Events & Education
Ka mālama ‘ana i ka mo’omeheu. I mea e ola ai mai kēia mua aku. Preserving culture. So that there is life to come.
Featured Event
Arbor Day Celebration
Annual Friends of Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden Meeting and Celebration, in partnership with Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative
Free Entry!
9:00am - 2:00pm
- Tree Giveaway and Plant Sale
- Cultural Demos and Keiki Activities
- Music and Food Trucks
- Parnter Exhibits: Conservation Dogs of Hawai'i, CTAHR, Hawai'i Island Seed Bank, NRCS, Pālamanui Dry Forest, Pu'uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative and more!
12:30pm - 1:30pm
- Membership Meeting & Elections
When:
November 2, 2024
Where:
82-6160 Māmaloahoa Highway, Captain Cook
Mahalo to our partners and funders:
- Atherton Family Foundation
- Ceres Trust
- Cooke Foundation Ltd
- The Healy Foundation
- Lawrence H. Dorcy
- Hawaiian Foundation
Funding for this project provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program. USDA, Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden and partners are equal opportunity providers and employers.
Upcoming Events
Putting Back The Trees – From Overlogging to Restoration of Native Forest Species
A Talk By Guest Speaker
Lou Putzel
The Garden’s Lou Putzel steps in this month for a speaker who had to cancel. He will tell the story of shihuahuaco (Dipteryx spp.), an ecologically important timber tree species in Peruvian Amazonia overexploited for the international market. What hope is there for tree species that are too valuable and attract the attention of global buyers? Even in conservation areas, such species are subject to poaching, and people will go a long way through dense forest to get them. But also, local people go to great lengths to collect seed and seedlings from the natural forest and move them to a safe place on their farms. This story may resonate here in Hawaii, for example with the story of ‘iliahi (Santalum spp.), exploited long ago to satisfy demand for its oil and still vulnerable to various types of extraction including conversion logging. Here too, local residents are busy putting back the trees.
When:
Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 5:30 pm (Talk starts at 6:00 pm)
Where:
Hale Pulelehua, Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, 82-6160 Mamalahoa Hwy (please park at the Garden Visitor Center and walk in)
Followed By:
Ethnobotanical Pupu Potluck
If Can:
Please bring an ethnobotanically-relevant pupu and be prepared to explain the origin and significance of the plant(s) to be devoured. May contain meat: a card will be provided to list main ingredients.
RSVP:
To ensure there is room for all, please RSVP to info@amygreenwell.garden by Wednesday, October 9th
Funding for this project provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program. USDA and Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden are equal opportunity providers and employers.
Weekly Events
Pure Kona Green Market
Great farmers market featuring delicious food, crafts, and produce from our local artisans and farmers.
Every Sunday: 9 am - 2 pm
Free for all ages
Garden Volunteer Days
Come and join our dedicated volunteers for garden work and having fun. Meet at our Visitor Center, located at 82-6160 Mamalahoa Hwy, Captain Cook, HI 96704, USA to sign in for the day and meet the crew!
Every Saturday: 9 am - 12:30 pm
Free for all ages
Past Events and Talks
Exploring the origins of Hawaiian agricultural plants
A Talk By Guest Speaker
Peter Van Dyke
Peter worked at Amy Greenwell Garden from 1990 to 2023, starting in the nursery and then as manager. He has for a long time been interested in the early agriculture of New Guinea and Island South East Asia and the amazing spread of Austronesian languages and people. Since retiring he has become a regular Saturday morning volunteer at the Garden, tends his own farm in Honaunau, and gets into the ocean at every opportunity.
When:
Thursday, August 15, 2024 at 5:30 pm (Talk starts at 6:00 pm)
Where:
Hale Pulelehua, Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, 82-6160 Mamalahoa Hwy (please park at the Garden Visitor Center and walk in)
Followed By:
Ethnobotanical Pupu Potluck
If Can:
Please bring an ethnobotanically-relevant pupu and be prepared to explain the origin and significance of the plant(s) to be devoured. May contain meat: a card will be provided to list main ingredients.
