Turtle Bay Resort and Pono Pacific Land Management have teamed up to create a sensational and luxious garden in efforts of broadening community awareness for locally-produced agriculture in the North Shore of Oʻahu. With the use of private lands, the project will comprise of thirty well-nuorished plots located on the mauka side of the Turtle Bay Resort in the ʻŌpana Ahupuaʻa. What makes this project even more exiciting, is its opportunity it will have to provide high-quality local food to the people of Hawaiʻi in various communities.
The garden will provide education and sustenance by implementing the benefits of consuming healthy, organic fruits and vegetables from local farming. The project will also offer workshops and other learning opportunities to ensure mālama ʻāina for today and future generations through high-quality produce – fostering sustainability and resilience in a family-friendly space. This fruitful garden will celebrate perpetuation of agricultural legacy and ʻāina.
This five-hundred square foot area includes the kahawai water irrigation system for each plot – connecting mauka to makai recognize sustainable Native Hawaiian agricultural systems. The kahawai, consisting of the poʻowai and ʻauwai, work to provide a constant supply of freshwater and nutrients, thus ensuring the production of a profitable amount of crops for North Shore residence.
The garden will showcase the unique services in cost-effective natural resource managment of Pono Pacific, aiding with the preservation and protection of Hawaiʻi’s valuable ecosystems. This lively new garden will function as a gathering place with thirty plots total, ten of which will be dedicated to local nonprofit schools and organizations through the North Shore. One-third of the garden’s land will also be given preference to Turtle Bay Resort employees in hopes of harvesting and consuming healthy locally produced foods for the Turtle Bay association.
The last ten plots are reserved for residents of the North Shore and Kahuku community who are chosen by random through a lottery. The lottery for plot spaces is now open through July 24th, 2019. Those who are given a plot in the garden must follow the regulations created for the Turtle Bay Community Garden in order to ensure that the community continues its healthy and vibrant well-being for years to come. The lottery also comes with guidelines and expectations that support positivity, ensuring responsible thoughtfulness amongst future farmers of these plots. Those who are awarded with portion of the garden via the lottery will be announced on Friday, July 26, 2019.
