Progress 12/15/23 to 12/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience is students, educators, and community members in Maui County that were effected by the fires on August 8, 2023. Changes/Problems:In our original proposal we had planned to pair Maui schools with schools on other islands for seed-saving and sharing projects, as well as potential island visits. In our listening sessions with Maui teachers we learned that this would not work. The teachers' nerveswere frayed and their students were living in hotel rooms with their entire families. There was no capacity for the sister schools idea. We came up with two alternative methods for linking theMaui Community with other islands. First, we brought educators, students, and farmers together for native plant workshops at two statewide conferences, the Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children (HIAEYC)conference on October 12th, and the Schoolsof the Future (SOTF) Conference on November 14th and 15th. Both events took place at the Hawaii Convention Center. Second,we will work with the Hawaii Youth Food Council as part of the 2025 We Grow Youth Food Summit to bring high school students from Maui together with students from across the state for two in-person events. First, in mid-February, Youth Council members will travel to Maui and work together with Maui high school students to plant fire resistant native plants in areas at risk.Then, a week later, the Maui students will travel to Oahu to meet up with the Youth Council for a day of education and workshops held at the Hawaii State Capitol. This will complete all of the project deliverables.We are requesting a 6-month No Cost Extension in order to complete our goals. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?FromJuly 22-25, 2024, we held a PDE3 professional development event for K-12 teachers on the campus of the University of Hawaii - Maui College (UHMC). of the 25 participating teachers, 16 were from Maui County. They were trained in SEL and Trauma response as part of being trained to use the GRaCE toolkit, which has been implemented. On October 19, 2024, we held a professional development event for Early Childcare and Education (ECE) providers on the campus of Princess Nahienaena Elementary School inLahaina. There were roughly 50 attendees, including ECE providers from 12 childcare centers in Maui County. They were trained in SEL, art in the garden, and food preparation and preservation. Participants also helped to install native plants in the recently re-opened school garden atPrincess Nahienaena Elementary. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?At the beginning of the project, GRaCE held two listening sessions for community members. The first was in person at Kihei Elementary School in Maui. Roughly 15 attendees spoke passionately about the challenges facing teachers, schools, and families across Maui in the aftermath of the fires.The second listening session was held over Zoom two weeks later. We used that information to organize theMarch 30community eventat theKauluwehi Biocultural Restoration Project on the campus of UHMC. This eventincluded training in seed saving and sharing, as well as food safety, food preparation, and food preservation for a general audience, including children. Several events held within the garden demonstrated how the community can use the gardenfor Social Emotional Learning,cultural, food, and spiritual healing. We also developed and disseminated the materials of the GRaCE toolkit to teachers and community members through our Professional Development events in July and October. Finally, we brought educators, students, and farmers together for native plant workshops at two statewide conferences, the Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children (HIAEYC)conference on October 12th, and the Schoolsof the Future (SOTF) Conference on November 14th and 15th. Both events took place at the Hawaii Convention Center. We disseminated information to almost 500 attendees at HIAEYC and over 800 attendees at SOTF. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are requesting a 6-month No Cost Extension in order to complete our goals. We will work with the Hawaii Youth Food Council as part of the 2025 We Grow Youth Food Summit to bring high school students from Maui together with students from across the state for two in-person events. First, in mid-February, Youth Council members from across the state will travel to Maui and work together with Maui high school studnets to plant fire resistant native plants in areas at risk of fire.Then, a week later, the Maui students will travel to Oahu to meet up with the Youth Council for a day of education and workshops held at the Hawaii State Capitol. This will complete all of the project deliverables.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
FromJuly 22-25, 2024, we held a professional development event for K-12 teachers on the campus of the University of Hawaii - Maui College (UHMC). Of the 25 participating teachers, 16 were from Maui County. They were trained in SEL and Trauma response as part of being trained to use the GRaCE toolkit, which has been implemented. This event also included training in seed saving and sharing, as well as food safety, food preparation, and food preservation. The teachers were trained in wildfire awareness and food security, so they can pass the information on through the use of school gardens. On March 30, 2024, a community event was held at theKauluwehi Biocultural Restoration Project on the campus of UHMC. This eventincluded training in seed saving and sharing, as well as food safety, food preparation, and food preservation for a general audience, including children. Several events held within the garden demonstrated how the community can use the gardenfor Social Emotional Learning,cultural, food, and spiritual healing.
Publications
|