Compost Workshop March 20th

Susan Cox from the County of Hawaii Recycling brought a lot of valuable information to the workshop on composting on March 20th. Did you know at leat 60% of the waste we generate is ‘green waste’ and can be recycled? An island is a closed loop and we must ship our recyclable plastics and bottles far away. It is not only a great idea to recycle those disposable items, but what about our green waste? A compost bin is a great idea for getting green waste out of the landfill and getting into your garden can turn it into healthy plants – and food. Thanks Susan for bringing great information and to the County for donating ten compost bins to our participants. Conmpost ho!

Vermiculture Workshop March 20th

What happens when you open your worm bin and find the compost/nitrogen to paper/carbon ratio is completely out of wack? How do you make compost tea from your worm castings? Thanks to Ellen Jacobs instruction and hands-on solutions, we tackled these subjects and the group helped revive the worm bin. Thanks everyone!

Aquaponics Tour March 27th

Located up at the edge of the clousforest in Opihihale, South Kona, Malamamalama Farm was the site of our 2013 spring aquaponics tour. Stan Lyons lead the tour and we saw his innovative raised bed – hip height or higher – aquaponics gravel and water beds growing lettuces, peppers, kale and chard with plans for a full greenhouse production soon. It was a really informative tour and quite inspiring to hear and see his innovative discoveries. Thanks Stan!

Explore Kealakekua Bay Watershed March 16th, 2013

rick bay smThis Saturday morning field trip studied four different locations that impact the water quality that feeds into Kealakekua Bay. Led by Dr. Rick Bennett, the group explored mountain-to-sea impacts, methods for improving stewardship, and the negative impacts when stewardship is not practiced.

If you participated in the field trip, please post comments about what you learned and suggestions for any follow up activities you’d be interested in participating in. We welcome your feedback!

Healthy Organic Gardening workshop March 13th 2013

One Iskuaiwi compost land brought a crew of eager learners up to Kuaiwi Farm in Captain Cook for a morning of very informative gardening instruction with Una Greenaway on March 13th. We toured her beautiful farm, learned about her crops, her plant family rotations, how to make great compost, and even got a little sample of their delicious chocolate and tangerines.

If you participated in the workshop, please leave a comment about what your learned with Una – and if you have suggestions for other learning topics, also let us know.

 

Farm tours – Aquaponics

One Island offers aquaponics trainings and tours. This is a promising new techology using ancient Hawaiian principles of having fish ponds that provide fertilizer for water based crops. Great for living on lava rock or coral sand where soil is hard to find.

Living Aquaponics, Coastview Aquaponics and Friendly Aquaponics have generously shared their time and resources with One Island and The Same Canoe project. A big thanks to Zach, Tim and Chris!