The Pa’auilo School Agriculture Program

Pa’auilo Elementary & Intermediate School is located on the Hamakua Coast, between Honoka’a and Laupahoehoe. Its student population is around 275 and is the last K-9^th grade school in the state. The school has had a long history of promoting agriculture and I started the garden here as a volunteer ten years ago. I’ve been leading the school’s agriculture program since then. Besides staffing the parent center, my purpose is to teach students how to produce healthy food and care for small-scale livestock.

This former sugar plantation town is surrounded by hundreds of acres of farmable lease land. One goal of this program is that some of the students will choose go into organic farming as an occupation, possibly on some of the surrounding acreage. Our island needs a steady supply of farmers in order to provide a sustainable food supply. But the methods they use will need to be environmentally sound so that our resources are managed wisely. The old ways of food production using chemical fertilizers and herbicides are not conducive to sustained productivity, soil health and most importantly, personal health.

Students at Pa’auilo School love their weekly classes in the school garden. We serve approximately 200 students in grades K through 6. There are nine classes ranging in size from 17 to 32 students that take Gardening for one 45 minute period each week. Whether they are learning to plant seeds, harvest produce or care for chickens or goats, the students are always eager to learn in the garden.

Our garden area is about an eighth of an acre and includes two greenhouses. The garden grows most herbs and vegetables, including kalo and sweetpotatoes. It’s also where we have our papayas, pineapples, and strawberries. Two years ago we started an orchard where we have young limes, lemons, star apple, avocado, bananas, and a mango. There’s also an older macnut tree nearby. And we’re hoping to get a breadfruit tree started soon. We also grow flowers such as orchids and anthuriums, and landscaping plants such as bamboo and Norfolk pine.

In addition to the botanical training, our other main focus is animal husbandry. We want the students to learn to respect and become comfortable around farm animals. In our program we currently have a large flock of chickens that produce anywhere from one to six dozen eggs a week depending on the season; a couple of geese and several ducks; seven goats; five hair sheep; and three head of cattle. Students learn to groom and deworm the big animals and trim their hooves. Soon they will be learning to milk the lactating females.

We’re working towards being truly sustainable by eliminating all imported fertilizers. Now we’re trying to reduce soil amendments that we get from outside this garden and farm area, such as green sand and pelletized chicken manure. So composting is crucial. The students are learning to make great compost. The chickens provide quality, nitrogen-rich manure. But one of our main soil amendments and composting materials is cracked macnut shells. Our students have learned to dehusk the macnuts, but we then send them to a processor to crack the shells and roast the nuts. When we get the nuts we also pick up the cracked shells for the garden. In addition to compost and macnut shells, we’ve started to learn about the Korean Natural Farming methods of making IMO (indigenous micro-organisms) inoculants.

All core curriculums can be linked in the garden. Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Physical Education, Health, and Economics can all be addressed using the school garden as the classroom. The vegetables, mac nuts and fruit grown at the garden are either given to students to take home or sold at the school garden market to parents and school staff. The money generated from these sales is put back into the program for supplies.

Students also enjoy participating in community agriculture events such as Hamakua Alive, the Kohala Country Fair, and E Malama Aina, where they sell the products grown in their garden such as organic vegetables, macadamia nuts, and eggs from their laying flock of hens.

Besides my work as garden coordinator, I am the East Hawai‘i Coordinator for the Hawai‘i Island School Gardens Network, a program sponsored by The Kohala Center. This job is perfect for me because I get to visit all the school gardens in East Hawai‘i and offer support and encouragement to these programs. Along with Program Director Nancy Redfeather, regular workshops are developed for garden teachers island wide. We all learn so much from each other. It’s great when we get together to learn new ideas and strategies for gardening with youth.

Currently there are 56 schools on Hawai‘i Island which have been identified as having a garden program of some sort. Some are small or just getting started. Others have been operating for years and are quite developed. This is very exciting to see students getting exposure to sustainable agriculture methods especially in these economically challenging times. If every family could grow even a small portion of their own produce it would improve our vulnerable food security situation.

Almost all of our school gardens can use community volunteers. If you or someone you know is interested in helping out there is a school nearby which could use your kokua.

For more information on how to help or to receive a list of schools near you please contact Donna Mitts at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Donna Mitts has been the Garden Coordinator for the Pa‘auilo School Agriculture Program since its inception ten years ago. She also is the East Hawai‘i Coordinator for the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network.