‘Forest garden’ to spring up at a Wailua park because of strong public support

An unprecedented garden will take root at Wailua Homesteads Park on Kaua‘i early next year, following a community survey that reports strong support for the project.

In June, Understory Alliance, a Kaua‘i-based conservation and education nonprofit, proposed to establish a māla lā‘au (forest garden) at the East Side county park.

Sari Pastore, executive director of Understory Alliance, stated at the time that the project would not move forward unless community interest was evident. Now, six months later, widespread approval for the māla lā‘au has been documented through the survey results.

“This is what people have been asking for,” said Pastore, a lifelong Hāʻena resident.

The māla lā‘au will occupy more than half an acre at the rear of the nearly 17-acre Wailua Homesteads Park, a popular recreational site home to athletic fields, basketball and tennis courts, playground equipment and a dog park.

The site will be open to the public 24-7. An ungulate-proof fence, purchased through a Kaua‘i County grant, will be installed to keep destructive pigs out. Residents will be welcome to cultivate or otherwise enjoy the site at any time, although Understory Alliance will organize monthly volunteer workdays.

“It’s our hope that, if designed properly, these forest projects will not require a lot of day-to-day maintenance,” said Kaua‘i horticultural professional Rhian Campbell, Understory Alliance’s director of resource stewardship.

The Wailua māla lā‘au community survey report recorded responses submitted by 127 participants. Of that number, 83% expressed strong support for the project, while 15% needed more information before they could fully support the project.

Only two people (1.67% of respondents) opposed the māla lā‘au, citing concerns related to safety, maintenance and a belief it could attract vandalism or homeless encampments.

Once the māla lā‘au is established, its plants are intended to resist invasive weeds and perpetuate themselves by forming a self-supporting, multi-layered plant community.

The directors of Understory Alliance, according to Campbell, hope those who use the māla lā‘au will form a reciprocal relationship with the public resource.

“When we harvest from a plant we should be thinking about how we can keep the gifts we receive from nature circulating in that community,” Campbell said.

It’s a mindset, she continued, that values “putting a little effort into caring for publicly shared spaces that can provide broader benefits for the whole community.”

The site is currently occupied by lawn, overgrown hau and invasive plant species like guinea grass and African tulip trees. The land will be cleared to make way for the māla lā‘au, although certain valued plants, like the site’s banana patch, will be saved.

Plantings in the māla lā‘au are to be determined by community input. Survey respondents have expressed interest in lei materials, medicinal plants and food crops. Native species will also have a home in the garden.

The community māla lā‘au will not only offer food and a space for cultural practices and education. It also is intended to benefit residents’ physical and mental health by providing ready access to nature.

“How we live is too over-scheduled, too busy … We don’t have the ability to stop what we’re doing and go take ourselves into nature,” Pastore said in June. “If it’s in your own backyard, like a community park, then you’re not driving anywhere, you don’t have to take off work.”

Work on the garden at Wailua Homesteads Park is projected to begin within three months. Understory Alliance will develop similar projects elsewhere on Kaua‘i if communities express interest and funding can be secured, Pastore said.

He is now writing grants to fund a part-time steward position at Wailua Homesteads Park, to be held by a nearby resident.

Campbell is Potawatomi. Members of her Native American tribe, the Hawaiian people and other Indigenous communities have taught her that many plants existed first and helped guide and support people on their journeys.

“If you think about it, plants take care of us much more than we take care of them,” she said.

For more information about Understory Alliance, including the community survey report and upcoming workshops, visit understoryalliance.org.