This is for recent articles about gardening, volunteers, etc.
(Not Announcements/Events)
What a art-full, educational recipe day in the garden! Garden Educator Sierra Knight led 21st Century Learning Center summer students in a study of plant parts and their delicious beauty! A rainbow of colors and smiling faces 🙂
Try this with your Keiki. Itʻs sure to be a hit.
Download the lesson plan and watch a Life Lab “Plant Part Art” video.
Check the Grow Some Good Facebook album for a gallery of our studentsʻ most colorful creations!
The harvest stage of a school garden provides an ideal setting to observe interdependence of producers and consumers: harvesting food in the garden vs. buying produce in a store or a restaurant. This is when Social Studies benchmarks can be supported in the garden and students can gain an understanding of how consumer choices affect food sustainability on Maui.
Discussion Points
Limited Resources and Choice: Explain scarcity and effects on daily life. Discuss water scarcity in Hawaii and how it affects farmers / gardeners. What happens when there is less rainfall on the island? How does it affect farmers? What happens if local farmers stop producing a fruit or vegetable? How does it affect the price? What happens when consumers buy imported produce instead of local produce? How does it affect a local farmer’s ability to grow more?
Role of Government: Discuss responsibility of government to provide goods and services – ie. In supplying water to areas where needed.
Economic Interdependence / Role and Function of Markets: How do people benefit from trade (exchange of goods and services)? Discuss relationships between buyers (consumers) and sellers (producers) and how they depend upon each other. Why do farmers need customers? Why do customers need farmers?
Activities
Final Observations / Questions
Why do stores in your neighborhood import food from other countries? Not enough supply? Not enough demand? Do imported bananas taste better?
For more ideas on connecting students their food sources and sustainable practices, check out the free downloads and other resources available via the Center for Ecoliteracy.
In the final months of school, garden lessons turn to a continuation of the life cycle with ‘Saving Our Seeds’ workshops at all grade levels. This exercise connects students to sustainable practices that preserve their favorite plants, ensure food security and support benchmarks in science (life cycle), social studies (food economics) and more.
During hands-on lessons, students dig into discussions and activities that illustrate stages of the life cycles (germination/birth, growth, reproduction, and death) of various plants and animals, pointing out details that distinguish each stage. Students also learn the value of seed saving and how it affects food availability for the future. As our jr. gardeners/scientists/economists become more experienced, the learning possibilities are endless. Here are just a few ideas to get started:
Discussion Points
Activities
Check out more ideas for all grades and experience levels in this free e-book download made available by the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center.
For three full days, April 24-26, world-class chefs led garden recipe workshops with more than 950 students in nearly a quarter-acre of garden space in the heart of the Kihei Elementary School campus. Kindergarten through 5th grade students and chefs prepared Asian stir-fry and gourmet veggie pizzas using ingredients grown and harvested from the school’s Pizza Garden and Gardens of the World. Students chopped, peeled and spiced their garden delights before chefs tossed them into a giant wok and wood-fired pizza oven and served it up in a pop-up café to celebrate the school’s annual Harvest Fest.
Now in its sixth year, Kihei Elementary School garden, managed by Grow Some Good, has become a model program for integrating sustainability and nutrition into curriculum while inspiring future farmers, chefs, scientists, teachers and entrepreneurs on Maui. “We have observed children who are shy or those who don’t do well in the classroom, blossom just like the plants they are cultivating,” says Halle Maxwell, Kihei Elementary School Principal.
Grow Some Good is a nonprofit community program dedicated to creating hands-on, outdoor learning experiences that cultivate curiosity about natural life cycles, connect students to their food sources, and inspire better nutrition choices. In addition to helping establish food gardens and living science labs in local schools, the organization provides resources and curriculum support through community partnerships in agriculture, science, food education and nutrition. For more information about Grow Some Good, visit GrowSomeGood.org.
MAHALO TO OUR CHEFS!
Owner/Chef Dan Fiske and Chef Kristin Etheredge of Private Maui Chef MAHALO to Elyse Ditzel of Whole Foods Market Kahului for donating extra local produce to the Harvest Fest!
And, as always, MAHALO TO OUR WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS who make these special events run smoothly and inspire greater nutrition for our keiki!
– Nio Kindla, Terry Huth, Kathy Becklin, Dania Katz, Eric Ulman, Ray and Laura Van Wagner, Connie Mark, Jordan Lauren Claymore, Wyatt Gouveia, Anthony LaBua, Sierra Knight and Ruby Ayers… you are AWESOME! We couldn’t do this without you!
