Page 4 - MidWeek Central - Sep 22 2021

4 SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
Boy Scout Helps Community Garden Grow At Mililani Church
BY DON ROBBINS
2020. As the second surge of the coronavirus pan- demic kicked in, Spangler and his father approached their pastor, the Rev. Keith Wolter of Christ Lutheran Church of Mililani, with a request. Spangler was look- ing at possible Eagle Scout projects in Central O‘ahu and wanted to know what possibilities existed with his family’s home church.
term food sustainability work to help feed people in need of sustenance.
lettuce, arugula and basil, among others.
Hunter Spangler, a 16-year-old Boy Scout with Troop 24 based at Schofield Barracks, has spearheaded the growth of a community garden at Christ Lutheran Church of Mililani for his Eagle Scout project.
“Having been a grant writer in a previous life and looking around for monies in the pandemic, I found the Hawai‘i Busi- ness Pivot grant, offered by the Hawai‘i Chamber of Commerce and funded by the federal CARES Act,” Wolter explains.
“This has been a fun, amazing and delightful project,” he declares.
“I feel happy about it. It’s served a lot of people so far. I feel accomplished, like I’ ve done something that’s definitely going to help people,” shares Span- gler, a Schofield Barracks resident.
Wolter notes that now there are gardens available for people to rent for $5 a month to help cover wa- ter expenses, and there are hardship funds available for those who can’t afford even $5.
Spangler and his dad, Jef, walked along the property, took measurements, re- searched community gar- dens and priced material needed to make the 4-by-8- foot beds. Spangler’s moth- er and sisters also joined in to help.
These gardens are “bring- ing food and hope to people in a time of radical uncer- tainty, stunning change and anxious fear,” Wolter says.
In February, Spangler, other Scouts, leaders, par- ents and church members worked two weekends in the pouring rain, got very muddy and wet, to build the first 21 garden beds.
Then came the pandemic, with lockdowns, sickness, deaths, financial hardships and hunger.
It also has bok choy,
Hunter Spangler works on the community garden at Christ Lutheran Church of Mililani. PHOTO COURTESY THE REV. KEITH WOLTER
“I remember him look- ing at me and in a quiet but clear voice said, ‘Pastor, I don’t want to just build a fence. I want to help peo- ple in this pandemic.’ I was impressed with his firmness and focus,” Wolter says.
The chamber funders bought in to the idea, and the details were fleshed out.
“We want people to feel free to join our little com- munity of gardeners as we both garden for justice and delightfully build commu- nity. It has become a nour- ishing place for the soul as well as the body. Next, will come a sign, some fenc- ing, an expanded watering system and a blessing of the project. Stay tuned for more,” Wolter shares.
For several years, church members had been dis- cussing what to do with the chunk of land lying be- tween the parking lot and the parsonage.
He adds that a “dizzy- ing and lovely variety” of produce has been grown at the community gardens, including tomatoes, green beans, sunflowers, cucum- bers, eggplant, sweet corn, zucchini and snow peas.
For more information, call 808-623-9229, email office@clcmililani.org or visit clcmililani.org.
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Later, seven or eight gar- deners worked on about a dozen additional beds. A cantaloupe arose out of the purchased topsoil all on its own, starting the growth spurt.
“I had lived across the street from a community garden in Honolulu for a number of years and had been impressed by the com- mitment of the gardeners and their results. Seemed like a wise stewardship of the land in food insecure Hawai‘i,” Wolter shares.
The Scouts and their supporters returned in July and, after two backbreaking Saturdays, the last 14 beds were built. About 16 Scouts and seven adults helped over the course of the Sat- urday workdays, amount- ing to approximately 405 hours.
Christ Lutheran could not logistically do emergen- cy food handouts as other churches were doing during the shutdown due to a very small parking lot access street and multiple other reasons.
The idea for the project germinated as a seed in peo- ple’s minds in November
So, it decided that build- ing a community garden instead could be a way to address food insecurity on O‘ahu and do some long-