RSVP:
To ensure there is room for all, please RSVP to info@amygreenwell.garden by Wednesday, August 14
Funding for this project provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program. USDA and Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden are equal opportunity providers and employers.
Eating Aliens to Save Natives
A Talk By Guest Speaker
Dr. Nat Bletter
Nat Bletter has 25 years of experience in botany, documenting exotic fruits and vegetables, gathering food in the wild, herbal and traditional medicine, and exploring Asia, South America, Central America, and Africa. He has a Ph.D. in Ethnobotany from the City University of New York and New York Botanical Garden, where he researched medicinal plants of Peru, Mali, and the Guatemalan Mayans, ethnobotany, taste-modifying plants, and stimulant plants such as cacao, which spurred him to start the traditional-ingredient, high-antioxidant, artisanal chocolate company Madre Chocolate. He did a post-doc at UH Mānoa researching plants and migration in Thailand and Laos, and now runs the edible landscaping company Natty by Nature where he makes fruit cocktail trees for people by grafting many varieties onto one tree to squeeze higher diversity into small Honolulu gardens.
When:
Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 5:30 pm (Talk starts at 6 pm)
Where:
Hale Pulelehua, Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, 82-6160 Mamalahoa Hwy (please park at the Garden Visitor Center and walk in)
Followed By:
Ethnobotanical Pupu Potluck
If Can:
Please bring an ethnobotanically-relevant pupu and be prepared to explain the origin and significance of the plant(s) to be devoured. May contain meat: a card will be provided to list main ingredients.
RSVP:
To ensure there is room for all, please RSVP to info@amygreenwell.garden by Wednesday, September 11th
Funding for this project provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program. USDA and Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden are equal opportunity providers and employers.
History, the New Palamanui Forest Preserve and Botanical Garden, and Us
A Talk By Guest Speaker
Dr. Richard Stevens
Dr. Richard Stevens is an author, teacher, tree-planter, and hunter and restorer of ancient trails. He has published on organic gardening in Hawaii, the role of nature in the Vietnam War, Hawaii's forest birds and ancient trails. A former Marine, Foreign Service OIicer, Refugee Advisor for the US Agency for International Development, and ancient trail hunter for the Hawaii State Division of Forestry and Wildlife, he served 3 years in both civilian and military roles in the Vietnam War, was wounded twice, missing once, and received several Vietnamese medals and the Purple Heart. He has taught history for over 30 years at Hawaii Community College/UH Center at West Hawaii in Kona. He has received many awards for teaching, native species reforestation, and ancient trail restoration. He lives on his in-laws' agroforestry farm in Kona, where he describes himself as the "volunteer hired man."
When:
May 9, 2024
Where:
Hale Pulelehua, Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, 82-6160 Mamalahoa Hwy (please park at the Garden Visitor Center and walk in)
Funding for this project provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program. USDA and Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden are equal opportunity providers and employers.
The ethnobotany of Hawaiian plants and ex-situ conservation tools to care for them
A Talk By Guest Speaker
Jill Wagner
Jill Wagner is a forester, ethnobotanist and seed banking specialist. She started her career in Hawaii at the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in 1994 and has since conducted forest restoration and seed banking with private landowners, the State of Hawaii and community groups. She also regularly offers courses in these subjects to people in Hawaii and around the world.
When:
June 13, 2024 at 5:30 pm (Talk starts at 6:00 pm)
Where:
Hale Pulelehua, Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, 82-6160 Mamalahoa Hwy (please park at the Garden Visitor Center and walk in)
Followed By:
Ethnobotanical Pupu Potluck
If Can:
Please bring an ethnobotanically-relevant pupu and be prepared to explain the origin and significance of the plant(s) to be devoured. May contain meat: a card will be provided to list main ingredients.
RSVP:
To ensure there is room for all, please RSVP to info@amygreenwell.garden by To ensure there is room for all, please RSVP to info@amygreenwell.garden by Wednesday, June 12
Funding for this project provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program. USDA and Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden are equal opportunity providers and employers.