Gardens for Resilience and Climate Education – Maui PDE3

This summer, 23 educators from across the pae ʻāina, including fifteen from Maui,  gathered to embark on a three day professional development opportunity as part of the USDA Rapid Response to Extreme Weather Event Across Food and Agriculture Systems grant.  Gardens for Resilience and Climate Education (GrACE) was developed by Dr. Koh Ming Wei, Lydi Morgan  Bernal, and Tina Cacpal, along with other members of Hawai‘i Farm to School, and delivered at the University of Hawai‘i Maui College. 

Educators learned how to use school gardens and gardening as a tool to deal with traumatic events, while earning PD3 credits and developing their own projects based on their learnings to take back to their schools.

Before gathering in person, educators were introduced to the Hawai‘i Department of Education Nā Hopena A‘o HĀ Statements and the CASEL Framework to set the stage for what social emotional learning is and how it can be fostered in school settings.  They were also asked to identify a Native Hawaiian or canoe plant they are connected with and use it as a way to build relationships with the instructors and other participants.  

When everyone came together on Maui, each day started with mindfulness, body, and breathing exercises, followed by three hours with Chef Craig Omori from Chef Hui and the UH Maui College Culinary program. With Chef Omori, educators learned how cooking is healing and how to cook with the canoe crop ‘uala (sweet potato).  

During the group’s “classroom time,” which happened inside an actual classroom in the Kauluwehi Botanical Garden and at Kā‘ehu, participants dove deeper into learning about Native Hawaiian Plants, integrating gardening lessons, social emotional learning, and social and political systems that affect the wellbeing of students. Educators were able to discuss their experiences with these topic areas and learn from each other.  

Throughout the experience, educators were well fed with many locally grown ingredients by Chef Lisa from Chef Hui, who had taken up feeding volunteer chefs during the Maui wildfires. The group were also able to contribute meaningfully to the ‘āina restoration projects happening at Kā‘ehu in their loʻi and garden, and by doing seed sorting and planting with TipuTipu, who works to restore Maui watershed. 

All participants walked away from the experience feeling rejuvenated and excited about integrating what they learned. They also gave praise to the format of the experience, sharing that they thought all PDE3s should be formatted in a way that cares for educators like this experience did. 

Keep an eye out for information on the last of the USDA Rapid Response events, which will be happening on October 19 at Princess Nāhi‘ena ‘ena Elementary and is focused on supporting Early Childhood and Education providers. 

GRaCE is supported by the A1712 Rapid Response to Extreme Weather Events Across Food and Agriculture Systems program, Project Award no. 2024-67019-41620, from the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.