Jay Bost works with GoFarm Hawaiʻi Windward Oahu programs as a Site Manager and as a Senior Farm Coach for all GFH sites. His extensive career in agriculture and ethnobotany has taken him to Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina, St Croix USVI, Mexico and Belize.

Jay came to Hawaiʻi to study at UH’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, but couldn’t resist the chance to combine his passions for food production, applied research, and teaching with GoFarm Hawaiʻi.

Besides helping train new farmers, Jay is an active amateur seedsman and breeder with the Hawaiʻi Seed Growers Network. He is also involved with projects such as FarmLink Hawaiʻi and the Waimanalo Co-op, working to directly link small growers and consumers.

Price: $20

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: HAS PASSED

We are no longer accepting sign-ups for this class as the registration period has closed. Mahalo for your interest! To sign up, fill out the online form: Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up form AND call 808-988-0456. (Note the Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up Form allows you to sign up for multiple classes at once!)

The diversity of the natural world is often overlooked. This is especially true when it comes to plants. Many just see a wall of green when they look outside or walk around the Arboretum. This phenomenon has been termed “Plant Blindness.” However, there is a remedy for this affliction!
The Arboretum is offering an introduction to plant identification and evolution. Taught by Lyon’s own plant systematist and Botanical Gardener, Jesse Adams, this course will give you the basics required to understand basic plant anatomy, know select major plant families on sight, and use a dichotomous key. Additionally, students will learn how to collect and make their own herbarium specimen!
This is a three-part course. The first session is a two hour stand-alone class for those who want an introduction to plants and taxonomy. However, if you would like to attend the other two sessions, students must sign up for all three.

Price: $20 for Session 1, or $60 for the 3-part course (no supply fee)

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: HAS PASSED

We are no longer accepting sign-ups for this class as the registration period has closed. Mahalo for your interest! To sign up, fill out the online form: Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up form AND call 808-988-0456. (Note the Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up Form allows you to sign up for multiple classes at once!)

Hawaiʻi has been described as a birder’s paradise, but how do we know exactly what we’re looking at?
If you have ever looked out your window and said, “That bird looks neat. I wonder what it is?” This is your class!
Join Sheila Conant as she takes us through some bird-identifying basics and introduces us to some of the common and unique bird species that we can find in Hawaiʻi. We will consider the key things to see and hear, as well as what behaviors we should observe. We will also discuss groups of birds we might expect to find in various habitats including forests, wetlands, shorelines, and even more urban areas.
Tune in to ask questions and share observations!

Price: $20

Deadline to sign up for this class has passed. DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: 3/19/21 @ 10AM

To sign up, fill out the online form: Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up form AND call 808-988-0456. (Note the Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up Form allows you to sign up for multiple classes at once!)

Don’t miss this opportunity to join Bertie Lee and Dotty Nitta, The Garden Club of Honolulu’s Floral Designers extraordinaire Approved Floral Design Judges of the Garden Club of America. The Garden Club of Honolulu members Kitty Wo, Stacy Hugh, and Julie Sanvold will be joining the team. The five will demonstrate how to build and bind unique structures on which they will craft their floral magic.
The design will be created with twigs supporting fresh plant material.

Price: $20

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: HAS PASSED 3/25/21 @ 10AM

To sign up, fill out the online form: Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up form AND call 808-988-0456. (Note the Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up Form allows you to sign up for multiple classes at once!)

Wesley Sen was mentored by Beatrice Krauss 40 years ago and introduced to Native Hawaiian weavers at a conference at the Lyon Arboretum. Wesley was initially taught by his friend’s grandmother Julia Puou of Opihihale South Kona on how to weave a basket and a hat. Today, Wesley teaches lauhala and Kapa making classes at Ka Papa Loʻi O Kānewai back of UH Hawaiian studies.

After signing up for the class, when you call Lyon’s main office to pay, please schedule a time to pick up your lauhala kit. Kits will be available 2 weeks before the class.

Session 1: Peahi: Lauhala Fan
Learn the basics of weaving lauhala pandanus leaves in this weave-along webinar! Price of the class includes the leaf material needed to create your Lauhala fan. Each strip of Lauhala in your kit was prepared from a whole leaf. The leaf had to have its thorns removed, cleaned, flatten, and cut into strips called Koana. In making hats, these strips are called Mau’u. In weaving lauhala, the horizontal strip is called the Moe which means to lay down or sleep and the vertical strip is called the Ku which means to stand up. To weave is Ulana.

Session 2: Eke: small basket
Now that you know the basics of lauhala weaving, learn how to make a small basket! The strips of lauhala are called Koana. The horizontal strips are called Moe. The vertical strips are called Ku. To weave is Ulana. In making any basket the key is making Kihi or the corners. A square basket has equal amounts of Koana but a rectangular basket has different corners which are same on the front and back but not on the sides.

Price: $40 for each Session ($20 class fee and $20 supply fee)

CLASS IS AT CAPACITY; REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. Registration may reopen if we have cancellations. (Updated 3/15/21)  DEADLINE TO SIGN UP (This class’s registration deadline is early due to the need to schedule materials pick-up)

• Session 1: 3/15/21, 10am
  • Materials Kit pick-up, session 1: Mon 3/15 – Fri 3/19 (Lyon will email participants who are signed up to schedule materials pick up!)
• Session 2: 3/22/21, 10am
  • Materials Kit pick-up, session 2: Fri 3/19 and Mon 3/22 – Thurs 3/25 (Lyon will email participants who are signed up to schedule materials pick up!)

To sign up, fill out the online form: Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up form AND call 808-988-0456. (Note the Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up Form allows you to sign up for multiple classes at once!)

Learn the secrets of soil preparation for a bountiful harvest and how to plant your own ginger and turmeric rhizomes!
Lana Brodziak’s garden coaching company, RedDirt Designworks, is the culmination of a 25 career as a soil and environmental scientist. When she is not helping people enjoy gardening, Lana volunteers with the University of Hawai’i’s Master Gardener program as a Master Gardener, Emeritus. She also serves as a volunteer Docent and Instructor at the Honolulu Botanical Gardens.
Margaret Mortz is one of The Garden Club of Honolulu’s Horticultural gurus. She is an Oahu Master Gardener and a life-long plant lover.

Demonstration: Planting rhizomes (ginger and turmeric) by Margaret Mortz, member of The Garden Club of Honolulu

Price: $20

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED, MAHALO!

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: 4/22/21 @ 10AM

To sign up, fill out the online form: Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up form AND call 808-988-0456. (Note the Spring 2021 Community Classes Sign Up Form allows you to sign up for multiple classes at once!)