At Blue Zones Project - Kapolei-'Ewa we are working with the community to create a happier, healthier place to live, work, learn, and play. Community gardens have long been a recognized strategy to address food access, encourage cross cultural bonds, and support health. While working alongside multiple partners to restore and support community gardens, the following benefits have been recognized through direct experience:

• Gardens make healthy foods readily available
• Gardens improve individual and community health
• Gardens encourage garden-to-table
• Gardens enhance community
• Gardens increase natural movement

When people garden, long-term effects are carried through. Gardening reduces the carbon footprint, boosts economy, provides mental and physical health benefits, strengthens social networks, provides stress relief, prevents crime, provides ecological benefits, and encourages education. While working with the community, it has been observed that people enjoy taking pride in gardening. It is a purposeful outlet where individuals have a sense of place. Friendly social networks occur naturally and people find ways to connect around a garden. Elders teach children to garden and pass along knowledge and skills they learned. It creates diversity, equity, and multi-generational communication. When community gardens are built, restored, or installed, it has been successful in encouraging people to find ways for it to thrive. Residents who care for the garden become resourceful, connecting with others to enhance the garden and create abundance for what it needs to succeed. Education around gardening styles is sought so that people can plant according to environment, culture, and plant what thrives. Enjoy this booklet that features some of the many gardens in Kapolei and 'Ewa. We hope you will be inspired to grow!

Download our Community of Gardens Booklet