April 21, 2026

At Papahana Kuaola, Native Hawaiian Plant Month reflects work that happens all year-round. As a KS Āina Ulu collaborator, the non-profit restores and manages an expanse of ʻāina Pauahi in Heʻeia, where native plants guide how ʻike Hawaiʻi is taught and lived. Students learn from the ‘āina, loʻi and streams. 

“Just having this space allows us to do so much…talking about plants, how they connect to our stories, and then tying it all together for the keiki,” Kaʻiminaʻauao Johnson, the nonprofit’s ʻāina stewardship manager, said. 

That knowledge unfolds through practice. Through diverse, place-based programs, haumāna plant, observe and work together, building skills that grow and extend beyond the physical labor on ʻāina.  

“They learn how to tend to the ʻāina…and how to mālama themselves, as well,” ʻāina educator/steward Milikaʻa Ordenstein said. 

But getting there looks different for everyone. Some start by stepping into mud and getting comfortable in the space. Others return year after year, building familiarity and confidence over time. As that connection deepens, aloha ʻāina reaches beyond their class into their ʻohana. 

“Kids then become the teachers, especially for their parents who might not be used to this, but they share their own positive experiences,” Johnson said. 

For Ordenstein, that impact was early and immediate for her family. 

“For me, this is a healing space and my kids’ happy place when they were little,” Ordenstein said. “I see how the love of the land continues throughout their life and is still strong because of the pilina that we built here.” 

Those experiences are rooted in native plants, which shape how people understand themselves and their daily lives. 

“Native plants are everything,” Ordenstein said. “We use plants for shelter, food, ceremony, medicine, [and] tools. They’re vital to our existence.” 

Now 20 years in, what was once a dump site has been restored with a clear intent: bring back native plants and create a space grounded in that understanding. Over time, the “why” and “how” come into focus — the relationship between place and people, each shaping and sustaining the other. 

“Making this space for native plants, for people that align with that mission who…perpetuate our culture in that way,” executive director Tesia Roberts KSK’10 said. “Native plants are just a reminder of that way of life.” 

To learn more about programs or join an upcoming hana lima day, visit https://papahanakuaola.org/.