Canoe Plant Cultural Garden, Pathway and Irrigation

Green Apple Day of Service at Wilson Elementary

September 27th, 20147:30 am -12:00 pm

Sustainability is a big deal at Wilson Elementary. HHF Planners’ Principal and Landscape Architect, Rick Quinn and

Marketing and Event Coordinator, Erin Higa met with Wilson Elementary School Principal, Richard Kiyonaga and

Sustainability Teacher, Laura Hew along with representatives of the Wilson community to plan the joint eff ort

2014 Green Apple Day of Service project. The goal was to create a project that would show students the real life

application of sustainability, to empower them with a feeling of ownership, and to continue to create a legacy of

sustainability at Wilson.

Both short term and long term dreams and goals for sustainability were discussed (i.e. aquaponics, hydroponics,

water catchment, renewable energy) before a decision was made to create a canoe plant cultural garden, to defi ne

the garden with a gravel path, and to extend an existing water pipe out to the garden.

At Wilson, Hawaiian studies and culture are integrated into the curriculum, and having hands-on access to Hawaiian

cultural plants is a powerful tool to connect students with their lessons.

Project Outline

1. Design and implement a Canoe Plant Cultural Garden

a. Clean the area of weeds

i. Cut down and cap/use environmentally safe Epsom salt and water to kill haole koa growing on both

sides of the fence, and two large weed bushes

b. Build 2 large, raised planters out of sustainable plastic lumber to grow ‘uala, ipu and kalo

c. Plant pili grass and sugar cane as fi ller around existing ‘ulu and wauke plants

2. Build a gravel pathway around the garden

a. Dig out a 1 ft. deep and 3 ft. wide path (about 50 ft.)

b. Install border header and landscape weed fabric

c. Fill in with gravel

3. Extend an existing water pipe out to the garden

a. Dig trench; add coupler valve, extension and faucet fi xture with key

HHF will provide planning and design services, manpower and some funds for the event in conjunction with the

U.S. Green Building Council Hawai‘i’s Green Schools Committee. Additionally, HHF and Rick Quinn will contribute to

Wilson’s continuing path towards sustainability by helping to fi nd a stand-alone water catchment tank, providing

drawings and a materials list. Although Wilson school doesn’t get a lot of rain, in the event that it does, a catchment

tank will provide students with great hands-on experience in collecting and using water sustainably.

Pre-Event Responsibilities

Component HHF Wilson

Cultural Garden Picking up supplies for planter,

sugar cane, uala, ipu and pili

grass

Asking UH CTAHR for kalo

plants

Ask parents to bring: picks,

pruners, cutting tools, bypass

loppers, hand saws

Gravel Pathway Draw out pathways before

event, pick up landscape

covering to go under gravel

Order gravel

Wilson has 3 wheelbarrows

and 8 shovels

Water pipe Pick up supplies

Budget

Pre-event Photos

Planters to be replaced

New planters will look like this

‘Ulu Taro

Edible hibiscus, Abelmoschus manihot Mulch

Rick Quinn of HHF and Wilson Elementary School teacher, Mrs. Laura Hew, draw out a

path to future learning.