When families are home from school because Professional Development Days are scheduled for teachers, it is important to understand how these opportunities make an impact for students.
We just completed a middle school conference in Hilo the past days. An impactful part of this experience is the opportunity that the Humanities teachers had to visit `Āina University.
`Āina University is a 600 acre strip of land from the mountain to the sea, considered a thin strip of land. The Kawika Lewis family is currently stewarding a 9 acre portion of the land but has hopes to steward the entire 600 acre strip one day. This portion of land is owned by Kamehameha Schools who is the land owner of some of the primest lands in Hawai'i (see www.ainauniversity.com). ʻĀina University was started two years ago with a land lease of several acres from Kamehameha Schools. Here, the Kawika Lewis 'ohana nurture and care for the land and the people of Hawai'i who come to share the important values of the island culture.
We will involve the family and their work in our upcoming student summit next fall because the central Hawaiian values of living sustainably, peaceably, and with food sovereignty are components of well-being for the land and the people who live here. The Lewis 'ohana regularly makes their educational program available to all who desire the experience of connection (or re-connection) to the place that sustains us and the treasures she shares with her people.
