Kapaa — The next generation of food conscious folks have dug into a new self-sustainable garden project on the Wong Family Farm. A couple dozen children of all ages participated in the environmental cause on Wednesday with Wong Family Farm
Kapaa — The next generation of food conscious folks have dug into a new self-sustainable garden project on the Wong Family Farm.
A couple dozen children of all ages participated in the environmental cause on Wednesday with Wong Family Farm owner Christy Wong leading and teaching them. She is offering up her land and knowledge to anybody wanting to join in the weekly fun and fact-filled activities.
“Organic farming is where my heart is at and I want to share it with kids,” said Wong. “They love being with the animals and getting their hands dirty.”
Not only that, Wong wants the experience to instill in the children healthy eating habits.
Project participant Maisie Rock, 7, from Kapaa Elementary School, said that she wants to learn more about growing and eating her own home-grown vegetables.
Maisie’s mother, who owns a couple acres of land, dreams of planting her own garden. She hopes that helping out at the Wong Farm will teach Maisie to be responsible and not have to rely on food purchased from the grocery store.
Maisie responded by saying, “They spray chemicals on the food sold at the store.”
Last week, the group of students planted pineapples and on Wednesday, it was papaya.
The children also painted tin roofs to be used as protection for the salad garden and herb garden they will be seeding.
“The time is ripe to start taking care of our animals, food and waste,” said Rob Cruz, who helped bring the Kauai Food Forest in North Kauai to fruition. He said they used permaculture, which mimics nature, to grow 58 fruit trees. Cruz was on hand to help out at the Wong Farm Wednesday and said a portion of the seeds and branch cuttings will be donated from the Kauai Food Forest to the Wong project.
While learning about aquaponics and watching the use of it in an application, Maisie said about the experience, “Its going to make me healthy.”
There will be a summer program for a core group of students who will act as garden stewards. Their job will be to tend the garden and distribute the weekly yield of fruits and vegetables throughout the neighborhood.
Anybody interested in participating in the Wong Farm planting and harvesting of food can email info@wangzoo.com and write in the subject line, “Building Living Classrooms.”
