The Story of A Seed: Garden 3: Lahainaluna Highschool

The Vision: The vision for Lahainalunas Garden begins at the top at the AG-Dept building...surrounded by nursery plants and the new Greenhouse...stairways bring you down into Native Gardens that can be used for curriculum development, seed stock, and for making leis, baskets, and medicinals. All of the slopes are planted with low-maintenance natives such as pili grass, a'ali'i, ma'o, and ilima. We left a section of space open on the first terrace where trucks can dump loads of manure, compost, and mulch...and it is accessible to the rest of the garden. The second terrace is for a variety of fruit trees that will show a Hawaiian Agroforestry guild. Citrus, Ulu (Breadfruit), figs, Mountain Apple, Avocado, Starfruit, and Mango will be interplanted with nitrogen fixers (like pidgeon pea and cow-pea), dynamic accumulators (such as comfrey), and climbers such as sweet potato, nasturtiums, lilikoi and beneficial flowers. We are restoring the old Aquaponics house to feed into 2 separate Loi's (Taro Patches)...and ideally we will build a Hale between the two patches where classes can be held. The bottom fields will be cover-cropped this year, and next year we will begin planting crops of sweet corn, onions, watermelons, and more. The hope is that this garden will not only serve to help sustain the schools food, but will also serve as an outdoor classroom, a seed-bank, and will be able to provide Highschool students with jobs working on the farm.

The beginnings...after removing all of the invasive trees and weeds....here is our canvas

Keith (the Ag-Dept Teachers) son looking at the new blank canvas

Tui from the Water dept figuring out the water situation with Keith and his son

Uncovering the old Aquaponics house

The work begins...Matt Lane got the Hawaiian Dredging company to lend us a day of work bulldozing and creating terraces

First view of the newly cleared land...looking up towards the Ag Building and Principals house

Our first workday...laying weedmat over the hillsides, establishing pathways and stairways and planting the first natives

After the first workday

Our second workday we had nearly 100 students show up to lend a hand spreading mulch, planting natives and fruit trees. It was an amazingly productive day.

What a beautiful sight...the kids working with the land again...planting Native Hawaiian plants along the hillsides

Making some special Fairy-magic tea...a mixture of worm castings, compost, seaweed, mychorrizal, humus, and LOVE.

Cole from the water dept working on the irrigation while students and volunteers from Lahaina ACE plant more natives

We had an amazing group of girls who worked so hard today!

This site gave me chills- I could see 100 years ago- what this land looked like having the children and elders working together to malama the aina. This is the way it should always be.

Highschool students driving tractors, planting trees, spreading mulch! Amazing!

Mother and Daughter both alumni of Lahainaluna planted an Ulu tree for their late grandfather

Ian from the Breadfruit Institute lent us a hand planting fruit trees- and keeping us all smiling!

Tui from the Water Dept teaching students about how to lay irrigation. This project would not be possible without the Water dept who has been incredibly generous both in working with the designer (me) to create the most water-efficient/conservative gardens, but they have also supplied nearly all of the Native plants, and irrigation for this project. Mahalo nui loa to the Water Dept!

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Stacy and Soane putting in the weedmat...(yes, I know it isn't exactly permaculture or sustainable...but sometimes I have to compromise to make the Ag-Dept teachers happy- He says he will remove it once the natives are established.