunteer) for him in work at his house and at the lo‘i (taro patch) at Ānuenue Hawaiian Language Immersion School in Pālolo. He was a native speaker and my relationship with him enabled me to have practical language use experience outside of the classroom. Anakala helped so many people and there are many students that he has touched. Appreciating the depth of the Hawaiian language and the importance of being able to experience the world through it, I continue to work on my fluency in the language with my wife, who also studied at the university. I am also a member of the band Kāmau, with whom I continue to work on Hawaiian language composition in my mele (songs).
After I received my bachelors' degrees in Hawaiian Studies and in Philosophy in 2002, my wahine (wife) Laua‘e and I moved to Hilo to spend time with my tūtū. At this time there was no graduate program in Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and I was considering the possibility of enrolling in the M.A. program at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo in Hawaiian Studies. I took a few courses as an unclassified graduate student and soon found that my place was not in that particular program, which was focused primarily on language revitalization.
Photo: Kamana and his wife Laua‘e Polinahe Beamer cutting and cleaning a variety of Hawaiian taro in preparation to replant the huli (portion of kalo plant that is replanted in the lo‘i) in a recently restored lo‘i.
While on Hawai‘i Island I was able to help my wife's ohana (family) in restoring their family lo‘i in Waipi‘o Valley. Laua‘e and I would drive down on weekends or whenever we had free time to ‘oki and huki the nāhelehele (cut and pull the weeds). The lo‘i had been overgrown by guava, jobe's tears, and a dense forest of hō‘i‘o (large native fern, Athyrium). Armed with our cane knives and sickles we would hack at the brush until we began to find some of the old kuaūna (banks between wetland taro patches), then we would clear out the patch. It was not easy work but we really enjoyed ourselves, we felt our connection to the ‘āina.
At night we would sit and talk with my tūtū for hours, and she would often reminisce on life, our family, and the integral position that education (both inside and outside of the academy) had taken in her life. I realized some of the critical struggles she faced as a Native Hawaiian woman in education. While at Barnard Women's College in New York in the 1940s, she was enrolled in anthropology and had wanted to study Hawaiian anthropology. When the school administrators denied the Hawaiian language as an official language of study and instead mandated her to take French or Germ
an, she simply left the program.
Photo: Nona Beamer, Kamana’s tūtū.
She would go on to teach at the Kamehameha Schools integrating Hawaiian culture and arts into the curriculum, leaving a legacy through inspiring students to "speak up" and providing them a place to express their culture. She was recently awarded posthumously a University of Hawai‘i Regents’ Medal of distinction for her work as an educator. Hearing her stories I could not help but feel like I had it relatively easier than she did.
About that time I received word from a friend of mine about a research assistant position under Dr. Kaeo Duarte. I met with Dr. Duarte and soon was hired for the position. Having an interest in the intersections between land and culture I was impressed by the work of other Hawaiian scholars such as Kapa Oliveria, Kali Fermantez, and Carlos Andrade, who were in or had graduated from the geography department at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. I enrolled in a master’s program in the department, and soon I had received my master’s degree under the mentorship of Dr. Kaeo Duarte and Dr. Brian Murton, who was the chair of my M.A. committee.When I considered enrolling in a doctoral program I took that decision very seriously. One critical issue that I had to consider was whether or not I should leave Hawai‘i to pursue my degree. Students are often warned by advisors not to receive a degree from the institution that one wishes to be later employed by, and being that Hawai‘i is my home, I considered going away for my Ph.D. work. There were two very critical reasons I chose to stay at home and enroll in the doctoral program in geography at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa: the first was the health of my grandmother and my desire to be close to her as she was aging, and the second was that I wanted to be challenged by those who are actually writing about and studying Hawai‘i and Hawaiian subjects, something I was not sure I could get at other universities on the American continent.