Mahalo nui loa to more than 250 friends of Grow Some Good who attended our school gardens benefit last Saturday at Hotel Wailea. We are thrilled at the incredibly warm reception received from the community and excited to grow some more good in the neighborhood!
The benefit was our first annual event and raised more than $18,000 to assist school gardens serving nearly 2,000 students on Maui. Special thanks to Marty Dread and Maui’s world class chefs who harvested produce with our students, then kept the crowd entertained while they feasted on delicious cuisine prepared from school garden ingredients. Not only do these chefs raise funds for school gardens, they also mentor students during recipe workshops to improve nutrition choices with localicious recipes!
Premiere chefs participated from Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante, Capische? & Il Teatro, Spago, Private Maui Chef, and The Outrigger Pizza Company. Featured sponsors: First Wind, Maui No Ka ‘Oi Magazine, Four Seasons Resort and Hotel Wailea. Thanks to your support, Grow Some Good is expanding our programs to reach more keiki on Maui.
For those of you just getting to know us, Grow Some Good is a nonprofit community program dedicated to creating hands-on, outdoor learning experiences that cultivate curiosity about natural life cycles, connect students to their food sources, and inspire better nutrition choices. In addition to helping establish food gardens and living science labs in local schools, we provide resources and curriculum support through partnerships in agriculture, science, food education and nutrition.
Dig into all the good things growing in our schools! Check out our volunteer page for more information or donate online. You can also join keep in touch via Facebook and Twitter.
Special thanks to:
Tri-Isle Resource Conservation & Development
Mulligan’s on the Blue
Chef Jana McMahon
Maui Culinary Academy
Wailea Golf Club
Four Winds Maui
Ali’i Kula Lavender
Kinaole Grill
Hawaiian Moons Natural Foods
Edible Hawaiian Islands Magazine
Surf Rents Trucks
… And every wonderful teacher, parent, volunteer and local business that digs in to help school gardens on Maui thrive!
Here’s a sneak peek at the menu from our fabulous chefs supporting the upcoming Grow Some Good event – A Sunset Taste of School Gardens. Saturday, March 2, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Hotel Wailea. Buy your tickets by 2 p.m. Saturday and get $10 off. Tickets going fast! Don’t delay!
Each course is inspired by a different area of our curriculum-based gardens.
Inspired by the Three Sisters Garden: According to Native American legends, corn, beans and squash are the three sisters who only thrive when planted together. This has become a legendary story in U.S. History as Native Americans taught immigrants to farm using this technique that was passed down through generations. The corn grows straight and tall, the squash shades the ground and helps keep pests away and the beans grow up the corn stalks while their ability to fix nitrogen keeps the soil fertile. This 5th grade garden project is used to teach history, interdependent relationships in nature, and soil health.
Menu Items:
Inspired by the Salsa Garden: The salsa garden provides many different fresh flavors for students to sample. Many students previously thought of salsa as a mushy mix of store bought and preserved tomatoes and peppers in a jar. Now they’ve learned that most delicious salsas can be made fresh from the garden in just minutes. Classic salsa has morphed into varieties made out of whatever is fresh and in season. Students don’t even need chips to enjoy salsa! Dip with carrot or zucchini chips or wrap in a kale leaf. This 3rd grade garden project introduces students to new cultures, teaches basics of food preparation, preservation and nutrition.
Menu Items:
Inspired by Gardens of the World: Since Hawaii is such a melting pot of ethnic backgrounds, one area of the garden is dedicated to celebrating their cultural gifts. This 3rd grade garden introduces geography and explores the vast variety of fruits and vegetables that cultures with weather similar to Maui enjoy. It is such a delight to hear the kids’ stories about their families, their traditions and the food they’ve enjoyed for generations.
Menu Items:
Inspired by Super Greens Garden: This 1st and 2nd grade garden project introduces students to the power of chlorophyll for plants and people. Students learn how plants convert energy from the sun into life giving nutrition. The Super Greens Garden includes several heirloom varieties of kale, chard and other greens which are harvested with papaya, apple bananas and mint to make their favorite recipe: Super Green Smoothies! Kids delight in drinking these vibrant green drinks and have given the recipe nicknames like “The Healthy Hulk” and “Green Lantern Juice.” Check out the recipe and video of kids screaming for more greens on our blog post at GrowSomeGood.org.
