This week I was introduced to sustainable practices and biodynamic farming. I had never heard of biodynamic farming before visiting Kauai. It has been fascinating to learn about. Watch the video below for a short introduction to biodynamic practices.

There are a few farms in Kauai that have tried this kind of method and it had me thinking more about the connection amongst all the animals, soil, and food on a farm. Examining the biodynamic practice of farming, it is no surprise that using living organisms would help improve the agriculture of an area as an interconnected whole.  On this farm, the animals are producing the ‘perfect compost’ and the whole farm is a system working to make everything thrive. Nothing here is wasted. The soil is fed and everything else grows.

Experiential Learning 

Experiential learning is about learning through experience. With the grade ones this year, from my UBC practicum in Vancouver, we made a miniature landfill to display what happens to different materials thrown in the landfill. It demonstrated how food decomposed to return to soil while other materials, plastic/metal/rubber, did not. The students connected to this experience as the food began to compost while the other material didn’t. They told us about their talks at home with mom and dad on this subject and how they took action to make sure food items were being composted.

This week I will take the Kauai summer program students to the largest Mahogany forest in the United States at the Wai Koa Loop Trail. The students will have the chance to observe more native plants and also learn about the first rail-road built in Kauai and also more about the sugar plantation era. The students will walk a 5-mile circuit meanders through Wai Koa Plantation, a working farm on 500 private acres, and learn about important historical moments for Kauai.

More to come after the trip!