On the misty morning of Saturday, February 25th, hundreds of people gathered at the Amy B.H Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden to celebrate Hawaiian culture and natural history at the 2023 Grow Hawaiian Festival. Hosted by the Friends of Amy B.H Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, the festival was the garden’s first event in over 3 years. Festival attendees joined the long-awaited celebration to enjoy a variety of activities, speakers, and demonstrations including weaving, kapa making, poi pounding, and wood carving.
CTAHR’s contributions to the festival included three educational booths. The West Hawaiʻi Master Gardeners shared information about the two-lined spittlebug, avocado lace bug, little fire ants, and methods for ohia seed collection. Noa Lincoln and his students from the Dept. of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences presented a display showcasing traditional sugarcane varieties, samples of fresh-squeezed cane juice, and copies of Dr. Lincoln’s book “Ko” on traditional Hawaiian cultivators and uses of sugarcane. Extension forester J.B Friday from the Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Management and education specialist Charlotte Godfrey-Romo discussed Rapid ʻOhia Death, a fungal pathogen presenting a major issue for Hawaiʻi’s endemic Ohia trees.
“Despite the unusually wet weather for the leeward side of the island, hundreds of festival goers enjoyed the first public event at the garden since the Covid epidemic,” said J.B Friday.
The Grow Hawaiian Festival aims to foster public understanding, enjoyment, and conservation of Hawaiiʻ’s natural resources and provide a space for the appreciation of Hawaiian culture and flora.
Dr. Lincoln’s book “Ko” can be found here. Learn more about the Amy B.H Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden here.