Menu Items:
Inspired by the Pizza Garden: In this mini-labyrinth circular garden grows all the ingredients to make kids all time favorite food: pizza! We even grow some wheat to show the kids that the crunchy crust comes from the garden too! Students love meandering through the pizza-slice pathways, picking tomatoes, smelling the basil and oregano, sizing up the onions and eggplants and harvesting the bounty for pizza parties! This 1st grade project introduces the concept of growing ingredients for familiar foods, asking “where does my food come from?” It also serves as an example of pollination as bees hover and extract nectar from the flowering basil with balls of pollen stuck to their legs, then continuing onto the other flowering plants.
Inspired by Tropical Fruits of Hawaii: Our school gardens have a variety of apple bananas, citrus, lilikoi and, of course, papayas, which pop up all over the garden from seeds in our rich compost. Kids love catching papayas with the help of Mr. Handy – a 12 foot bamboo pole with a hand glove on the end. They amaze at the sight of a tall banana stalk and observe with great patience as fruit trees mature from saplings to fruit bearing beauties. By growing fruit, all grade levels learn about the importance of pollinators, the surprising differences between fruits and vegetables, seed saving techniques, nutrition and more!
Fine wines provided courtesy of Young’s Market Company, Southern Wine & Spirits, and Trinchero Family Estates. Microbrews provided courtesy of Maui Brewing Company.
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Of course because we want only the best and freshest ingredients, menu items are subject to change.
Tickets are easiest if purchased in advance online. Find out more about the event and purchase tickets here.
Measuring Perimeter, Area & Volume / Inspiring Entrepreneurial Minds
This week, third and fourth graders at Kihei Elementary School and Wailuku Elementary School practiced measuring perimeter, area and volume in the garden to determine quantities of soil and lumber required to build a new raised garden bed and design garden layouts.
The measurements were also used to determine how many plants could be planted in the surface area of the new bed and how a farmer would use these math skills to determine what price to charge for produce.
Lots of fun and a great way to inspire entrepreneurial skills at an early age!
Here’s a link to Kids Gardening resources on a variety of math lessons to incorporate into your school garden programs.
Please join us Saturday, Sept. 15, at Spago for a very special dinner to benefit Grow Some Good – Educational School Gardens on Maui. Chefs Cameron Lewark (Spago), Christopher Kulis (Capische?) and Nicholas Porreca (Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante) will co-host a limited seating engagement with 60 guests in the beautiful Spago restaurant, located at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. The four-course dinner will feature school garden-grown ingredients and wine pairings.
For $98 per plate, attendees will have the opportunity to taste cuisine from three of Wailea’s top chefs in one evening. On the menu:
Haiku Tomato, Hana Pohole Ferns, Surfing Goat Cheese
Garden Radishes, Lemon Grass & Grilled Kula Onion Vinaigrette
Lobster Consommé, Kona Lobster Tail, Lemongrass
Hamakua Mushroom Lobster Knuckle Ravioli
Kula Corn Puree, Hawaiian chilies
Mahi Mahi Two Ways
- Steamed In Ti Leaves
Kula Vegetables, Fragrant Thai Herbs, Green Chili and Cilantro Nam Pla
- Braised “SZECHUAN” Style
Shiitake Mushrooms, Gingered-Baby Bok Choy and Jasmine Rice
Warm Chocolate Purse
Decadent Chocolate, Strawberry Sorbet & Caramel Ice Cream
All net proceeds from the fundraiser benefit Grow Some Good projects including school garden installations and maintenance, coordinator/educator positions, school garden mini-grants, curriculum and materials for garden-based learning and nutrition classes. The organization also has received funding support from the County of Maui, Private Maui Chef Owner/Chef Dan Fiske, Capische? Owner/Chef Brian Etheredge, and Monkeypod Kitchen by Merriman, Ulupono Initiative, Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation and Whole Kids Foundation.
More details about the fundraiser series.
COST: $98 per person
Please complete form below to reserve.
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The terrace project in the heart of Lokelani Intermediate School is nearly complete, thanks to significant contributions from Goodfellow Brother
If you’d like to contribute to the positive growth happening at Lokelani, emailinfo@GrowSomeGood.org for more information. Student and volunteer hours at Lokelani Intermediate School are typically 7:45 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. weekdays. Some additional afternoon weekday hours and weekends will also be scheduled over the next few months. Email us your availability, and we’ll be in touch soon with upcoming dates! Mahalo!
phone: 808-344-0469