Paleaku Gardens Peace Sanctuary is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in South Kona. Our mission is to promote peace and harmony to individuals and within communities. We are a seven-acre botanical garden that includes facilities for education and cultural events.
Some years ago, we sponsored and planted the Galaxy Garden, a 100-foot diameter “living” map of the Milky Way created with beautiful hedges and flowering plants. Visitors can enjoy a walk-through astronomical experience in West Hawaii inspired by astrophysical data.
Supporting the expansion of knowledge and merging the secular and the sacred is the experience we hope visitors feel when strolling through our various garden installations.
Over the years, we have had visits from astronomers and astronomy clubs from all over the world. Through our close partnerships, we appreciate being able to support astronomy, and in turn, stimulate the interest of all our visitors.
Paleaku Peace Gardens is one of the sponsors of the yearly Maunakea coin contest where school children from around the island design an astronomy coin that includes all aspects of this majestic mountain: its environment, the culture and astronomy. The winner’s design is then minted and distributed. We enjoy giving them out throughout the year to all the children who visit the garden.
We would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the astronomy community, and all the Maunakea Observatories, for the many outreach programs they offer on Hawaii island that continue to enrich our community. Highlighting a few in West Hawaii: the yearly program of GEMS (Girls Exploring Math and Science), Astro Day which will be held this year at Kealakehe High School on Nov. 3, West Hawaii Science Fair and the Lego competition, Kona Library Evening talks, Kealakehe Family Science night, career day at Ho‘okena School, and Kealakehe STEM camp.
They visit classrooms or offer a portable planetarium show at schools that goes to Ho‘okena, Honaunau, Kahakai, Waikolaloa and Kealakehe intermediate schools, in addition to and hosting stargazing events at various campuses.
In light of the recent upheaval that has divided our community regarding construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Maunakea, we see an opening for communications that can lead to a paradigm shift. If we view the Mauna through the sacred lens of humanity, this allows for a reciprocal dialogue to expand the narrative of what is possible at this critical moment in the evolution of human culture.
This is a pivotal moment for Hawaii to take her place on a global level as a leader in bridging peace instead of conflict, and inclusiveness rather than division. The time is now, the place is Maunakea, and she has room for astronomy and Kapu Aloha to co-emerge as the beacon of the unity that will bring our species the needed wisdom to become stewards of the universe we seek to understand and explore.
Coming out of chaos, the cosmos organized itself into infinite galaxies that include our solar system and our evolving Earth. Can we envision the observatories as beacons of exploration, curiosity and wisdom that look into our future? They then become the connectors to the vast knowable space. These observatories, including TMT, are our nexus between heaven and Earth.
The future will look back on Maunakea, as we look back on all the sacred sites around the world that marked time, planetary alignments and astronomical events. Let us listen deeply to our own hearts and support each other for the benefit of our community, our islands, the planet and humanity.
Barbara DeFranco is executive director of the Paleaku Peace Gardens in Captain Cook, Hawaii.
