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Kaimuki High School GEER Final Report

Kaimuki High School GEER Final Report

Hawaiʻi Academies GEER GRANT SCHOOL REPORT
Project with Small Business of Non-Profit in the Community
August 13, 2022
Name of School: Kaimuki High School Principal’s Name: Jamie Dela Cruz
Name of Person Completing the Report: Tui Moe  Job Title:  SPED Teacher
 
PART I:  PROJECT WITH SMALL BUSINESS OR NON-PROFIT IN THE COMMUNITY  
Name(s) /Title of GEER School Project(s):   Name(s) of your partner(s) Plantoem
Briefly describe the major project (one paragraph):
List at least three things that went well:
  1. The owners of Plantoem (Joel and Zoe) were willing and excited to collaborate and find ways to provide educational lessons with the use of plants. The partnership was seamless and we met several times to discuss our project strategies and learning targets. While we started out with 2 ideas (terrariums and succulents), we then added another activity, and are now discussing a 4th enterprise. 
  2. Our terrariums, indoor plants, and succulents are thriving. Not only do these plants provide a beautiful aesthetic to our classroom and outdoor garden, but provide a variety of educational benefits. Simple google searches explain some of the benefits (listed below). 
      • Indoor plants have been linked to improved concentration and memory as well as a reduction in stress. Research has also linked indoor plants with increased productivity and reduced mental fatigue, all of which can be beneficial in the classroom environment. 
      • Terrariums teach how plants, animals, and insects interact similar to the real world. You can include small animals, like turtles, in addition to the plants, soil and water provided. It shows that all living things have the same resources and need to learn to share and keep everything in balance 
      • School gardens build important life-long social skills and teach responsibility, communication, teamwork, ownership, and leadership. 
  3. My class thoroughly enjoyed the learning experiences that were created from this partnership. We had fun! My students all participated and were involved, engaged, and used their creativity to participate in our various learning moments. Furthermore, they have taken an active role in maintaining the health of the class plants and garden. We hope to create community partnerships to grow the garden and to encourage other classrooms to join in on the fun and learning. 

List two or three challenges:
  1. Finding a business/plant nursery to partner with us. 
    • We wanted to use the GEER Grant to help us develop our classroom garden. At the beginning of the project, it was difficult to find a business/plant nursery to partner with us on this undertaking. We looked to contact businesses/plant nurseries near our school and community. Some were closing down and others simply said that they were not interested. We began to expand our search for businesses and found Plantoem, a plant shop (mostly indoor plants) and garden cafe located on Waialae avenue. 
  2. Plantoem was not on the vendor list at the school and this required a lot of paperwork and time to get them on the list. 
  3. We had started an outdoor garden and Plantoem was a business that primarily focused on indoor plants. We had to be creative and find ways to incorporate what they had into our lessons.
What was a lesson(s) learned?  (one paragraph)
Terrariums, Indoor plants, and Outdoor garden plants 
  • How plants, animals, and insects interact is similar to the real world. 
  • Important life-long social skills and teach responsibility, communication, teamwork, ownership, and leadership.
PART 2: EARLY COLLEGE
Students Enrolled in GEER Sponsored Early College Courses: N/A

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:  (OPTIONAL)