Our Valued Partners
808Urban
ABOUT
808 Urban is a collective of community cultural workers: artists, organizers, and volunteers committed to improving the quality of life for our communities through arts programming. In all of their work, they strive to integrate the highest levels of artistic innovation with grassroots cultural organizing for systemic, progressive social change.
HOW WE PARTNER
In recent years, the 808 Urban teams created two murals around two classroom buildings at Nānākuli High & Intermediate School based on student input and collaboration. More recently, 808 Urban has created coloring and activities pages for various student groups, from elementary to high school. During the time of Distance Learning, John “Prime” Hina and Kukui Mahoney virtually met with students as guest speakers, to facilitate sessions on how to create art, and to co-create artwork as part of several additional school projects at numerous schools.
Blue Planet Foundation
ABOUT
Blue Planet Foundation is a local nonprofit powering the transition to 100% clean energy in Hawaii and leading the way for global change. They find creative ways to remove the obstacles that stand between us and a future free from fossil fuels.
HOW WE PARTNER
Education Director, Griff Jurgens, has worked with students on the Waiʻanae Coast in a variety of ways. He has visited both elementary and high schools as a guest speaker, worked with student groups who attended the Student Energy Summit and provided project support and materials for the Blue Planet light bulb exchange and Blue Line Project. Additionally, Griff hosted an informative and interactive table at Nānākuli High and Intermediate School’s Career Fair.
Camp Pālehua
ABOUT
Camp Pālehua, (formerly Camp Timberline) is part of 1,600 acres of conservation and agricultural land perched on the southern slopes of the Wai'anae mountains, nestled in a forest with commanding views of the southern and western coastline of O'ahu.
Their mission is to create unforgettable experiences in a unique mauka environment for the local community and visitors from around the world. They offer educational programs and activities in an effort to foster the next generation of stewards; events to network and expand collaboration opportunities in the community; and overnight accommodations in order for guests to build personal connections with the land.
HOW WE PARTNER
Camp Pālehua has hosted a number of our student groups to participate in hikes that take students to a lookout over Nānākuli Valley. This view of many of the students’ community from above is breathtaking, gives students a different perspective, and oftentimes is recalled as a favorite, memorable moment for them. Camp Pālehua staff also help guide students through team-building exercises, lessons on native and invasive plants and have hosted classes overnight to help provide bonding experiences and strengthen relationships.
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR)
ABOUT
The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa aims to create and deliver knowledge that supports and strengthens families, agricultural and food systems, and the natural environment. CTHAR educates and serves the people of Hawai‘i and those from around the world with integrity and excellence.
HOW WE PARTNER
One way in which we’ve partnered with CTAHR is by having a host of experts come and speak with students and teachers alike to help share their knowledge and experiences. Dr. Jonathan Deenik has visited classes at Nānākuli High and Intermediate as well as Ka Waihona O Ka Naʻauao to speak on the topic of soil and share resources. We have also partnered with the Farm To School program coordinator Kristen Jamieson on various projects related to cooking and growing.
Cultural Learning Center at Kaʻala Farm
ABOUT
The mission of Kaʻala Farm is to reclaim and preserve the living culture of the Poʻe Kahiko (people of old) in order to strengthen the kinship relationships between the ʻāina (land, that which nourishes) and all forms of life necessary to sustain the balance of life on these venerable lands.
Over the past 30 years, Kaʻala Farm has offered a stable, enduring anchor for the community.
Today, Kaʻala Farm continues to reach out to the community and its future – the children – in order to connect them with their cultural heritage. Forever looking for new and innovative ways to foster the Hawaiian spirit in all Hawaiʻi’s inhabitants.
HOW WE PARTNER
Kaʻala Farm is one of our two longest partnerships. It is situated on approximately 100 acres within the upper Waiʻanae valley at the base of Mauna Ka`ala amid hundreds of acres of ancient loʻi. It sits on the land on which the archaeological evidence of ancestral sites, and a thriving community, are located. While at Ka`ala Farm, students are presented with many opportunities for learning from the ʻāina, including sharpening their kilo skills and exploring the cultural and political significance of water. Students walk the same ʻāina, touch the same pōhaku, and cross the same stream as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. Ka`ala Farm provides cultural and rigorous educational experiences for students - grounding them in the past and present while preparing them for their future.
Fyah Island Family
ABOUT
Fyah Island Family uses art to inspire, encourage creative thinking, boost self-esteem and provide a sense of accomplishment. Fyah Island Family uses themes like culture, overcoming adversity, and community to create artwork using many different mediums.
