Where there once was a flat and empty rooftop, there now grows a garden.

The 4,400-square-foot garden atop the Institute for Human Services’ service center on Kaaahi Street is expected to provide healthy meals, training opportunities and an escape from the industrial setting of Iwilei.

From the roof of the three-story building, which also houses a shelter for women and families, visitors can enjoy views of Nuuanu and Kalihi valleys and a sliver of the ocean.

"It’s a metaphor for life," said IHS Executive Director Connie Mitchell, who visits the garden during hectic days. "It’s about making a commitment to make something grow, which gives you competence. It’s empowering, growing your own food."

IHS, a 35-year-old comprehensive social services agency that provides meals and runs two 24-hour emergency shelters for homeless people, recently dedicated the garden as the Rooftop Training and Education Center.

It’s still a work in progress, but includes three aquaponics systems, several potted fruit trees and beds of flowers, herbs and vegetables.

After just a month, the aquaponics systems — a sustainable food production system combining aquaculture with hydroponics — are already producing a healthy mix of Manoa, romaine and red leaf lettuces, spinach and collard greens.

The greens will go straight to the kitchen downstairs to make meals for shelter residents, or guests, as IHS prefers to call them. Eventually, the tilapia in the tubs will also make it onto dinner plates.

The system encourages healthy eating, Mitchell said. At the same time, shelter guests can learn to grow food in the garden, gaining knowledge for agriculture jobs, if they are interested, and other skills.

Urban agricultural program coordinator Reggie Gorham and volunteers from The Green House, a sustainable learning center in Pauoa, teach IHS guests everything from how aquaponics work to planting techniques and natural pest control over four weeks.

"It teaches solid work — being on time, being responsible and completing tasks," Mitchell said. She calls it "planting the seeds of self-sufficiency."

Upon completion of the introductory urban garden course, students can move on to a more advanced class.

Eric Johnson, 48, a men’s shelter guest, said he plans to get enough experience to apply for jobs at gardening centers or nurseries.

Eventually, Mitchell says IHS might consider selling packaged salads or offering "subscriptions" for fresh produce to generate additional revenue.

The rooftop garden is experimenting with a mix of techniques in consultation with the University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

Besides aquaponics, there are microgreens growing from compost in sausage-shaped mesh tubes. Food plants are interspersed with flowers to attract bees, Mitchell said, essential to pollinating plants.

The center also focuses on reusing materials in creative ways.

Strawberries grow in two plastic barrels recycled into vertical planters. Clusters of eggplant, kale and tomatoes are planted in rows of half-barrels, demonstrating how much can be grown within a small area of soil.

Getting the rooftop garden set up was a structural feat that took several years.

Architects Hawaii offered its services for free, helping the shelter meet building codes for the garden. A staircase and lift replaced a stepladder leading to the rooftop.

The new garden complements the 4-year-old edible garden on the ground. Mitchell sees the garden as the beginning to more possibilities. IHS recently partnered with a 1.5-acre farm in Hawaii Kai to grow more food.

"We’re hopeful and excited about all the different options," Mitchell said.

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