What it does
To provide students and community members with experiences that will enhance their appreciation for and understanding of their environment so they will be lifelong stewards of the earth.
Aina in schools is aimed at connecting children to their land, waters and food in order to grow a healthier future for hawaii. Our mission is to actively integrate nutrition and agriculture in schools. We do this through the promotion of healthy school lunches featuring locally grown produce, nutrition education in the classroom, garden-based learning, agricultural field trips, solid waste management, and community outreach.
Environmental field trips: our field trip assistance program helps bring students to outdoor sites where they can experience hands-on learning about hawaii's environment. The kokua hawaii foundation offers financial assistance to hawaii public schools which otherwise could not afford to participate in environmental field trips, fundraising drives and retrieving recyclables from participating schools.
Environmental education mini grants: teachers from hawaii public schools can apply for mini-grants to help advance their environmental education goals. Previous grantees have used khf funds for garden supplies, eco-footprint workshops, vermicompost trainings, and other worthwhile endeavors.