Kupuna, HI, frustrated about city’s community garden closure

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    HI (KITV) — Under Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s latest emergency order, all city community gardens are closed, it’s frustrating for kupuna who see time spent there as physical and mental relief.

The seniors formed a group known as the Garden Helpers’ Network and asked the mayor for a meeting to discuss restoring access.

“It’s not like a switch we can turn on and off. We can’t go to the garden a month later and turn on the plant switch and start growing again. It’s going to take a lot of clean up and a lot of work,” Leonard Smothermon, Hawaii Kai Community Garden president, said.

Vince Costello first started planting at the Manoa Community Garden in 1995 but during the closure, the closest he can get to his crops is the parking lot.

“It’s a sin to waste food, we have things that have gone to waste,” he said.

Costello believes enough safety modifications were made to keep the farm accessible.

“We’re wearing masks. Gardens are really spread out so there’s a lot of space in between gardeners. We have water here as far as hand washing,” he said.

A spokesperson with the city’s parks department says as a compromise with the community, water sprinklers are set up at nine out of 10 gardens to be activated twice a week. The exception is Wahiawa Community garden. The city reports it would be logistically very difficult to water 8.5 acres.

Still, some people say that’s not enough.

“The gardens really require more maintenance and attention than that. They require weeding regularly,” Costello said. “We’d rather be harvesting the fruits of our labor and not just letting it compost back into the soil.”

The Garden Helpers’ Network’s request for a meeting with the mayor has not yet been answered.

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