I am most pleased with my decision to pursue my Ph.D. in geography at UH Mānoa. I was able to work with distinguished Hawaiian scholars such as Dr. Jon Osorio and Dr. Kaeo Duarte, and my committee was also composed of Dr. Brian Murton, a prominent Maori historical-geographer who has worked on land tenure research in Aotearoa (New Zealand), as well as Dr. Ev Wingert, who has spent years working on cartographic issues and Hawaiian mapping initiatives. The chair of my committee was Dr. Jon Goss, a noted British scholar who is now the Dean of the Honors Program at UH Mānoa.
Photo: Kamana Beamer with his Ph.D. committee following the successful defense of his dissertation. (From left to right) Dr. T. Kaeo Duarte, Dr. Jon Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, Dr. Brian Murton, Kamana Beamer, Dr. Ev Wingert, and Dr. Jon Goss.
Another advantage of studying at UH Mānoa was that many of my peers in graduate school were interested in similar issues. Networking with peers enrolled in other departments at the university allowed me to stay on the cutting edge of Hawaiian research. The discussions with my peers were, in many ways, educational experiences which were as valuable to me as the more formal portions of my program.
In the third year of my program I became the inaugural recipient of the ‘Ōiwi Ake Akamai Dissertation Fellowship, which provided me with the funding to focus on and complete my dissertation in one year. The fellowship also allowed me to travel to the United Kingdom where I lectured at The Royal Holloway University of London on my work and conducted research for my dissertation at the Royal Archives and the National Archives of the United Kingdom. Ironically, my decision to stay home enabled me to travel across the globe.
I received my Ph.D. in geography in August of 2008. This was somewhat bittersweet for me, as my tūtū had passed away a few months prior to my defense. I had so much wanted her to be there. When I last visited her in the hospital, I told her I had completed my dissertation draft and only needed to defend it with my committee. I could see she was proud of me as she said to me, "Maika‘i no!" (excellent work!) I stayed with her for a few hours that day holding her hand as we spoke of many things.
My goals as a scholar are very much related to my goals as a Hawaiian. As a Hawaiian, I want to provide work that is valuable for today and that can be used by those who come after me. As an academic I want to provide new forms of analysis and theoretical ways of looking at Hawaiian history and geography that might provide insight into our past while offering possibilities for our future.
Photo: Kamana burning a dried lo‘i while clearing land in Waipi‘o Valley.
Geography is an important discipline which bridges together the often divided continents of theory, people, and place. I am proud of my accomplishments in the academy, but my knowledge is not exhausted by my degree, nor will I allow the scope of the questions that I want to address to be limited by narrowly conceived boundaries between academic disciplines.
On a global scale I am interested in the histories of concepts such as nationalism, colonialism, and nation-states, with a particular interest in how these concepts are grappled with by indigenous societies. I am very interested in how peoples' conceptions of place and nature affect their relationships to the world around them and their constructions of landscape. I am very much concerned with explaining and interpreting human agency in historical analysis, particularly in regards to the colonial experiences of indigenous peoples. I also plan to continue to advocate for Hawaiian and indigenous rights in both my work and lifestyle as a scholar. I hope to teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels and to work closely with graduate students who share similar interests.
Once in a university setting I would like to acquire funding to enable a group of graduate students to focus on Hawaiian land claims. Ideally, I would advise a group of graduate students whose focus would be land transfers Post-1893. I would like to acquire funding to hire graduate assistants who will write their thesis as a result of this research and work on publishing their materials in peer reviewed journals. I would also like to acquire funding to provide for a group of students to travel to the United Kingdom National Archives and digitize selected highly important original source documents in regards to Pacific and Hawaiian history, culture, and politics so that these documents can be accessed by scholars and also be provided to Hawaiian and Pacific communities.
I am currently revising a book manuscript and am in discussion with a university press acquisitions editor. My book is on the Hawaiian Kingd
om Ali‘i (Native Hawaiian nobles) and Land Tenure System and the changes that took place to the land system following the United States-supported illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893.
I would also like to be a part of research that provides support to Hawaiian kalo farming communities. In particular I would like to partner with researchers or to design research which focuses on working with Hawaiian communities to find out the needs of kalo farmers and what the university can do to support non-GMO (genetically modified organism) ways to kokua (help) them as they face decreasing taro yields due to diseases such as "pocket rot" and "leaf-blight."
