WAI‘ANAE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF HAWAI‘I

WAI‘ANAE, HAWAI‘I

Walking through a grove of native ʻOhiʻa Lehua Trees, with flowers in the colors of the rainbow; yellow, orange and red, is now how the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaiʻi enter their new Waiʻanae Clubhouse.

It started with an idea to design a garden for a place in need. The non-profit, Waiʻanae Boys & Girls Club of Hawaiʻi was the perfect Pro-Bono project to bring the community together by planting a native Hawaiian learning garden and by creating a welcoming entrance gathering place.

What once was a small tree planting project with a limited budget of $1,000, grew to an ambitious 5,000 s.f. native Hawaiian garden and pathway entrance which then grew even further into an additional 2,000 s.f. side yard and parking area.

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An emphasis for this project was in the planting of Native Hawaiian plants and plants used in the Hawaiian Culture. The primary reason was that the boys and girls could learn how to plant, grow, preserve, take care of, and discover their cultural history and the uses of plants growing in their own front yard. It was also important to provide a place where they could learn the principals of stewardship and sustainability, which in turn will develop their minds in a natural setting.

Just think, a place once filled with dry packed soil, is now a place where the Boys & Girls' imaginations can run free. It is now a place where reading can take place among the fragrance of native Nanu flowers, gardening in an ʻOhiʻa Lehua forest, strolling on a garden pathway where Maʻo, ʻAkia, Kuluʻi and many other native species are abundant.

Circular and linear gravel spaces were designed for tables and benches. These areas will become places for keiki to sit, read, contemplate and interact in a peaceful setting. To help them on their way, the landscape architect recently purchased two concrete tables to be placed in the two large 10' gravel circles.

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For three decades in Hawaiʻi, the Boys & Girls Club reaches out to community youth and teens to inspire young people to become responsible citizens. And what better way to foster keikis to grow up to be these responsible, positive members of the community than for them to revitalize their community and help care for a new living garden that will inspire them for generations.

Come and see for yourself the great addition this garden is for the neighborhood of Waiʻanae at the base of the Waiʻanae Mountain Range.

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Wai‘anae Boys & Girls Club of Hawai‘i Native Hawaiian Garden and Meandering Pathway Entrance received a Award of Honor from the Betty Crocker Landscape Awards, sponsored by

Scenic Hawai‘i in 2012.