Mililani Waena Garden

How have obstacles shaped your strategies? What actions to effect personal or structural change have  been or will be taken to realize preferred  futures?

Throughout our journey so far we have encountered many obstacles such as not getting in contact with many of the people we hoped could help us with our project. We did not let that get us down though, we used it as a learning experience in that you will not always be able to contact everyone, people have schedules and not everyone is able to check their email frequently. We learned that if someone doesn’t reply immediately, you can wait a few days but then need to follow up with another email, phone call, or face to face encounter.

 

 

Describe existing obstacles, including public policy actors, socio-economic factors, public apathy, etc.

• A limited and uncertain budget makes establishing a garden difficult. We hope to be able to use the money provided by the Kokua Foundation to kickstart the garden, as well as any money the school is willing to contribute to this initiative.

• There must be a person or organization that is willing to shoulder the burden for the upkeep of the garden.

• It is difficult to reach the principals of the schools through emailing or calling, as their busy schedule makes it difficult for them to respond promptly.

• Currently, while most schools are willing to implement a garden in their schools, setting up a school-wide program takes time and money. We are happy that Mililani Waena has initiated gardens in their school but it will be a long time before their gardens are sustainable enough to provide meals for student meals or the public.

 

 

Describe strategies to create response to address issue.

• The benefits of school gardens and nutritious eating could be posed to the administrative staff in other schools.

• Canvassing could be conducted for research on gardens in other schools, which is thorough but time-consuming, in order to pitch the project.

• We could utilize Mrs. Webb’s long list of contacts, or contact other nonprofit organizations such as the Lions Club or Rotary Club to find a group willing to maintain the gardens in other schools.

• To maintain the growth of schools that already have gardens, the importance of the gardens should be stressed and the gardens should be maintained so that they are productive and a worthy endeavor.

• All stakeholders need to be convinced that gardens are a worthwhile project and will benefit the children and community in the future.