Photo: Kamana discussing restoration issues with his family in the lo‘i in Waipi‘o Valley. (From left to right) Aunty Laenette Hudgins, Kamana Beamer, Kupuna (Hawaiian elder) "Elaine" Leina‘ala Loo, and mother-in-law Denise Puana‘ala Murphy.
When I have the opportunity, I help my wife's family in their lo‘i in Waipi‘o. The family has restored 14 lo‘i that had been overgrown. It’s amazing to see the transformation from weeds to kalo and to hear the water flow as it runs down the ‘auwai (irrigation channels).
For the Generations to Come
By Linda Copman
Photo: Parker School students Josh Tobias and Kanoe Phillips help Waimea Country School (WCS) students to spread wood chips and mulch at the WCS garden.
By coming together as a community to help the land and grow our own food, we can provide a brighter future for the generations to come.
—Shelly Kaiyala, Parker School Outdoor Education Coordinator
Shelly Kaiyala first visited the Hawaiian Islands at the age of 22, when she attended an intensive permaculture design class on Kaua‘i. “This experience opened me up to what I needed to learn,” says Kaiyala, a native of western Washington. Kaiyala’s journey took her to Alaska, where she worked in a fish hatchery, a fish cannery, and for the U.S. Forest Service doing fisheries biology. Her duties included conducting stream surveys to assess water quality and to propose logging buffer zones for resident fish populations, including salmon. On a trip to New Zealand in 2002, Kaiyala made a brief stopover on Hawai‘i Island. “My ultimate goal was to grow food,” explains Kaiyala, “and an island with eleven distinct micro-climates seemed to be an incredible place to do that.” In 2003 Kaiyala relocated to the town of Waimea, on Hawai‘i Island.
Photo: Shelly Kaiyala with Emily and Tom Goodspeed volunteering their time in the Parker School garden in August 2008.
Kaiyala continued her hands-on learning process, working on building rock walls with a Tongan construction company and as an apprentice tile setter. From her various jobs, she has acquired an impressive array of building skills. She also taught physical education at Waimea Country School and worked with Amanda Rieux at Mala‘ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School. In 2007, when she was offered a position coordinating Parker School’s afterschool program, Kaiyala felt she was ready to begin her lifelong dream of helping to create a sustainable food system.
In the fall of 2007, Kaiyala approached Parker School Headmaster, Carl Sturges, to ask him if she could start a garden at the school. Sturges gave Kaiyala his blessing, and so with no budget, she and the afterschool students began digging in the dirt. Kaiyala was able to borrow a roto-tiller to prepare a strip of land in the elementary school yard for planting. The afterschool students finished the root clearing process by digging holes and building forts in the dirt. The next step was to design and lay out a series of raised beds. By Halloween, the students were ready to plant their first seeds. Kaiyala and the students planted “everything we could get our hands on,” including lettuce, beans, peas, squash, pumpkins, corn, beets, sunflowers, and tomatoes. Many of the seeds and starts were donated by community members who wanted to support the school’s fledgling garden program.
Photo: Breaking ground. Parker students Kevin Grace and Kiana Ward work at extending the borders of the organic garden.
Kaiyala volunteered her time during the school day to invite Parker’s K-5 teachers to sign up for hour-long sessions working in the garden. Support from the teachers was unanimous, and all grade levels participated.
“The students love being out there. Teachers report that the kids are better behaved, as working outside calms them,” reports Kaiyala. “School gardens give kids hands-on experience with things they are learning in the classroom. Teachers take plant samples to show student root structures and other biological functions of plants. Kids are able to be part of growing their own food and knowing firsthand where it comes from. Plus, the garden provides a place for student of all ages to come and work together,” she says.
By the end of the 2007–2008 school year, Kaiyala hosted the school’s first garden sale, featuring handmade candles in planter pots, stepping stones with leaf prints, and home-grown veggies like squash and beets, as well as fruits harvested from the community like avocadoes and coconuts. The sale raised over $350 to support the purchase of new seeds and starts for the school garden.
