During the school year, Mānoa Heritage Center hosts students of all ages learning about native plants, Hawaiian culture and history. But on a recent summer morning, teachers donned name tags, explored the gardens and diligently took notes as they became students for the day.
On Thursday, 20 educators gathered for a professional development workshop, spending the morning learning new games they could use to teach their students about native and invasive plants, climate change and natural resources. The workshop was hosted by Trees for Honolulu’s Future, Mānoa Heritage Center and Hanafuda Hawaiʻi, an organization dedicated to teaching a Japanese card game to local communities.
Mālama Mānoa, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the heritage of Mānoa Valley, covered the costs of hosting the workshop and providing learning materials to teachers. Teachers received a $100 stipend courtesy of Mānoa Heritage Center.
The morning started with a lively game of Kumulāʻau – a card game named after the Hawaiian word for tree. The game requires participants to collect the right combination of cards representing the resources they need to grow trees like ʻulu or kukui…