Fyah Island Family has taken their art-inspired programs into places of education like the University of Hawaiʻi, Kaʻala Farm, Nānākuli High and Intermediate School, Ka Waihona o Ka Naʻauao, Waiʻanae High School, Honolulu Academy of Arts, and Bishop Museum. The lessons presented can easily implement reading, writing, math, art, and music. Fyah Island Family programs are encouraging, engaging, and fun for all students.
HOW WE PARTNER
Fyah Island Family has partnered with PALS/PLACES for a variety of art workshops from elementary to high school. These workshops included a variety of topics such as the transformation of wauke to kapa, `ulumana, board and stone, and brick oven projects. Fyah Island Family has also helped PLACES Hawaiʻi in hosting Kahana Kapa workshops for teachers on the Wai`anae Coast. These Kahana Kapa workshops were facilitated alongside Kumu Kapa A`ia`i. Connect with them on IG: @fyah_island_family_ to see other projects.
Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha Farm
ABOUT
Since its beginning in 1979, Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha Farm, “Land Shared in Friendship,” has centered its focus on supporting family, community self-reliance, and peacemaking on the Waiʻanae Coast. The Farm, as it is known lovingly by community residents, is a place where dreams have become a reality by developing a barren piece of land into an educational resource center.
Together with the children of our community, Hoa ʻĀina helps to rediscover the Hawaiian culture, the love for the land, and the love for each other and for the world.
“Creating Peaceful Communities in Harmony with Nature, through the Eyes, Hands and Hearts of the Children”
HOW WE PARTNER
Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha Farm is one of our two longest partnerships. It is situated next to Mākaha Elementary School, is five acres of gardens rooted in aloha, and in service to the community. The loving staff teaches young keiki about the magic and joy of gardens, our kuleana to each other and to nature, and the interdependence of all living things. Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha Farm provides wonderful opportunities to learn about farm to table practices; the healing aspects of native plants; the science, math, and language arts that live in gardens; and the joy of walking among friends. Hoa ʻĀina O Mākaha Farm is one of our favorite workshop planning partners.
Jason Mehlinger - Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR)
ABOUT
The mission of the Division of Aquatic Resources is to work with the people of Hawaiʻi to manage, conserve and restore the state’s unique aquatic resources and ecosystems for present and future generations.
HOW WE PARTNER
Jason Mehlinger, from DAR, works with students in learning about the coastal areas frequented by these students on a daily basis. Whether bringing in the ocean and reef animals, making art with limu, or teaching students the laws of fishing and gathering ocean resources such as limu and ‘opihi, Jason is always a hit with the children. Some of the things students learn are how to identify different species of fish, limu, or other marine life. They also learn about the legal sizes of ocean resources that people are allowed to capture and take for eating or other uses. Jason also has accompanied students on fishing trips, teaching them to prepare and cast their lines for reef fishing, while always keeping in mind the importance of conserving their natural resources.
Kahumana Organic Farm & Cafe
ABOUT
Kahumana Organic Farm started as a community of people seeking an alternative method to creating a holistic world. Since its beginnings in 1974, Kahumana has grown to 5 distinct campuses on over 50 acres in the beautiful Lualualei Valley on the sunny westside of O'ahu.
A balanced, holistic approach is their goal. They look at the connections of mind, body, spirit, and community in health and healing. They evaluate their work by looking at the social, financial, and environmental outcomes of what they do. They also strive to better understand the spiritual side of life. This is expressed through the religious and spiritual traditions that are celebrated there.
HOW WE PARTNER
Kahumana Organic Farm has been a site for place-based learning since 2017. As a community partner, they have supported students to learn about gardening, various aspects of farming, and running an on-site farmers' market. Additionally, they have hosted several student groups on tours of the farm as an extension of their classroom learning experience.
Mālama Learning Center
ABOUT
In 2013, Purple Mai'a began as a nonprofit that teaches Hawaiian kids how to code but quickly realized that their hopes for our keiki and their ambitions for Hawaiʻi’s people were much bigger than just coding. Since then, Purple Maiʻa has grown and keeps evolving with every new team member, idea, and experience. But the mission remains the same: to inspire and educate the next generation of culturally grounded, community serving technology makers and problem solvers.
Their programs offer hands-on learning opportunities for youth and adults. Participants gain real-life experience with innovations that integrate culture and tradition with technology and science. By actively engaging area residents in nurturing each other and their environment, they strive to unify West O‘ahu around a shared ethic of caring and conservation.
HOW WE PARTNER
PALS first partnered with Purple Mai'a in support of our after school coding club at Ka Waihona o Ka Na'auao. Students and their kumu worked side by side with Purple Mai'a members to create a virtual world using various technology platforms. More recently, the PALS and PLACES team worked with Purple Mai'a supporting their Future Ancestors project that found students and their 'ohana involved with issues including healthy eating and food sustainability on a small scale through home gardening, 'āina-based work, and fun cooking with Aunty Terri from PALS and PLACES.
