Graduate Student Research Symposium 2025

Saint Mark Lutheran School (SMLS) plans to design, build, and implement a Native Hawaiian instructional garden to strengthen aloha ʻāina (love for the land) and pilina (connection/relationships) across time. To support this initiative, this Plan-B Thesis project explored aloha ʻāina and pilina as foundational Hawaiian cultural values, school garden implementation practices, and place-based and ʻāina-based pedagogy. Through a qualitative, action research approach, both a comprehensive garden design proposal and a foundation for a place-based and ʻāina-based curriculum library were developed for SMLS. With research on school garden implementation, collaboration with local ʻāina-based organizations, and integration of cultural values, the garden will serve as a sustainable and culturally relevant tool to foster deeper connections to Hawaiʻi’s past, present, and future. It will also strengthen aloha ʻāina through the cultivation of reciprocal relationships between students, educators, and the land, reinforcing a sense of stewardship and cultural identity for all.