Ohana Gardens Program – Q4 Report 2022
Ohana Gardens is a county-wide backyard garden initiative to provide the materials, education, and support needed to help households grow an increasing amount of food for their households and neighbors, as a key strategy for long-term food security, saving money, and learning new skills.
In Q4 2022 we continued to plant backyard and community gardens providing hands-on experience for both volunteers and home owners and creating a gardening social network and collaborating with community based organizations with similar goals.
In Q3, our two main Garden Ambassadors for Kihei and Wailuku areas focused on internal activities such as agriculture education, networking and tending to nurseries in anticipation of future garden installation jobs. A third Garden Ambassador began installations upcountry in Q3 and continued through Q4.
A Facebook post in October was specifically designed to generate leads in the Kihei area but the post was so successful that it also generated great interest in Wailuku and the upcountry area.
The soil enriching bio-reactors based on the Jonathan Su method produced by some of the Food Security Hawaii board members were used to enhance garden soil. Batches of this bio-reactor soil, along with fish emulsion & mineral fertilizers, were distributed to each GA for use in garden installations in Q4.
Report on goals, objectives and action steps.
Objectives: To increase the amount of backyard, lanai and community gardens in Maui County, to increase local food security, and to nurture a community that grows together.
Gardening promotes health and wellness by connecting people to the ‘Aina and their local community, providing physical activity, reducing stress, teaching people about the origins of their food, reducing food bills and sharing with others.
Goal #1 - Support backyard gardens and the planting of fruit and nut bearing trees.
Q4 was a time for improving outreach in Kihei and the newly staffed upcountry area. In Q4, we once again experimented with generating interest via a Facebook post offering the standard free “Aloha” garden installation to Kihei gardeners. The post was very successful generating 11 leads in Kihei, 5 leads in Wailuku and 8 leads for the upcountry Haiku/Makawao/Kula regions.
We also were blessed with 4 referrals in the upcountry area based on gardens installed in Q3 upcountry.
Garden recipients (individual families): 14 individual family gardens planted in Q4
Goal #2 - Provide ongoing educational support to backyard Ohana Gardeners. Collaborate with other similar groups for maximum outreach. Provide tools and materials.
Results of Marketing and Public Outreach
We are experimenting with various new ways to reach out to the public.
· After the success of the Q3 Facebook post offering a free 50 sq-ft “Aloha” garden installation with a bonus ice cream banana tree, a second Facebook post was created in Q4 specifically designed to generate new leads in the Kihei area.
· The post was so successful that it also generated great interest in Wailuku and the upcountry area: 11 leads in Kihei, 5 leads in Wailuku and 8 leads for the upcountry Haiku/Makawao/Kula regions.
