“We ❤ Trees!”
On view March 26 – May 1, 2024
Honolulu Hale, 3rd Floor
We ❤ Trees!” art contest is presented by Healthy Climate Communities and Trees for Honolulu’s Future (TFHF) in observance of Arbor Day on November 4, 2023.
Students from 32 O‘ahu schools submitted over 700 entries highlighting the benefits of trees in the 7th annual. The award winning artwork is featured online. Teachers of grade level winners receive a Fisher Hawaii gift card of $50 to use for class supplies and the students receive a $20 Jamba Juice gift card from supporting sponsor AARP. In addition, grade level winners along with their teachers received a tree of their choice to plant at their home or school thanks to Smart Trees Pacific and the Lani-Kailua branch of The Outdoor Circle.
“Children intuitively know the benefits of trees,” said Daniel Dinell, president of Trees for Honolulu’s Future. “Through their eyes, and art, they bring attention to our hardworking trees.” Urban forests provide a multitude of benefits. They take in carbon, make oxygen and reduce air pollutants; improve air quality; improve human health; capture stormwater; increase property values; provide homes for wildlife; beautify, and produce food. Trees critically provide SHADE that helps to mitigate the impact of heat.
25 grade level winners from Kindergarten through 8th grade represent Ala Wai Elementary School, Ewa Beach Elementary School, Ewa Makai Middle School, Hanahauoli School, Hawaii Baptist Academy, Ka’iulani Elementary School, Ka’ōhao School, Kaimuki Middle School, Kanoelani Elementary School, Liholiho Elementary School, Mānoa Elementary, Maryknoll, SEEQS: School for Examining Essential Questions of Sustainability, Voyager Public Charter School, Wai’alae School, and Wilson Elementary School.
Judges for the contest were Megan Yarberry from The Blue Zones Project; Kiara Bacasen and Lindsey Ilagan from HIPHI/Kupuna Collective; Kelsey Floyd from Kupu Hawaii; Jen Ballou of the Good Good Creative Agency; Jeff Ochoa, Captain of Manu Kai Sailing Catamaran; Marianne Bickett, Artist & Community Volunteer; Lauren Kaiser and Maliha Zamurd of the Surfrider Foundation.
Presenting Sponsor:
Healthy Climate Communities manages a school-based environmental education program as well as field trips to the project’s community forest in Kailua, and develops science curricula that meet Next Generation Science Standards. (healthyclimatecommunities.org)
Presenting Sponsor:
Trees for Honolulu’s Future builds bridges among public and private
organizations and local communities by working in concert with and through them for a
tree-filled island that preserves and enhances our quality of life, especially in the face of climate
change. (treesforhonolulu.org)
AARP Hawai‘i works to empower people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age.
Through AARP’s Livable Communities program, AARP works to help make communities more
livable for people of all ages and helped establish Honolulu as an Age-Friendly City (states.aarp.org/hawaii/)
Blue Zones Project Hawai‘i brought to Hawai‘i through an innovative sponsorship by HMSA,
Blue Zones Project® is a community-led, well-being improvement initiative designed to make
healthy choices easier through permanent changes to lifestyle, environment, policy, and social
networks. Blue Zones Project Hawai‘i is passionate about promoting public green spaces, street
trees, and access to local agriculture, including growing more fruit trees. (bzphawaii.com)
The Kupuna Collective changes mindsets about aging by empowering kūpuna, promoting
intergenerational engagement, and supporting accessibility and inclusion for all. By engaging
more than 265 representatives from kupuna-serving organizations in our community, it creates a
network of partners who elevate critical issues, mobilize community assets, and drive innovative
solutions that ultimately create a more age-friendly community. (www.hiphi.org/kupuna)
Honolulu Hale is open Monday through Friday 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
