Monday, December 3, 2012

Micro-Debris Challenge


Huakailani volunteers joined Plastic Free Kailua in their micro-debris sifting challenge on Saturday at Kalama Beach Park.. It was great educational, community service day. Mahalo to all who volunteered!






Team Huakailani Won a Tiki and Book for the school!

Did you know that the beach sand contained this much micro-debris?  The majority of the debris was tiny bits of plastic.

GO PLASTIC FREE!

Monday, November 19, 2012

11-17 Adopt a Block

Mahalo to the November 17th Adopt a Block Clean Up Team!



Thursday, November 8, 2012

Student Initiated Service Learning

Huakailani Girls are now pros when it comes to Service Learning. See what a 5th and a 6th grader have coordinated all on their own!









Mahalo Lindsey and Madeline! The girls will be delivering the donation items to the OSPCA and doing some volunteer work while they are there.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Popoi'a Street Storm Water Retrofit Project Adopts Butt Planters

The Huakailani Girls made and delivered two Cigarette Planters. The Hui Koo'laupoko's Popoi'a Street Storm Water Retrofit project  requested our planters to collect cigarette butts before they run off into the water.                                
Learn more about the project here: http://www.huihawaii.org/kaelepuluproject.html


Popoi'a Street Storm Water Retrofit Project 

This project is was created to capture pollution associated with storm water runoff and demonstrate how new building techniques and technologies can be used to protect stream and ocean health. 

The scope of the project replaces about 6,000 square feet of dirt with inter-locking pervious pavers to allow storm water infiltration. Additionally, native vegetation and small rain gardens ( and cigarette butt planters) will be installed to help filter additional polluted run-off. The finished area will have three interpretive signs with original art work created by Lanikai Elementary Public Charter School students.


 5th and 6th graders represented the school and delivered planters at the Sign Unveiling Ceremony.
 Looking at the new signs!
 Great spot for a Cigarette Butt Planter!
 The girls selected the sites for the planters. They already found some cigarette butts littering the area.

 See?  No puddling because of the newly installed pervious pavers.

This is what happens when rain falls on impervious surfaces (pooling/puddling).

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

New Cigarette Butt Planters and More!

The girls identified an area that needed new planters at the last August Adopt a Block by Whole Foods Parking Lot. Viola!  A group of girls went for an additional clean up during Service Learning class time to pick up remaining cigarette butts in the area while another group painted new planters to place in the area.

It doesn't stop there!  While all this was happening, 
another group of girls made a new batch of Bokashi!

Huakailani Girls Rock!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Adopt-A-Block Clean Up - April 14, 2012


We collected 929 cigarette butts on the April 14, Adopt-A-Block. Hekili Street now has 25 butt planters.




We have made the most impact on the amount of trash littering the street. 







Thursday, March 29, 2012

Huakailani Girls Sparking Change

A year ago at a service learning workshop, the girls learned how to compost food waste that can not be posted in a regular organic compost bin or worm bin.  The school already composted all of the organic food wastes from snack and lunch but still there away a lot of other foods that could not be placed in those compost receptacles. They were excited to learn that they could completely get rid of all school waste using Bokashi.

At the conference they made this poster:

The poster was created after they learned how to make Bokashi. Inspired by the workshop, they set goals for their school to become the first waste-free school on the island.

At most schools, the journey and or idea would have probably ended here. Not for Huakailani girls!

They helped Mrs. B write a grant and plan for implementing the use of Bokashi at Huakailani. The girls even went to present the project to the "Be the Change" Grant Board when they made it as a finalist to possible receive grant funds.

As you know they received the grant and now we have Compost Bars in the Lower and Upper Schools and are now the first waste-free school on the island.

Not only that, as you see from a previous post on this blog. We even made food from food waste in our urban garden.

Huakailani Girls are the change they want to see!  There is no more powerful life-long lesson than that.

The girls even made it into the Mid-Week Islander newspaper this week!

Please leave your comments here to congratulate the girls on a job well done!








Thursday, March 8, 2012

Harvested Lettuce!

We harvested three heads of lettuce from our garden today and had a lettuce salad snack!










Friday, January 27, 2012

URBAN GARDEN


@ HUAKAILANI SCHOOL FOR GIRLS



 LETTUCE

CROWN FLOWER BLOOMING

Butterflies laid eggs on the Crown Flower Leaves!
We have caterpillars!


THE WORM BALL!

HUGE WORM BALL!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Worm Composting

The 4-5-6 graders harvested worm vermicast from the Worm Compost Bin and prepared the new Worm Condo. After a lot of work sifting through the vermicast to remove the worms, the worms were placed in their new home.


Moving day for our worms!  This is their new condo!



Saturday, January 14, 2012

January 14, 2012

ADOPT A BLOCK CLEAN UP - JANUARY 14, 2012
30 VOLUNTEERS!


FIRST CLEAN UP IN THE NEW 2012 YEAR!


771 CIGARETTE BUTTS REMOVED







WE FILLED 3 TRASH BAGS WITH RUBBISH.
 RECYCLABLES WERE RECYCLED!
 ABOUT 20 PIECES OF SHARP GLASS REMOVED

CHECK OUT THE STAT GRAPHS BELOW!

September 2013, ADOPT A BLOCK

Adopt a Block Data

Done

How much Food Waste? [Voice Thread]

August Adopt a Block 2012

Do you know about Non-Source Point pollution?

Whether you have a stream running through your backyard, business, local school or park, protecting it is a good idea. Many property owners upstream may not realize that what they do on their land impacts other residents and water quality downstream. Every day pollutants such as trash, yard waste (e.g., grass clippings, leaves, prunings, or fruits), paint, construction debris (e.g., stockpiles of soil, sand, or gravel), used motor oil, fertilizers and pesticides, and dog waste reach our urban streams. Trash on stream banks are unsightly and unsanitary for humans and wildlife. Even organic materials such as yard waste are unacceptable to dump along streams banks. When these materials get into the stream cycle, they decompose and eliminate critical, life-giving oxygen from the water. As a result, streams become unsightly and emit foul odors.