Create organic farm, aquaponics, vermiculture, larvae entrapment projects
- Provide Aquaponic systems for a families of four. Collect unwanted 55 gallon drums and wooden pallets that would normally end up in landfills and have Kahuku High and Intermediate School students transform them into perpetual food source that will provide local families and communities with fresh, organic vegetables, fruit, herbs and fish in their own backyards powered by a small photovoltaic system.
- Provide scholarship money for students building the systems instead of paying an hourly wage (use student payment model used by Ma’o Farms). Partner with experts on aquaponics, sustainability systems, recycling, etc and use them as mentors for students so they can enter college and obtain a meaningful career that will support themselves and their families.
- If requested, provide aquaponic systems for church properties, social service providers (Salvation Army), schools, etc.
Our latest initiative, Innovative Education, is comprised of filmmakers, scientists, Kupuna and agricultural teachers (Dr. Don Sand, Dr. Clyde Tamaru, Dr. Kai Fox, Dr. Kendra Martin, Christian Wilson and Ben Shaffer) is an additional branch of KEAC that is writing curriculum and delivering educational programs that engage, inspire, create learning experiences using student relevant subjects such as digital media, current youth issues, sustainability, aquaponics, organic farming, participatory learning and life skills. The “Film Club” is our after school program that currently has 27 active members. Our new Kahuku Sustainability Club named Halau Haloa currently has 20 members.
COMMUNITY NEED BEING ADDRESSED
The students living in the Ko’olauloa District (Ka’a’awa, Punalu’u, Hau’ula, Laie, Kahuku and Sunset Beach) have unmet needs for educational experiences that are relevant to several rapidly growing modern industries such as film, digital media and the sustainability industry. These are fields that will provide jobs and advanced education for those students who are allowed to learn these skill sets early. The traditional school system is slower in responding to these relevant programs that we are helping to bring now, today.
The Innovation Education branch is dedicated to helping students receive programs in these 21st century industries. The programs are developed and delivered in creative, participatory methods that are based on living projects in self-directed ways. It is believed that the students not only learn advanced knowledge in these relevant industries but that they develop actual skills sets needed to become valued employees.
The students learn business world and college world “people skills”, project management skills, leadership, teamwork, time management and problem solving. Each target student groups can be inspired accelerate their educational productivity.
The “at risk” students find that there are reasons for learning traditional subjects in school and the advanced students are allowed to enhance their gifts and dreams.
WHAT WE DO
Funds and support would help increase capacity of our after school programs including the Kahuku Sustainability and Film clubs and building living sustainability projects. We will continue to develop new advance curriculum and film the student projects as a “students teaching students” educational video series A portion of the funds would be used to hold contests around renewable energy issues that would inspire students to learn using a camera as a fun learning tool.
OUR INTENDED PARTICIPANTS
The goal is to bring these educational experiences to at least 100 per year in the sustainability programs and 100 students in the film-digital media programs. The students will be selected from those attending KHIS, while 100 more students will be offered program experiences from Kahuku Elementary School..
OUTCOMES WE YOU EXPECT
The outcomes would be measured in terms of the number of students in the programs, learning projects, and learning contests. We will continue to build a platform in Kahuku that will become a major pipeline for innovative learning programs, mentors, internships, and courses in 21st Century careers skills and knowledge. Benefits to students will include a decrease in drop out students, improvement of grades, and more gifted students entering the competitive smart technological fields that add to the quality of life in the islands.
HOW WE WILL MEASURE THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES
The success of our program can be measured by the number of students taking the sustainability and renewable energy classes and the digital media courses. We will also measure the number of students that have received certifications and have participated in our learning experience projects, contests, and field trips. Motivation of the students in our programs can be measured by attendance, improvement in grades, and placement in colleges. These accumulated certifications, interactions with mentors, new letters of recommendations, sustainability and digital media contests won will go far to improve the chances of students being accepted in colleges and receiving scholarships.
HOW FUNDS ARE SPENT
The aquaponic projects will require the purchase of all materials to build the working model including pumps, foundation, scaffolding, sun screens, tubs, soil, starter fish and plant seed. A portion of the funds would be used to develop more curriculum in both digital media and agriculture. Student incentives would include prizes for the contests and token fees for mini-internships.
Because of Hawaii’s ideal location and temperature, its residents can become masters of sustainability and stop being dependent on the grid by paying the most expensive electricity, gas and food in the nation.
LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION
Use simplicity and affordability of aquaponics and vermiculture to encourage the growing organic food in backyards or apartment lanai’s of Hawaii residents.
SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE ABOVE AREAS
We need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels by growing our own food where we live thus reducing the need to:
- ship from the mainland and to stores from warehouses, and from warehouse to grocery stores,
- drive to a grocery stores and gas stations
We need to grow our own produce so we can know:
- the source of the food
- we can be assured the food is not genetically modified
- contaminated with unsafe fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides (organically grown and harvested)
- we can prepared for a disaster when gas, food and money is not available
- we need to be examples to our children and grandchildren that it is possible to live off the food we grow ourselves
Demonstrate innovation and local leadership
Our organization will consist of a partnership of forward-thinking individuals who see the value of assisting the youth of our communities to take aquaponics and sustainability as a way of life. They will also recognize the value of the educational process they will be engaged in along the way.
Have the potential for growth and success due to our involvement
It will be relatively easy to scale for growth since aquaponics uses very little space and few resources. Every family in Hawaii should have access to inexpensive, fresh organic produce. Every student in Hawaii deserves the chance to learn about aquaponics and fulfill the DOE rubrics at the same time.
Stem from ideas and inspiration that are born in Hawai’i to meet the needs of Hawai’i
Ancient Hawaiians were masters of sustainability. We need to re-create how Hawaiians turned the most remote islands into sustaining over a million people without modern technology.
- Employ scalable technologies and models that are applicable globally
Provide Aquaponic systems for a families of four. Collect unwanted 55 gallon drums and wooden pallets that would normally end up in landfills and have Kahuku High and Intermediate School students transform them into perpetual food source that will provide local families and communities with fresh, organic vegetables, fruit, herbs and fish in their own backyards powered by a small photovoltaic system.Provide scholarship money for students building the systems instead of paying an hourly wage (use student payment model used by Ma’o Farms). Partner with experts on aquaponics, sustainability systems, recycling, etc and use them as mentors for students so they can enter college and obtain a meaningful career that will support themselves and their families.If requested, provide aquaponic systems for church properties, social service providers (Salvation Army), schools, etc.