Sustainability challenge: Hilo schools receive funding for conservation projects

Hilo Union Elementary School and St. Joseph School will launch conservation projects in June with the help of Kupu and Kokua Hawaii Foundation’s inaugural Hawaii Youth Sustainability Challenge mini-grant program.

“We’re really excited to be able to support Hilo students in developing unique ways to malama aina,” said John Leong, CEO of Kupu. “Our youth are the next generation of environmental stewards and community leaders in our state.”

A total of 25 schools statewide will receive funding to implement new and innovative environmental projects that raise sustainability awareness and practices in schools and their communities. The mini-grant program is supporting the following school projects in Hilo:

• Hilo Union’s “Let Us Grow” program involves fifth-graders growing their own greens through hydroponic buckets, as well as educating other students on how to do the same and how hydroponics compares to growing vegetables in soil.

• Through its proposed project, “Huli Ka Lima I Lalo,” St. Joseph’s Hawaiian language class will create a Hawaiian garden, or mala, on campus to grow native plants based on the Hawaiian moon calendar, learn more about traditional Hawaiian knowledge and how to successfully grow and maintain a Hawaiian garden.

“The Hawaii Youth Sustainability Challenge has allowed us to further connect with and empower Hawaii’s students to carry out innovative and much-needed projects to address their vision for a healthy, sustainable future,” added Natalie McKinney, Kokua Hawaii Foundation executive director. “We are inspired by their creativity and look forward to seeing the outcomes of their projects.”

For more information about the program, visit www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org/minigrants.