Concept of the Hawaiian Garden

The garden was designed as a “look and touch” project for our 4th grade students as they studied our native Hawaiian plants and the concept of the “ahupua’a” in Hawaii. It provides a mini ecosystem for a variety of native plants which grow in the multiple climatic strands of our Hawaiian islands. From the ‘Ohi’a and palapalai ferns of the rain forests to the naupaka and ‘akia of our seashores. Pathways were created to allow the student or visitor access to each planting area so that they can touch, smell and see each plant up close.

Incorporated into this planting is a streambed demonstrating the importance of the kahawai (river) in the ahupua’a and planted in the little streambed is the kalo plant which is one of only two Polynesian introduced plants in the garden. We felt that the kalo played such a significant role in early Hawaii that it was important to provide a place for them in our native garden.

With the exception of the kalo and ‘awa, all of the other plantings are endemic or indigenous to Hawaii. This coincides with the 4th grade studies of our native Hawaiian plants and how they found their way to our islands. To be endemic or indigenous the plants had to have arrived in Hawaii by themselves without the aide of humans. The 4th graders learn that their only means of transportation was by “wind, wave or wing”. The garden is designed to demonstrate the diversity of plant material, from small ferns to large trees, that were able to arrive on our little islands through these three modes of transportation. The 4th graders will be able to pick the seeds of the pili grass and notice how the seed sticks to their clothes in the same way it would stick to the feathers of a bird. They are able to visualize the spores of the ferns, palapalai, hapu’u or kupukupu being carried by the wind, or the seeds of naupaka floating on the ocean, making their way to our islands.

The objective of the project is to provide students with a “hands on” opportunity to work with tools and to malama their ahupua’a, in effect becoming the konohiki (overseers or owners) of this little garden. It gives the students the opportunity to get some lepo (soil) under their nails while tending to the ‘aina, maybe providing us with our next generation of mahi’ai (farmers).

One project that has been discussed is to have the students research the names and how our ancestors used the plant material in their daily lives. We would then like them to create the signage for the plants of the garden. In this way the students would learn a great deal more about the plants while making a “visible” (the signs) contribution to the garden.

Another possibility would be to have the students utilize some of the plants as they would have been used by our ancestors. For example, they could use the berries of the ‘uki’uki to create the purple dye for kapa, or the leaves of the palapalai fern for a haku. They could create a poultice to stun fish (guppies in a jar would be an easy demonstration) with the leaves and stems of the ‘akia, or something as simple as using the stem of the ma’u ‘aki’aki as a toothpick. With these simple demonstrations, they would learn about the resourcefulness of our ancestors in using these plants in their daily lives.

The possibilities are many; we have provided an effective, educational tool with this project. Please visit, maintain and use the garden regularly.

Click here to download the Hawaiian Garden Manual.