WAIMEA, Hawaii – There’s a fine opportunity to support Hawaii Island’s model school garden today.

The Mala’ai School Garden’s ‘Art & Sol’ Benefit Auction will be Sunday, April 13th.

Proceeds will assist the well known Waimea Middle School garden. The community heard all about it from Patti Cook last week during the monthly community association meeting.

Here is the official media release that went out about the event:

Mala’ai School Garden’s ‘Art & Sol’ Benefit Auction Sun., April 13, 2014 Provides A Delicious Excuse To Indulge In Rare Pleasures

When America’s culinary superstars from national television and the James Beard Foundation come to Waimea Middle School’s Mala’ai garden to teach cooking fundamentals to excite students about culinary careers, you can bet what students remember most is how delicious the class was.

One of the most memorable tastings during the recent visit to Mala’ai by James Beard’s celebrity chefs was provided by nationally famous mixologist Manny Hinojosa, who put students to work creating a “mocktail” – a non-alcoholic drink made from scratch with fresh ingredients, mostly from their school garden. He then taught students how to serve their creative blend of fruits and herbs in beautiful stemmed glassware edged with sugar crystals. Suffice it to say, the student “mocktails” were visually stunning and mouth watering, yet healthy, leaving students wanting more.

It’s not surprising that Manny’s famous for his exotically delicious from-scratch beverages and he has now agreed to share this tasting experience during a real cocktail party for the winning bidder and 15 guests at Mala’ai school garden’s 7th Annual Art & Sol benefit auction from 12:30-3 p.m., Sun., April 13 at Waimea’s Merriman’s Restaurant.

Manny is donating his time and Mala’ai will gather the ingredients for what will be a rare opportunity to have a celebrity mixologist crafting drinks for your own private party.

There are many other rare pleasures being offered during Mala’ai’s Art & Sol benefit including:

• Kapa by Waimea master Roen Hufford;
• An exquisite Koa Rocking Chair by master furniture builder-wood worker Stan Gollaher of Raiatea Woodworks in Pa’auilo;
• An 8’x3.5’ giclee of an extraordinary sunrise photograph capturing a sun-drenched pu’u atop Mauna Kea casting its “shadow” on the distant horizon as captured by Canada-France-Hawai’i Telescope astronomers;
• A Private Sunset Sail on a 55’ Ketch;
• Gourmet Locavore Feasts by Private Chefs with Wine Pairings;
• Farmer Charles Oldfather and three handsome savvy gardener friends building a raised garden bed for your home;
• Fresh Fruit or Vegetable Baskets, certificates for restaurants, facials, massages and more.

All proceeds go towards supporting healthy choices and making life-long learners out of our keiki and community. Art & Sol tickets are $50 per person and may be purchased via PayPal at http://www.malaai.org. For more information, contact Alethea Lai, alethea@malaai.org (808-989-7861).

Mala’ai:The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School is Hawai’i Island’s model school garden, which was first planted nine years ago as an outdoor living classroom to grow real change for Waimea’s children and community. From the beginning, Mala’ai has been funded almost entirely by generous community friends and foundations as a private not-for-profit partnership with Waimea Middle School . Mala`ai’s program integrates nutrition education and cultural and environmental stewardship with core curriculum and hands-on learning.

All auction items have been donated by a Hawai’i Island artists or patrons to support Mala’ai.

Art & Sol will include delicious Merriman’s garden and farm fresh pupu paired with wine or a signature garden cocktail.

Auctioneer for the event will be Pat Batchelder of Waimea.

For more information on the exceptional list of auction items offered and to get your ticket today, go to malaai.org.Waimea Middle School media release

And a little further down the road… Online registration is now available for a weeklong series of educational events for school garden educators and teachers. This media release came from the Kohala Center:

KAMUELA, Hawai‘i — April 10, 2014 — Online registration is now available for a weeklong series of educational events for school garden educators, teachers, and others passionate about improving student wellness, cognitive development, and engaging deeper learning.

Taking place June 7–12 in Waimea on Hawai‘i Island, the four professional development events focus on the effectiveness of school gardens as an instructional strategy for both nutritional education and hands-on learning in core subject areas.

The events include:

• The Seventh Annual School Learning Garden Symposium: “Awakening the Senses for Deeper Learning”
• ‘AINA In Schools Garden & Nutrition Curriculum Training
• Ku ‘Aina Pa Summer Intensive: “Growing the Connections: Common Core and STEM in the School Garden”
• Waimea School Garden Tours with Dr. Ming Wei Koh

Details and registration information for all events are posted at http://schoolgardens14.eventbrite.com.

The school learning garden symposium is presented by the Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network and will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on June 7 at the Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy GPAC Auditorium (Upper Campus). The full day of educational workshops, presentations, and speakers will guide educators to integrate essential educational curriculum into school learning garden settings. Keynote speaker Dr. Carla Hannaford, an award-winning author, biologist, and educator, will offer insights into the importance of engaging more than just students’ minds but their hands and hearts as well. A panel of Hawai‘i health and education leaders will address student wellness and connections with deeper learning. Register by May 15 and save $10. A limited number of scholarships are available to Hawai‘i Island educators to cover registration, and Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation is offering scholarships for outer-island registrants to help cover transportation-related expenses.

The ‘AINA In Schools Garden & Nutrition Curriculum Training will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 8 at the Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy Student Union (Upper Campus). Presented by Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation, this special training for educators planning to use ‘AINA In Schools lessons with their students will cover the program’s standards-based garden and nutrition education units. The workshop will also include a brief overview of the program’s composting curriculum and a review of Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation’s helpful resources for educators. Learn more about the ‘AINA In Schools program at www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org/aina.

The Ku ‘Aina Pa Summer Intensive will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on June 9–11 at Mala’ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School. This three-day workshop for K-8 classroom teachers will deepen their basic garden skills and curriculum development with presentations, hands-on work in the Mala‘ai Culinary Garden, and learning to use Lifelab’s “The Growing Classroom” and database. Common Core standards are connected to every lesson. Afternoons include teamwork by grade level, connecting STEM projects to the morning’s lessons and themes.

Dr. Ming Wei Koh leads a tour of school learning gardens in Waimea including Kanu O Ka ‘Aina, Waimea Country School, and Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy–Ulumau from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on June 12.

These events are sponsored by The Kohala Center, Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation, Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy, and Mala’ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School.The Kohala Center media release