HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0952.009 2006-2008
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Murashige, Laura
From: Ann C. Peterson [apeterson@hualalai.org]
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 10:24 AM
45
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us FEB 5 Rid 11
Subject: school gardens ^I P
G;OUNT ir HAWAII
Aloha County Council Members,
I am writing in support of Resolution 506-08, the School Garden Project.
Hualalai Academy began its garden program 10 years ago when it moved to this campus. Since that time, each grade has had the oppormnity to
experience the wonders of growing and caring for plants and vegetables.
The overall mission for our program is to involve students in experiential learning that integrates different curriculum, such as arts, physical
activity, and science that ultimately put students back in touch with nature. Students learn human health, cultural awareness, environmental
sustainability, botany, and chemistry through fun hands-on outdoor activities.
Over 20,000 square feet has been set-aside on the school grounds and a Hawauan cultural garden is flush with gourds traditionally used for
food and water gathering and music making. Other gardens create a maze, celebrate the pueo (our school mascot), provide fruit and vegetables,
and beautify the campus. Hualalai faculty and students are building a number of trails through the campus, and are planning to install benches
and plant flowers and trees to create peaceful, shady areas where students can read and/or do art and science projects. The National Wildlife
Federation recently acknowledged our efforts and named the 14-acre campus a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
Wong with the educational aspects of gardening, is the more practical side. With the rise in fuel prices, and the realization that Hawaii Island
now imports 90% of its food; many arc sensing the need to go back to the early practice of producing more food locally. The early Hawaiians
were exceptional gardeners - creating the terraced Field System, said to be the 8th Wonder of the World by early explorers. This System fed a
population equal to that of today's with locally grown and gathered food. With fertile land as an asset, the School Gardening Program can help
teach children skills that may serve them and future generations in ways that could sustain their lives and the life of the land. Ua mau ke ea o ka
aina i ka pond.
Your YES vote can help the School Gardening Program in very substantial ways by providing funding for part-time staff to help teach students
and to help maintain gardens during vacations and breaks.
Thank you for your kind support of this resolution and for providing support for this most essential school program.
Sincerely,
.4nn C Peterson
Ann C. Peterson
Director of Development
aoetersonChh9alalai org
808-326-9866 (work)
808-987-0185 (cell)
808-329-9542 (fax)
Comm. No.
9sa. 9
Ref. To. Rraeihd wtci /
Ref. Date _I Q 6 R
2/5/2008