Purple Maiʻa
ABOUT
In 2013, Purple Mai'a began as a nonprofit that teaches Hawaiian kids how to code but quickly realized that their hopes for our keiki and their ambitions for Hawaiʻi’s people were much bigger than just coding. Since then, Purple Maiʻa has grown and keeps evolving with every new team member, idea, and experience. But the mission remains the same: to inspire and educate the next generation of culturally grounded, community serving technology makers and problem solvers.
HOW WE PARTNER
PALS first partnered with Purple Mai'a in support of our after school coding club at Ka Waihona o Ka Na'auao. Students and their kumu worked side by side with Purple Mai'a members to create a virtual world using various technology platforms. More recently, the PALS and PLACES team worked with Purple Mai'a supporting their Future Ancestors project that found students and their 'ohana involved with issues including healthy eating and food sustainability on a small scale through home gardening, 'āina-based work, and fun cooking with Aunty Terri from PALS and PLACES.
Currently, PALS and PLACES continue to partner with Purple Maiʻa and other organizations to support students and teachers with projects that enable them to delve deeper into their own identities as kanaka (Hawaiian people). Through virtual huakaʻi (field trips) and the application of (k)new (ʻike kupuna) and new technologies.
Solomon Enos
ABOUT
Camp Pālehua, (formerly Camp Timberline) is part of 1,600 acres of conservation and agricultural land perched on the southern slopes of the Wai'anae mountains, nestled in a forest with commanding views of the southern and western coastline of O'ahu.
HOW WE PARTNER
Solomon has partnered with PALS/PLACES and different Waiʻanae schools to create multiple murals, working with students to come up with concepts that represent their idea of culture and community. Solomon integrates moʻolelo, place names, historic significance into his lessons with the students to work on design ideas. Students have planned and executed events for others to come and participate in painting these murals to share the experience and significance of the art with their community.
UH West Oʻahu
ABOUT
The University of Hawaii at West Oʻahu (UHWO) is a public university in Kapolei, Hawaiʻi and is one of ten campuses in the University of Hawaiʻi system. Offering baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts and professional studies, UHWO opened in January 1976 and became a four-year university in 2007.
It was established in part to provide access to higher education to Leeward Oʻahu.
HOW WE PARTNER
UHWO and Māla coordinator Tasia Yamamura supported Waiʻanae Coast students with garden focused visits and activities at their māla. Visits included planting, harvesting and learning about food sovereignty and sustainability.
Students also worked with Nāulu Center staff, including Tiana Henderson, learning moʻolelo of the surrounding area, including the Waiʻanae Coast where these students live. Nāulu was created to provide a safe, creative, nourishing space founded on Native Hawaiian values where students can gather, access resources, and holistic opportunities for students on their paths to excellence.
Dr. Manulani Meyer was a guest speaker for multiple sessions with students where she encouraged students to learn, value, and embrace their identities as kanaka and to learn the ʻike of their kūpuna and its relevance in contemporary society.
Vince Dodge
ABOUT
Kumu Vince Dodge is a cultural practitioner that has worked with teachers and students around all things kalo (taro). He teaches students and their families to prepare kalo from farm to fork. Families prepare traditional dishes, such as ʻai paʻa, paʻi ʻai, and poi. They also experience eating kalo in new ways, such as making kalo poke or using kalo as a cracker with various dips or spreads. Together with other practitioners, Kumu Vince tells the story of Hāloa, the first Hawaiian and oldest ancestor of the Hawaiian people.
HOW WE PARTNER
Besides preparing kalo in different ways with the students, Kumu Vince has also helped classes make papa kuʻi ʻai and pōhaku kuʻi ʻai, traditional board and stone implements for making food.
He has also worked with them to make paʻakai. The project entailed collecting kai from the ocean behind their school and evaporating the salt water in tubs back at their classroom under various conditions. Data was gathered and discussed with Kumu Vince on virtual call-ins allowing students to ask questions and develop next steps in their paʻakai processes.
Vince is also involved with making kiawe flour from kiawe bean pods with students and cleaning and drying fish in dry boxes. Kumu Vince basically provides students with ʻai pono opportunities and is a steady partner for our students on the coast.
Contact Us
Dr. Kay Fukuda
Project Director
PLACES
Place-based Learning And Community Engagement in School
PALS
Place-based Afterschool Literacy Support
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
Student Equity, Excellence & Diversity (SEED)
2600 Campus Rd., QLSSC 413
Honolulu, HI 96822
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© PLACES Hawaii 2020 | All Rights Reserved | www.placeshawaii.org
Site Designed By Created By Kaui