Photo: Parker School 6th graders repotting koa trees.
Nancy Redfeather, The Kohala Center’s (TKC) Hawai‘i Island School Gardens Network Coordinator, visited the Parker School Garden in spring 2007, and worked with Kaiyala to submit a grant application to TKC to expand the garden program. Kaiyala obtained a $12,000 grant for the 2008–2009 school year, which matched Parker School’s contribution to the garden program. The grant money enabled Kaiyala to launch a new Sustainability elective class for Parker High School students. Eight 9th-12th grade students are currently enrolled in this class. The high school students worked with younger students to prepare an expanded garden plot in the pasture land beside the elementary school. The new plot is already producing broccoli, corn, taro, tomatillos, onions, and a variety of other vegetables and flowers.
Photo: 
Parker School students Joah Kirker and Kanoe Phillips prepare sweet potatoes from the garden for a snack.
“The school has been very supportive of the garden and my work,” says Kaiyala. “The kindergarteners come out every Monday, they have their own garden section that they help tend, and they use food from the garden for their snacks. Fourth graders come out twice a month during their PE time to help in the garden. Fifth graders come every Wednesday to work in the garden and learn about native plants and the watershed as part of their science curriculum.”
Kaiyala hopes the school garden will inform the next generation of Parker School students about lifestyle options that will lead to a more sustainable future. Some of the lessons are conducted inside a greenhouse donated by the Grace family. Kaiyala uses this space to cultivate seedlings and experimental vegetation. With a weather station donated by Guy Celiar, Parker High School students are also recording wind, temperature, and precipitation conditions on a daily basis, as well as a subjective assessment of the vog levels in the Waimea area. This information helps students to identify the most conducive conditions for planting and harvesting various plants.
Kaiyala also hopes to have the Parker School students, as well as students from other school gardens in the community, set up a booth at the Waimea Town Market to sell some of their harvest. The Waimea Town Market at Parker School is open to the public every Saturday morning. Market organizers Paul Johnston, Susan Sanderson, and Betsy Sanderson have generously given Parker School the option of hosting a booth at the Market.
Photo: Waimea Town Market, every Saturday at Parker School.
In light of the recent downturn in the economy, Kaiyala has opted to give the harvest away to the school community, rather than offer it for sale. “I would rather use the produce from the garden to help support Waimea families during these troubled economic times, so I send vegetables from the garden home with students and volunteers. I want the students to see this is more than just a garden; they can be part of the process of planting, growing, and supplying locally grown produce to add to the island’s food economy,” says Kaiyala.
Kaiyala envisions a community supported agriculture (CSA) program in the future, in which community members pay a modest subscription fee for a weekly assortment of garden produce. She would like to see the creation of a certified kitchen at the school, so that students can enroll in a food preparation class and help to supplement the school lunch program with healthy options, such as a salad bar, soups, and home-made breads. Kaiyala is currently investigating how to fund these projects.
Photo: Students in Parker School’s Sustainability elective paint the new greenhouse.
“The Kohala Center has been a great support group to connect me with funding sources, workshops, and the island-wide school garden network,” says Kaiyala. “This project is a dream come true for me. I grew up in a place where you couldn’t grow much, and the growing season was only a short window each year. Hawai‘i Island is a paradise fo
r growing food. I plan to reapply for the TKC grant next year, but even if I don’t receive grant funding, I will continue working on this project. If you keep doing something you believe in, it will continue,” she says.
What’s next? Parker 5th-8th graders will participate in a stream restoration project with several other groups in the community, including the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Mauna Kea Soil and Water Conservation, Waimea Center businesses, Waimea Country School, Ulu La‘au Nature Park, and the Kohala Watershed Partnership. This land stewardship program will help to restore the Waikoloa Stream, which flows directly behind the school, and will provide an outstanding community outreach opportunity for Parker School students. “I love this work,” says Kaiyala, “and I will continue to expand as my resources allow.”
Photo: Bo Choi and Jay Williams-Stevens collecting water samples from the Waikoloa Stream with John Pipan (not shown) from the Mauna Kea Soil and Water Conservation.
