KALOKO — For decades, Chelle Ching always had some kind of garden where she lived, be it in a pot or in the ground.
When she came to The Homes at Ulu Wini among the first residents to move in to the Kaloko development in 2011, she said, residents weren’t allowed to have potted plants in the common areas.
“So it was really hard not being able to have something outside growing that I could nurture,” she said.
But the more she researched about healthy eating, she recognized the social benefits and value a garden would have in helping residents of Ulu Wini, a low-income rental and transitional housing complex, meet their neighbors.
She and a handful of other residents started Ulu Wini’s first garden toward the end of 2013. Their first planting, Ching said, was green onions.
In the years since, the neighborhood and those who manage it have worked to provide more of Ulu Wini’s residents an opportunity to nurture the area where they live and cultivate as a community, culminating in a blessing Monday of a new community garden and rock wall as part of a day of service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
For Anthony Savvis, youth program director at Ulu Wini, the event Monday was about celebrating community and honoring King’s vision “of a world in which we all come together for the benefit of the community and the individual and celebrate diversity.”
Savvis said they were approached about the potential for a collaborative day of service by FoodCorps, an AmeriCorps grantee that works to connect youth with healthy food in schools.
Seri Niimi-Burch, Hawaii program coordinator for FoodCorps, said her organization had been looking for a community partner for the day of service.
“We’re really excited about what’s happening with the community garden, to have it accessible to kids — not only at school but at home — to have that experience,” she said.
After connecting with FoodCorps, Savvis said, they also connected with their partners at FarmCorps Hawaii, which is an AmeriCorps program, and the West Hawaii Community Health Center.
FarmCorps Hawaii director Shannon Ramirez said the development of the garden, including the wall, offers additional teaching opportunities on top of those directly associated with the act of gardening.
The community garden, located between two blocks of apartment units, has been in the works for three years and includes a variety of plants, including ulu, taro, ginger and sugarcane. It also includes cotton, ti and dwarf tangerine.
The rock wall at the front of the garden was donated and constructed by Hawaiian Rockscaping.
Owner Camilo Ramirez hopes the community has a successful gardening project and that the garden, along with the wall, can be a point of pride for the neighborhood.
The original garden site was adopted by Hawaii Technology Academy, and on Monday students took on their first day of work there. Sophomore Leinaala Medeiros said plans for the garden include potentially incorporating native plants as well as those that are robust and resilient.
She hopes the Ulu Wini community can benefit as well from the students’ presence and involvement in the neighborhood. In addition to their time spent in the garden, said Medeiros, students from HTA also will be helping with after-school learning programs at Ulu Wini.
Email Cameron Miculka at cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com.